Ⲡⲓϫⲱⲙ Ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ

(1) IN the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. (2) But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (3) And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. (4) And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness. (5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, and there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (6) And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be a division between water and water, and it was so. (7) And God made the firmament, and God divided between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament. (8) And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the second day. (9) And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places, and the dry land appeared. (10) And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good. (11) And God said, Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit-tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and it was so. (12) And the earth brought forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and God saw that it was good. (13) And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. (14) And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between day and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. (15) And let them be for light in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, and it was so. (16) And God made the two great lights, the greater light for regulating the day and the lesser light for regulating the night, the stars also. (17) And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, (18) and to regulate day and night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (19) And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. (20) And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so. (21) And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind, and God saw that they were good. (22) And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth. (23) And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. (24) And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, quadrupeds and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and it was so. (25) And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and cattle according to their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth according to their kind, and God saw that they were good. (26) And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the earth. (27) And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them. (28) And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth. (29) And God said, Behold I have given to you every seed-bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food. (30) And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven, and to every reptile creeping on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food; and it was so. (31) And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

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(1) And the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole world of them. (2) And God finished on the sixth day his works which he made, and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he ceased from all his works which God began to do. (4) This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth, (5) and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it. (6) But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth. (7) And God formed the man of dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. (8) And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed. (9) And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil. (10) And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads. (11) The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold. (12) And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald. (13) And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia. (14) And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (15) And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it. (16) And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat, (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die. (18) And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him. (19) And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it. (20) And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself. (21) And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof. (22) And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. (23) And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband. (24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (3:1) And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

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(2) Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? (3) And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, (4) but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (5) And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die. (6) For God knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods, knowing good and evil. (7) And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. (8) And the eyes of both were opened and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons to go round them. (9) And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. (10) And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou? (11) And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself. (12) And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat? (13) And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me—she gave me of the tree and I ate. (14) And the Lord God said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. (15) And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life. (16) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel. (17) And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (18) And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat—of that thou hast eaten, cursed is the ground in thy labours, in pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. (19) Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. (20) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth thou art and to earth thou shalt return. (21) And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living. (22) And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them. (23) And God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live for ever— (24) So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken. (25) And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

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(1) And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God. (2) And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. (3) And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord. (4) And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts, (5) but Cain and his sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell. (6) And the Lord God said to Cain, Why art thou become very sorrowful and why is thy countenance fallen? (7) Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou shalt rule over him. (8) And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the plain; and it came to pass that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (9) And the Lord God said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? and he said, I know not, am I my brother’s keeper? (10) And the Lord said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me out of the ground. (11) And now thou art cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. (12) When thou tillest the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to thee: thou shalt be groaning and trembling on the earth. (13) And Cain said to the Lord God, My crime is too great for me to be forgiven. (14) If thou castest me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from thy presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall slay me. (15) And the Lord God said to him, Not so, any one that slays Cain shall suffer seven-fold vengeance; and the Lord God set a mark upon Cain that no one that found him might slay him. (16) So Cain went forth from the presence of God and dwelt in the land of Nod over against Edem. (17) And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch. (18) And to Enoch was born Gaidad; and Gaidad begot Maleleel; and Maleleel begot Mathusala; and Mathusala begot Lamech. (19) And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the second Sella. (20) And Ada bore Jobel; he was the father of those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle. (21) And the name of his brother was Jubal; he it was who invented the psaltery and harp. (22) And Sella also bore Thobel; he was a smith, a manufacturer both of brass and iron; and the sister of Thobel was Noëma. (23) And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief. (24) Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain’s behalf, on Lamech’s it shall be seventy times seven. (25) And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. (26) And Seth had a son, and he called his name Enos: he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.

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(1) This is the genealogy of men in the day in which God made Adam; in the image of God he made him: (2) male and female he made them, and blessed them; and he called his name Adam, in the day in which he made them. (3) And Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son after his own form, and after his own image, and he called his name Seth. (4) And the days of Adam, which he lived after his begetting Seth, were seven hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. (5) And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. (6) Now Seth lived two hundred and five years, and begot Enos. (7) And Seth lived after his begetting Enos, seven hundred and seven years, and he begot sons and daughters. (8) And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. (9) And Enos lived an hundred and ninety years, and begot Cainan. (10) And Enos lived after his begetting Cainan, seven hundred and fifteen years, and he begot sons and daughters. (11) And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died. (12) And Cainan lived an hundred and seventy years, and he begot Maleleel. (13) And Cainan lived after his begetting Maleleel, seven hundred and forty years, and he begot sons and daughters. (14) And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. (15) And Maleleel lived an hundred and sixty and five years, and he begot Jared. (16) And Maleleel lived after his begetting Jared, seven hundred and thirty years, and he begot sons and daughters. (17) And all the days of Maleleel were eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he died. (18) And Jared lived an hundred and sixty and two years, and begot Enoch: (19) and Jared lived after his begetting Enoch, eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. (20) And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he died. (21) And Enoch lived an hundred and sixty and five years, and begat Mathusala. (22) And Enoch was well-pleasing to God after his begetting Mathusala, two hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. (23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years. (24) And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, because God translated him. (25) And Mathusala lived an hundred and sixty and seven years, and begot Lamech. (26) And Mathusala lived after his begetting Lamech eight hundred and two years, and begot sons and daughters. (27) And all the days of Mathusala which he lived, were nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he died. (28) And Lamech lived an hundred and eighty and eight years, and begot a son. (29) And he called his name Noe, saying, This one will cause us to cease from our works, and from the toils of our hands, and from the earth, which the Lord God has cursed. (30) And Lamech lived after his begetting Noe, five hundred and sixty and five years, and begot sons and daughters. (31) And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and fifty-three years, and he died. (32) And Noe was five hundred years old, and he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

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(1) And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, (2) that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. (3) And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (4) Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown. (5) And the Lord God having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually, (6) then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply. (7) And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them. (8) But Noe found grace before the Lord God. (9) And these are the generations of Noe. Noe was a just man; being perfect in his generation, Noe was well-pleasing to God. (10) And Noe begot three sons, Sem, Cham, Japheth. (11) But the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with iniquity. (12) And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted; because all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. (13) And the Lord God said to Noe, A period of all men is come before me; because the earth has been filled with iniquity by them, and, behold, I destroy them and the earth. (14) Make therefore for thyself an ark of square timber; thou shalt make the ark in compartments, and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. (15) And thus shalt thou make the ark; three hundred cubits the length of the ark, and fifty cubits the breadth, and thirty cubits the height of it. (16) Thou shalt narrow the ark in making it, and in a cubit above thou shalt finish it, and the door of the ark thou shalt make on the side; with lower, second, and third stories thou shalt make it. (17) And behold I bring a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven, and whatsoever things are upon the earth shall die. (18) And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark, and thy sons and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. (19) And of all cattle and of all reptiles and of all wild beasts, even of all flesh, thou shalt bring by pairs of all, into the ark, that thou mayest feed them with thyself: male and female they shall be. (20) Of all winged birds after their kind, and of all cattle after their kind, and of all reptiles creeping upon the earth after their kind, pairs of all shall come in to thee, male and female to be fed with thee. (21) And thou shalt take to thyself of all kinds of food which ye eat, and thou shalt gather them to thyself, and it shall be for thee and them to eat. (22) And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him, so did he.

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(1) And the Lord God said to Noe, Enter thou and all thy family into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (2) And of the clean cattle take in to thee sevens, male and female, and of the unclean cattle pairs male and female. (3) And of clean flying creatures of the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures pairs, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth. (4) For yet seven days having passed I bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth. (5) And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him. (6) And Noe was six hundred years old when the flood of water was upon the earth. (7) And then went in Noe and his sons and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him into the ark, because of the water of the flood. (8) And of clean flying creatures and of unclean flying creatures, and of clean cattle and of unclean cattle, and of all things that creep upon the earth, (9) pairs went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noe. (10) And it came to pass after the seven days that the water of the flood came upon the earth. (11) In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened. (12) And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (13) On that very day entered Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth, the sons of Noe, and the wife of Noe, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark. (14) And all the wild beasts after their kind, and all cattle after their kind, and every reptile moving itself on the earth after its kind, and every flying bird after its kind, (15) went in to Noe into the ark, pairs, male and female of all flesh in which is the breath of life. (16) And they that entered went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded Noe, and the Lord God shut the ark outside of him. (17) And the flood was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the ark, and it was lifted on high from off the earth. (18) And the water prevailed and abounded exceedingly upon the earth, and the ark was borne upon the water. (19) And the water prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven. (20) Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered all the high mountains (21) And there died all flesh that moved upon the earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, and every man. (22) And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land, died. (23) And God blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. (24) And the water was raised over the earth an hundred and fifty days.

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(1) And God remembered Noe, and all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and all the birds, and all the reptiles that creep, as many as were with him in the ark, and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the water stayed. (2) And the fountains of the deep were closed up, and the flood-gates of heaven, and the rain from heaven was withheld. (3) And the water subsided, and went off the earth, and after an hundred and fifty days the water was diminished, and the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. (4) And the water continued to decrease until the tenth month. (5) And in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the heads of the mountains were seen. (6) And it came to pass after forty days Noe opened the window of the ark which he had made. (7) And he sent forth a raven; and it went forth and returned not until the water was dried from off the earth. (8) And he sent a dove after it to see if the water had ceased from off the earth. (9) And the dove not having found rest for her feet, returned to him into the ark, because the water was on all the face of the earth, and he stretched out his hand and took her, and brought her to himself into the ark. (10) And having waited yet seven other days, be again sent forth the dove from the ark. (11) And the dove returned to him in the evening, and had a leaf of olive, a sprig in her mouth; and Noe knew that the water had ceased from off the earth. (12) And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him again any more. (13) And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noe, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water subsided from off the earth, and Noe opened the covering of the ark which he had made, and he saw that the water had subsided from the face of the earth. (14) And in the second month the earth was dried, on the twenty-seventh day of the month. (15) And the Lord God spoke to Noe, saying, (16) Come out from the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. (17) And all the wild beasts as many as are with thee, and all flesh both of birds and beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, bring forth with thee, and increase ye and multiply upon the earth. (18) And Noe came forth, and his wife and his sons, and his sons’ wives with him. (19) And all the wild beasts and all the cattle and every bird, and every reptile creeping upon the earth after their kind, came forth out of the ark. (20) And Noe built an altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and offered a whole burnt-offering upon the altar. (21) And the Lord God smelled a smell of sweetness, and the Lord God having considered, said, I will not any more curse the earth, because of the works of men, because the imagination of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will not therefore any more smite all living flesh as I have done. (22) All the days of the earth, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease by day or night.

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(1) And God blessed Noe and his sons, and said to them, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and have dominion over it. (2) And the dread and the fear of you shall be upon all the wild beasts of the earth, on all the birds of the sky, and on all things moving upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea, I have placed them under your power. (3) And every reptile which is living shall be to you for meat, I have given all things to you as the green herbs. (4) But flesh with blood of life ye shall not eat. (5) For your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of all wild beasts, and I will require the life of man at the hand of his brother man. (6) He that sheds man’s blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man. (7) But do ye increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and have dominion over it. (8) And God spoke to Noe, and to his sons with him, saying, (9) And behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, (10) and with every living creature with you, of birds and of beasts, and with all the wild beasts of the earth, as many as are with you, of all that come out of the ark. (11) And I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall not any more die by the water of the flood, and there shall no more be a flood of water to destroy all the earth. (12) And the Lord God said to Noe, This is the sign of the covenant which I set between me and you, and between every living creature which is with you for perpetual generations. (13) I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of covenant between me and the earth. (14) And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth, that my bow shall be seen in the cloud. (15) And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh. (16) And my bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look to remember the everlasting covenant between me and the earth, and between every living soul in all flesh, which is upon the earth. (17) And God said to Noe, This is the sign of the covenant, which I have made between me and all flesh, which is upon the earth. (18) Now the sons of Noe which came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, Japheth. And Cham was father of Chanaan. (19) These three are the sons of Noe, of these were men scattered over all the earth. (20) And Noe began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard. (21) And he drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was naked in his house. (22) And Cham the father of Chanaan saw the nakedness of his father, and he went out and told his two brothers without. (23) And Sem and Japheth having taken a garment, put it on both their backs and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their face was backward, and they saw not the nakedness of their father. (24) And Noe recovered from the wine, and knew all that his younger son had done to him. (25) And he said, Cursed be the servant Chanaan, a slave shall he be to his brethren. (26) And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, and Chanaan shall be his bond-servant. (27) May God make room for Japheth, and let him dwell in the habitations of Sem, and let Chanaan be his servant. (28) And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. (29) And all the days of Noe were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

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(1) Now these are the generations of the sons of Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood. (2) The sons of Japheth, Gamer, and Magog, and Madoi, and Jovan, and Elisa, and Thobel, and Mosoch, and Thiras. (3) And the sons of Gamer, Aschanaz, and Riphath, and Thorgama. (4) And the sons of Jovan, Elisa, and Tharseis, Cetians, Rhodians. (5) From these were the islands of the Gentiles divided in their land, each according to his tongue, in their tribes and in their nations. (6) And the sons of Cham, Chus, and Mesrain, Phud, and Chanaan. (7) And the sons of Chus, Saba, and Evila, and Sabatha, and Rhegma, and Sabathaca. And the sons of Rhegma, Saba, and Dadan. (8) And Chus begot Nebrod: he began to be a giant upon the earth. (9) He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nebrod the giant hunter before the Lord. (10) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Orech, and Archad, and Chalanne, in the land of Senaar. (11) Out of that land came Assur, and built Ninevi, and the city Rhooboth, and Chalach, (12) and Dase between Ninevi and Chalach: this is the great city. (13) And Mesrain begot the Ludiim, and the Nephthalim, and the Enemetiim, and the Labiim, (14) and the Patrosoniim, and the Chasmoniim (whence came forth Phylistiim) and the Gaphthoriim. (15) And Chanaan begot Sidon his first-born, and the Chettite, (16) and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, (17) and the Evite, and the Arukite, and the Asennite, (18) and the Aradian, and the Samarean, and the Amathite; and after this the tribes of the Chananites were dispersed. (19) And the boundaries of the Chananites were from Sidon till one comes to Gerara and Gaza, till one comes to Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim, as far as Dasa. (20) These were the sons of Cham in their tribes according to their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. (21) And to Sem himself also were children born, the father of all the sons of Heber, the brother of Japheth the elder. (22) Sons of Sem, Elam, and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Cainan. (23) And sons of Aram, Uz, and Ul, and Gater, and Mosoch. (24) And Arphaxad begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Sala. And Sala begot Heber. (25) And to Heber were born two sons, the name of the one, Phaleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother Jektan. (26) And Jektan begot Elmodad, and Saleth, and Sarmoth, and Jarach, (27) and Odorrha, and Aibel, and Decla, (28) and Eval, and Abimael, and Saba, (29) and Uphir, and Evila, and Jobab, all these were the sons of Jektan. (30) And their dwelling was from Masse, till one comes to Saphera, a mountain of the east. (31) These were the sons of Sem in their tribes, according to their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. (32) These are the tribes of the sons of Noe, according to their generations, according to their nations: of them were the islands of the Gentiles scattered over the earth after the flood.

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(1) And all the earth was one lip, and there was one language to all. (2) And it came to pass as they moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Senaar, and they dwelt there. (3) And a man said to his neighbour, Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire. And the brick was to them for stone, and their mortar was bitumen. (4) And they said, Come, let us build to ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall be to heaven, and let us make to ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. (5) And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men built. (6) And the Lord said, Behold, there is one race, and one lip of all, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they may have undertaken to do. (7) Come, and having gone down let us there confound their tongue, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbour. (8) And the Lord scattered them thence over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city and the tower. (9) On this account its name was called Confusion, because there the Lord confounded the languages of all the earth, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth. (10) And these are the generations of Sem: and Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, the second year after the flood. (11) And Sem lived, after he had begotten Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (12) And Arphaxad lived a hundred and thirty-five years, and begot Cainan. (13) And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Cainan, four hundred years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. And Cainan lived a hundred and thirty years and begot Sala; and Canaan lived after he had begotten Sala, three hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (14) And Sala lived an hundred and thirty years, and begot Heber. (15) And Sala lived after he had begotten Heber, three hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (16) And Heber lived an hundred and thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg. (17) And Heber lived after he had begotten Phaleg two hundred and seventy years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (18) And Phaleg lived an hundred and thirty years, and begot Ragau. (19) And Phaleg lived after he had begotten Ragau, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (20) And Ragau lived an hundred thirty and two years, and begot Seruch. (21) And Ragau lived after he had begotten Seruch, two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (22) And Seruch lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot Nachor. (23) And Seruch lived after he had begotten Nachor, two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. (24) And Nachor lived a hundred and seventy-nine years, and begot Tharrha. (25) And Nachor lived after he had begotten Tharrha, an hundred and twenty-five years, and begot sons and daughters, and he died. (26) And Tharrha lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Arrhan. (27) And these are the generations of Tharrha. Tharrha begot Abram and Nachor, and Arrhan; and Arrhan begot Lot. (28) And Arrhan died in the presence of Tharrha his father, in the land in which he was born, in the country of the Chaldees. (29) And Abram and Nachor took to themselves wives, the name of the wife of Abram was Sara, and the name of the wife of Nachor, Malcha, daughter of Arrhan, and he was the father of Malcha, the father of Jescha. (30) And Sara was barren, and did not bear children. (31) And Tharrha took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Arrhan, the son of his son, and Sara his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and led them forth out of the land of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan, and they came as far as Charrhan, and he dwelt there. (32) And all the days of Tharrha in the land of Charrhan were two hundred and five years, and Tharrha died in Charrhan.

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(1) And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. (2) And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. (3) And I will bless those that bless thee, and curse those that curse thee, and in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. (4) And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan. (5) And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Charrhan, and they went forth to go into the land of Chanaan. (6) And Abram traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Sychem, to the high oak, and the Chananites then inhabited the land. (7) And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to thy seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who appeared to him. (8) And he departed thence to the mountain eastward of Bæthel, and there he pitched his tent in Bæthel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord. (9) And Abram departed and went and encamped in the wilderness. (10) And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine prevailed in the land. (11) And it came to pass when Abram drew nigh to enter into Egypt, Abram said to Sara his wife, I know that thou art a fair woman. (12) It shall come to pass then that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife, and they shall slay me, but they shall save thee alive. (13) Say, therefore, I am his sister, that it may be well with me on account of thee, and my soul shall live because of thee. (14) And it came to pass when Abram entered into Egypt—the Egyptians having seen his wife that she was very beautiful— (15) that the princes of Pharao saw her, and praised her to Pharao and brought her into the house of Pharao. (16) And they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, and calves, and asses, and men-servants, and women-servants, and mules, and camels. (17) And God afflicted Pharao with great and severe afflictions, and his house, because of Sara, Abram’s wife. (18) And Pharao having called Abram, said, What is this thou hast done to me, that thou didst not tell me that she was thy wife? (19) Wherefore didst thou say, She is my sister? and I took her for a wife to myself; and now, behold, thy wife is before thee, take her and go quickly away. (20) And Pharao gave charge to men concerning Abram, to join in sending him forward, and his wife, and all that he had.

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(1) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness. (2) And Abram was very rich in cattle, and silver, and gold. (3) And he went to the place whence he came, into the wilderness as far as Bæthel, as far as the place where his tent was before, between Bæthel and Aggai, (4) to the place of the altar, which he built there at first, and Abram there called on the name of the Lord. (5) And Lot who went out with Abram had sheep, and oxen, and tents. (6) And the land was not large enough for them to live together, because their possessions were great; and the land was not large enough for them to live together. (7) And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle, and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle, and the Chananites and the Pherezites then inhabited the land. (8) And Abram said to Lot, Let there not be a strife between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we are brethren. (9) Lo! is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself from me; if thou goest to the left, I will go to the right, and if thou goest to the right, I will go to the left. (10) And Lot having lifted up his eyes, observed all the country round about Jordan, that it was all watered, before God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, as the garden of the Lord, and as the land of Egypt, until thou come to Zogora. (11) And Lot chose for himself all the country round Jordan, and Lot went from the east, and they were separated each from his brother. And Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan. (12) And Lot dwelt in a city of the neighbouring people, and pitched his tent in Sodom. (13) But the men of Sodom were evil, and exceedingly sinful before God. (14) And God said to Abram after Lot was separated from him, Look up with thine eyes, and behold from the place where thou now art northward and southward, and eastward and seaward; (15) for all the land which thou seest, I will give it to thee and to thy seed for ever. (16) And I will make thy seed like the dust of the earth; if any one is able to number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed be numbered. (17) Arise and traverse the land, both in the length of it and in the breadth; for to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. (18) And Abram having removed his tent, came and dwelt by the oak of Mambre, which was in Chebrom, and he there built an altar to the Lord.

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(1) And it came to pass in the reign of Amarphal king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, that Chodollogomor king of Elam, and Thargal king of nations, (2) made war with Balla king of Sodom, and with Barsa king of Gomorrha, and with Sennaar, king of Adama, and with Symobor king of Seboim and the king of Balac, this is Segor. (3) All these met with one consent at the salt valley; this is now the sea of salt. (4) Twelve years they served Chodollogomor, and the thirteenth year they revolted.(5) And in the fourteenth year came Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, and cut to pieces the giants in Astaroth, and Carnain, and strong nations with them, and the Ommæans in the city Save. (6) And the Chorrhæans in the mountains of Seir, to the turpentine tree of Pharan, which is in the desert. (7) And having turned back they came to the well of judgment; this is Cades, and they cut in pieces all the princes of Amalec, and the Amorites dwelling in Asasonthamar. (8) And the king of Sodom went out, and the king of Gomorrha, and king of Adama, and king of Seboim, and king of Balac, this is Segor, and they set themselves in array against them for war in the salt valley, (9) against Chodollogomor king of Elam, and Thargal king of nations, and Amarphal king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, the four kings against the five. (10) Now the salt valley consists of slime-pits. And the king of Sodom fled and the king of Gomorrha, and they fell in there: and they that were left fled to the mountain country. (11) And they took all the cavalry of Sodom and Gomorrha, and all their provisions, and departed. (12) And they took also Lot the son of Abram’s brother, and his baggage, and departed, for he dwelt in Sodom. (13) And one of them that had been rescued came and told Abram the Hebrew; and he dwelt by the oak of Mamre the Amorite the brother of Eschol, and the brother of Aunan, who were confederates with Abram. (14) And Abram having heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, numbered his own home-born servants three hundred and eighteen, and pursued after them to Dan. (15) And he came upon them by night, he and his servants, and he smote them and pursued them as far as Choba, which is on the left of Damascus. (16) And he recovered all the cavalry of Sodom, and he recovered Lot his nephew, and all his possessions, and the women and the people. (17) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, to the valley of Saby, this was the plain of the kings. (18) And Melchisedec king of Salem brought forth loaves and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, who made heaven and earth, (20) and blessed be the most high God who delivered thine enemies into thy power. And Abram gave him the tithe of all. (21) And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the men, and take the horses to thyself. (22) And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I will stretch out my hand to the Lord the most high God, who made the heaven and the earth, (23) that I will not take from all thy goods from a string to a shoe-latchet, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich. (24) Except what things the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Eschol, Aunan, Mambre, these shall take a portion.

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(1) And after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I shield thee, thy reward shall be very great. (2) And Abram said, Master and Lord, what wilt thou give me? whereas I am departing without a child, but the son of Masek my home-born female slave, this Eliezer of Damascus is mine heir. (3) And Abram said, I am grieved since thou hast given me no seed, but my home-born servant shall succeed me. (4) And immediately there was a voice of the Lord to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come out of thee shall be thine heir. (5) And he brought him out and said to him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars, if thou shalt be able to number them fully, and he said, Thus shall thy seed be. (6) And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. (7) And he said to him, I am God that brought thee out of the land of the Chaldeans, so as to give thee this land to inherit. (8) And he said, Master and Lord, how shall I know that I shall inherit it? (9) And he said to him, Take for me an heifer in her third year, and a she-goat in her third year, and a ram in his third year, and a dove and a pigeon. (10) So he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and set them opposite to each other, but the birds he did not divide. (11) And birds came down upon the bodies, even upon the divided parts of them, and Abram sat down by them. (12) And about sunset a trance fell upon Abram, and lo! a great gloomy terror falls upon him. (13) And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. (14) And the nation whomsoever they shall serve I will judge; and after this, they shall come forth hither with much property. (15) But thou shalt depart to thy fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age. (16) And in the fourth generation they shall return hither, for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up, even until now. (17) And when the sun was about to set, there was a flame, and behold a smoking furnace and lamps of fire, which passed between these divided pieces. (18) In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To thy seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. (19) The Kenites, and the Kenezites, and the Kedmoneans, (20) and the Chettites, and the Pherezites, and the Raphaim, (21) and the Amorites, and the Chananites, and the Evites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites.

16

(1) And Sara the wife of Abram bore him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid, whose name was Agar. (2) And Sara said to Abram, Behold, the Lord has restrained me from bearing, go therefore in to my maid, that I may get children for myself through her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sara. (3) So Sara the wife of Abram having taken Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Chanaan, gave her to Abram her husband as a wife to him. (4) And he went in to Agar, and she conceived, and saw that she was with child, and her mistress was dishonoured before her. (5) And Sara said to Abram, I am injured by thee; I gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and when I saw that she was with child, I was dishonoured before her. The Lord judge between me and thee. (6) And Abram said to Sara, Behold thy handmaid is in thy hands, use her as it may seem good to thee. And Sara afflicted her, and she fled from her face. (7) And an angel of the Lord found her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Sur. (8) And the angel of the Lord said to her, Agar, Sara’s maid, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? and she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sara. (9) And the angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. (10) And the angel of the Lord said to her, I will surely multiply thy seed, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. (11) And the angel of the Lord said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ismael, for the Lord hath hearkened to thy humiliation. (12) He shall be a wild man, his hands against all, and the hands of all against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (13) And she called the name of the Lord God who spoke to her, Thou art God who seest me; for she said, For I have openly seen him that appeared to me. (14) Therefore she called the well, The well of him whom I have openly seen; behold it is between Cades and Barad. (15) And Agar bore a son to Abram; and Abram called the name of his son which Agar bore to him, Ismael. (16) And Abram was eighty-six years old, when Agar bore Ismael to Abram.

17

(1) And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am thy God, be well-pleasing before me, and be blameless. (2) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly. (3) And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying, (4) And I, behold! my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of a multitude of nations. (5) And thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraam, for I have made thee a father of many nations. (6) And I will increase thee very exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. (7) And I will establish my covenant between thee and thy seed after thee, to their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be thy God, and the God of thy seed after thee. (8) And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou sojournest, even all the land of Chanaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them a God. (9) And God said to Abraam, Thou also shalt fully keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee for their generations. (10) And this is the covenant which thou shalt fully keep between me and you, and between thy seed after thee for their generations; every male of you shall be circumcised. (11) And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and you. (12) And the child of eight days old shall be circumcised by you, every male throughout your generations, and the servant born in the house and he that is bought with money, of every son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed. (13) He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with money shall be surely circumcised, and my covenant shall be on your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (14) And the uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from its family, for he has broken my covenant. (15) And God said to Abraam, Sara thy wife—her name shall not be called Sara, Sarrha shall be her name. (16) And I will bless her, and give thee a son of her, and I will bless him, and he shall become nations, and kings of nations shall be of him. (17) And Abraam fell upon his face, and laughed; and spoke in his heart, saying, Shall there be a child to one who is a hundred years old, and shall Sarrha who is ninety years old, bear? (18) And Abraam said to God, Let this Ismael live before thee. (19) And God said to Abraam, Yea, behold, Sarrha thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to him and to his seed after him. (20) And concerning Ismael, behold, I have heard thee, and, behold, I have blessed him, and will increase him and multiply him exceedingly; twelve nations shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (21) But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarrha shall bear to thee at this time, in the next year. (22) And he left off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraam. (23) And Abraam took Ismael his son, and all his home-born servants, and all those bought with money, and every male of the men in the house of Abraam, and he circumcised their foreskins in the time of that day, according as God spoke to him. (24) And Abraam was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (25) And Ismael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (26) And at the period of that day, Abraam was circumcised, and Ismael his son, (27) and all the men of his house, both those born in the house, and those bought with money of foreign nations.

18

(1) And God appeared to him by the oak of Mambre, as he sat by the door of his tent at noon. (2) And he lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! three men stood before him; and having seen them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and did obeisance to the ground. (3) And he said, Lord, if indeed I have found grace in thy sight, pass not by thy servant. (4) Let water now be brought, and let them wash your feet, and do ye refresh yourselves under the tree. (5) And I will bring bread, and ye shall eat, and after this ye shall depart on your journey, on account of which refreshment ye have turned aside to your servant. And he said, So do, as thou hast said. (6) And Abraam hasted to the tent to Sarrha, and said to her, Hasten, and knead three measures of fine flour, and make cakes. (7) And Abraam ran to the kine, and took a young calf, tender and good, and gave it to his servant, and he hasted to dress it. (8) And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed; and he set them before them, and they did eat, and he stood by them under the tree. (9) And he said to him, Where is Sarrha thy wife? And he answered and said, Behold! in the tent. (10) And he said, I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son; and Sarrha heard at the door of the tent, being behind him. (11) And Abraam and Sarrha were old, advanced in days, and the custom of women ceased with Sarrha. (12) And Sarrha laughed in herself, saying, The thing has not as yet happened to me, even until now, and my lord is old. (13) And the Lord said to Abraam, Why is it that Sarrha has laughed in herself, saying, Shall I then indeed bear? but I am grown old. (14) Shall anything be impossible with the Lord? At this time I will return to thee seasonably, and Sarrha shall have a son. (15) But Sarrha denied, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said to her, Nay, but thou didst laugh. (16) And the men having risen up from thence looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha. And Abraam went with them, attending them on their journey. (17) And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraam my servant what things I intend to do? (18) But Abraam shall become a great and populous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blest. (19) For I know that he will order his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraam all things whatsoever he has spoken to him. (20) And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very great. (21) I will therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to me, and if not, that I may know. (22) And the men having departed thence, came to Sodom; And Abraam was still standing before the Lord. (23) And Abraam drew nigh and said, Wouldest thou destroy the righteous with the wicked, and shall the righteous be as the wicked? (24) Should there be fifty righteous in the city, wilt thou destroy them? wilt thou not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they be in it? (25) By no means shalt thou do as this thing is so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, so the righteous shall be as the wicked: by no means. Thou that judgest the whole earth, shalt thou not do right? (26) And the Lord said, If there should be in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole city, and the whole place for their sakes. (27) And Abraam answered and said, Now I have begun to speak to my Lord, and I am earth and ashes. (28) But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, wilt thou destroy the whole city because of the five wanting? And he said I, will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five. (29) And he continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the forty’s sake. (30) And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the thirty’s sake. (31) And he said, Since I am able to speak to the Lord, what if there should be found there twenty? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there twenty. (32) And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet once? but if there should be found there ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake. (33) And the Lord departed, when he left off speaking to Abraam, and Abraam returned to his place.

19

(1) And the two angels came to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat by the gate of Sodom, and Lot having seen them, rose up to meet them, and he worshipped with his face to the ground, and said, (2) Lo! my lords, turn aside to the house of your servant, and rest from your journey, and wash your feet, and having risen early in the morning ye shall depart on your journey. And they said, Nay, but we will lodge in the street. (3) And he constrained them, and they turned aside to him, and they entered into his house, and he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened cakes for them, and they did eat. (4) But before they went to sleep, the men of the city, the Sodomites, compassed the house, both young and old, all the people together. (5) And they called out Lot, and they said to him, Where are the men that went in to thee this night? bring them out to us that we may be with them. (6) And Lot went out to them to the porch, and he shut the door after him, (7) and said to them, By no means, brethren, do not act villanously. (8) But I have two daughters, who have not known a man. I will bring them out to you, and do ye use them as it may please you, only do not injury to these men, to avoid which they came under the shelter of my roof. (9) And they said to him, Stand back there, thou camest in to sojourn, was it also to judge? Now then we would harm thee more than them. And they pressed hard on the man, even Lot, and they drew nigh to break the door. (10) And the men stretched forth their hands and drew Lot in to them into the house, and shut the door of the house. (11) And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, and they were wearied with seeking the door. (12) And the men said to Lot, Hast thou here sons-in-law, or sons or daughters, or if thou hast any other friend in the city, bring them out of this place. (13) For we are going to destroy this place; for their cry has been raised up before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it. (14) And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law who had married his daughters, and said, Rise up, and depart out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city; but he seemed to be speaking absurdly before his sons-in-law. (15) But when it was morning, the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise and take thy wife, and thy two daughters whom thou hast, and go forth; lest thou also be destroyed with the iniquities of the city. (16) And they were troubled, and the angels laid hold on his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, in that the Lord spared him. (17) And it came to pass when they brought them out, that they said, Save thine own life by all means; look not round to that which is behind, nor stay in all the country round about, escape to the mountain, lest perhaps thou be overtaken together with them. (18) And Lot said to them, I pray, Lord, (19) since thy servant has found mercy before thee, and thou hast magnified thy righteousness, in what thou doest towards me that my soul may live,—but I shall not be able to escape to the mountain, lest perhaps the calamity overtake me and I die. (20) Behold this city is near for me to escape thither, which is a small one, and there shall I be preserved, is it not little? and my soul shall live because of thee. (21) And he said to him, Behold, I have had respect to thee also about this thing, that I should not overthrow the city about which thou hast spoken. (22) Hasten therefore to escape thither, for I shall not be able to do anything until thou art come thither; therefore he called the name of that city, Segor. (23) The sun was risen upon the earth, when Lot entered into Segor. (24) And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. (25) And he overthrew these cities, and all the country round about, and all that dwelt in the cities, and the plants springing out of the ground. (26) And his wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (27) And Abraam rose up early to go to the place, where he had stood before the Lord. (28) And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and towards the surrounding country, and saw, and behold a flame went up from the earth, as the smoke of a furnace. (29) And it came to pass that when God destroyed all the cities of the region round about, God remembered Abraam, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when the Lord overthrew those cities in which Lot dwelt. (30) And Lot went up out of Segor; and dwelt in the mountain, he and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Segor, and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him. (31) And the elder said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no one on the earth who shall come in to us, as it is fit in all the earth. (32) Come and let us make our father drink wine, and let us sleep with him, and let us raise up seed from our father. (33) So they made their father drink wine in that night, and the elder went in and lay with her father that night, and he knew not when he slept and when he rose up. (34) And it came to pass on the morrow, that the elder said to the younger, Behold, I slept yesternight with our father, let us make him drink wine in this night also, and do thou go in and sleep with him, and let us raise up seed of our father. (35) So they made their father drink wine in that night also, and the younger went in and slept with her father, and he knew not when he slept, nor when he arose. (36) And the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father. (37) And the elder bore a son, and called his name Moab, saying, He is of my father. This is the father of the Moabites to this present day. (38) And the younger also bore a son, and called his name Amman, saying, the son of my family. This is the father of the Ammanites to this present day.

20

(1) And Abraam removed thence to the southern country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara. (2) And Abraam said concerning Sarrha his wife, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerara sent and took Sarrha. (3) And God came to Abimelech by night in sleep, and said, Behold, thou diest for the woman, whom thou hast taken, whereas she has lived with a husband. (4) But Abimelech had not touched her, and he said, Lord, wilt thou destroy an ignorantly sinning and just nation? (5) Said he not to me, She is my sister, and said she not to me, He is my brother? with a pure heart and in the righteousness of my hands have I done this. (6) And God said to him in sleep, Yea, I knew that thou didst this with a pure heart, and I spared thee, so that thou shouldest not sin against me, therefore I suffered thee not to touch her. (7) But now return the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; but if thou restore her not, know that thou shalt die and all thine. (8) And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears, and all the men feared exceedingly. (9) And Abimelech called Abraam and said to him, What is this that thou hast done to us? Have we sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? Thou hast done to me a deed, which no one ought to do. (10) And Abimelech said to Abraam, What hast thou seen in me that thou hast done this? (11) And Abraam said, Why I said, Surely there is not the worship of God in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife. (12) For truly she is my sister by my father, but not by my mother, and she became my wife. (13) And it came to pass when God brought me forth out of the house of my father, that I said to her, This righteousness thou shalt perform to me, in every place into which we may enter, say of me, He is my brother. (14) And Abimelech took a thousand pieces of silver, and sheep, and calves, and servants, and maid-servants, and gave them to Abraam, and he returned him Sarrha his wife. (15) And Abimelech said to Abraam, Behold, my land is before thee, dwell wheresoever it may please thee. (16) And to Sarrha he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver, those shall be to thee for the price of thy countenance, and to all the women with thee, and speak the truth in all things. (17) And Abraam prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his women servants, and they bore children. (18) Because the Lord had fast closed from without every womb in the house of Abimelech, because of Sarrha Abraam’s wife.

21

(1) And the Lord visited Sarrha, as he said, and the Lord did to Sarrha, as he spoke. (2) And she conceived and bore to Abraam a son in old age, at the set time according as the Lord spoke to him. (3) And Abraam called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarrha bore to him, Isaac. (4) And Abraam circumcised Isaac on the eighth day, as God commanded him. (5) And Abraam was a hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him. (6) And Sarrha said, The Lord has made laughter for me, for whoever shall hear shall rejoice with me. (7) And she said, Who shall say to Abraam that Sarrha suckles a child? for I have born a child in my old age. (8) And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraam made a great feast the day that his son Isaac was weaned. (9) And Sarrha having seen the son of Agar the Egyptian who was born to Abraam, sporting with Isaac her son, (10) then she said to Abraam, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not inherit with my son Isaac. (11) But the word appeared very hard before Abraam concerning his son. (12) But God said to Abraam, Let it not be hard before thee concerning the child, and concerning the bondwoman; in all things whatsoever Sarrha shall say unto thee, hear her voice, for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (13) And moreover I will make the son of this bondwoman a great nation, because he is thy seed. (14) And Abraam rose up in the morning and took loaves and a skin of water, and gave them to Agar, and he put the child on her shoulder, and sent her away, and she having departed wandered in the wilderness near the well of the oath. (15) And the water failed out of the skin, and she cast the child under a fir tree. (16) And she departed and sat down opposite him at a distance, as it were a bow-shot, for she said, Surely I cannot see the death of my child: and she sat opposite him, and the child cried aloud and wept. (17) And God heard the voice of the child from the place where he was, and an angel of God called Agar out of heaven, and said to her, What is it, Agar? fear not, for God has heard the voice of the child from the place where he is. (18) Rise up, and take the child, and hold him in thine hand, for I will make him a great nation. (19) And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of springing water, and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the child drink. (20) And God was with the child, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (21) And he dwelt in the wilderness, and his mother took him a wife out of Pharan of Egypt. (22) And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech spoke, and Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, to Abraam, saying, God is with thee in all things, whatsoever thou mayest do. (23) Now therefore swear to me by God that thou wilt not injure me, nor my seed, nor my name, but according to the righteousness which I have performed with thee thou shalt deal with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned. (24) And Abraam said, I will swear. (25) And Abraam reproved Abimelech because of the wells of water, which the servants of Abimelech took away. (26) And Abimelech said to him, I know not who has done this thing to thee, neither didst thou tell it me, neither heard I it but only to-day. (27) And Abraam took sheep and calves, and gave them to Abimelech, and both made a covenant. (28) And Abraam set seven ewe-lambs by themselves. (29) And Abimelech said to Abraam, What are these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set alone? (30) And Abraam said, Thou shalt receive the seven ewe-lambs of me, that they may be for me as a witness, that I dug this well. (31) Therefore he named the name of that place, The Well of the Oath, for there they both swore. (32) And they made a covenant at the well of the oath. And there rose up Abimelech, Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the commander-in-chief of his army, and they returned to the land of the Phylistines. (33) And Abraam planted a field at the well of the oath, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. (34) And Abraam sojourned in the land of the Phylistines many days.

22

(1) And it came to pass after these things that God tempted Abraam, and said to him, Abraam, Abraam; and he said, Lo! I am here. (2) And he said, Take thy son, the beloved one, whom thou hast loved—Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there for a whole-burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (3) And Abraam rose up in the morning and saddled his ass, and he took with him two servants, and Isaac his son, and having split wood for a whole-burnt-offering, he arose and departed, and came to the place of which God spoke unto him, (4) on the third day; and Abraam having lifted up his eyes, saw the place afar off. (5) And Abraam said to his servants, Sit ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will proceed thus far, and having worshipped we will return to you. (6) And Abraam took the wood of the whole-burnt-offering, and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took into his hands both the fire and the knife, and the two went together. (7) And Isaac said to Abraam his father, Father. And he said, What is it, son? And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, where is the sheep for a whole-burnt-offering? (8) And Abraam said, God will provide himself a sheep for a whole-burnt-offering, my son. And both having gone together, (9) came to the place which God spoke of to him; and there Abraam built the altar, and laid the wood on it, and having bound the feet of Isaac his son together, he laid him on the altar upon the wood. (10) And Abraam stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son. (11) And an angel of the Lord called him out of heaven, and said, Abraam, Abraam. And he said, Behold, I am here. (12) And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything to him, for now I know that thou fearest God, and for my sake thou hast not spared thy beloved son. (13) And Abraam lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! a ram caught by his horns in a plant of Sabec; and Abraam went and took the ram, and offered him up for a whole-burnt-offering in the place of Isaac his son. (14) And Abraam called the name of that place, The Lord hath seen; that they might say to-day, In the mount the Lord was seen. (15) And an angel of the Lord called Abraam the second time out of heaven, (16) saying, I have sworn by myself, says the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and on my account hast not spared thy beloved son, (17) surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is by the shore of the sea, and thy seed shall inherit the cities of their enemies. (18) And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast hearkened to my voice. (19) And Abraam returned to his servants, and they arose and went together to the well of the oath; and Abraam dwelt at the well of the oath. (20) And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Abraam, saying, Behold, Melcha herself too has born sons to Nachor thy brother, (21) Uz the first-born, and Baux his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians, and Chazad, and (22) Azav and Phaldes, and Jeldaph, and Bathuel, and Bathuel begot Rebecca; (23) these are eight sons, which Melcha bore to Nachor the brother of Abraam. (24) And his concubine whose name was Rheuma, she also bore Tabec, and Taam, and Tochos, and Mocha.

23

(1) And the life of Sarrha was an hundred and twenty-seven years. (2) And Sarrha died in the city of Arboc, which is in the valley, this is Chebron in the land of Chanaan; and Abraam came to lament for Sarrha and to mourn. (3) And Abraam stood up from before his dead; and Abraam spoke to the sons of Chet, saying, (4) I am a sojourner and a stranger among you, give me therefore possession of a burying-place among you, and I will bury my dead away from me. (5) And the sons of Chet answered to Abraam, saying, Not so, Sir, (6) but hear us; thou art in the midst of us a king from God; bury thy dead in our choice sepulchres, for not one of us will by any means withhold his sepulchre from thee, so that thou shouldest not bury thy dead there. (7) And Abraam rose up and did obeisance to the people of the land, to the sons of Chet. (8) And Abraam spoke to them, saying, If ye have it in your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hearken to me, and speak for me to Ephron the son of Saar. (9) And let him give me the double cave which he has, which is in a part of his field, let him give it me for the money it is worth for possession of a burying-place among you. (10) Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Chet, and Ephron the Chettite answered Abraam and spoke in the hearing of the sons of Chet, and of all who entered the city, saying, (11) Attend to me, my lord, and hear me, I give to thee the field and the cave which is in it; I have given it thee before all my countrymen; bury thy dead. (12) And Abraam did obeisance before the people of the land. (13) And he said in the ears of Ephron before the people of the land, Since thou art on my side, hear me; take the price of the field from me, and I will bury my dead there. (14) But Ephron answered Abraam, saying, (15) Nay, my lord, I have heard indeed, the land is worth four hundred silver didrachms, but what can this be between me and thee? nay, do thou bury thy dead. (16) And Abraam hearkened to Ephron, and Abraam rendered to Ephron the money, which he mentioned in the ears of the sons of Chet, four hundred didrachms of silver approved with merchants. (17) And the field of Ephron, which was in Double Cave, which is opposite Mambre, the field and the cave, which was in it, and every tree which was in the field, and whatever is in its borders round about, were made sure (18) to Abraam for a possession, before the sons of Chet, and all that entered into the city. (19) After this Abraam buried Sarrha his wife in the Double Cave of the field, which is opposite Mambre, this is Chebron in the land of Chanaan. (20) So the field and the cave which was in it were made sure to Abraam for possession of a burying place, by the sons of Chet.

24

(1) And Abraam was old, advanced in days, and the Lord blessed Abraam in all things. (2) And Abraam said to his servant the elder of his house, who had rule over all his possessions, Put thy hand under my thigh, (3) and I will adjure thee by the Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Chananites, with whom I dwell, in the midst of them. (4) But thou shalt go instead to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son Isaac. (5) And the servant said to him, Shall I carry back thy son to the land whence thou camest forth, if haply the woman should not be willing to return with me to this land? (6) And Abraam said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou carry not my son back thither. (7) The Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of the land whence I sprang, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, I will give this land to thee and to thy seed, he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife to my son from thence. (8) And if the woman should not be willing to come with thee into this land, thou shalt be clear from my oath, only carry not my son thither again. (9) And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraam, and swore to him concerning this matter. (10) And the servant took ten camels of his master’s camels, and he took of all the goods of his master with him, and he arose and went into Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor. (11) And he rested his camels without the city by the well of water towards evening, when damsels go forth to draw water. (12) And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraam, prosper my way before me to day, and deal mercifully with my master Abraam. (13) Lo! I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of them that inhabit the city come forth to draw water. (14) And it shall be, the virgin to whomsoever I shall say, Incline thy water-pot, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink thou, and I will give thy camels drink, until they shall have done drinking—even this one thou hast prepared for thy servant Isaac, and hereby shall I know that thou hast dealt mercifully with my master Abraam. (15) And it came to pass before he had done speaking in his mind, that behold, Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, the wife of Nachor, and the same the brother of Abraam, came forth, having a water-pot on her shoulders. (16) And the virgin was very beautiful in appearance, she was a virgin, a man had not known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her water-pot, and came up. (17) And the servant ran up to meet her, and said, Give me a little water to drink out of thy pitcher; (18) and she said, Drink, Sir; and she hasted, and let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him to drink, till he ceased drinking. (19) And she said, I will also draw water for thy camels, till they shall all have drunk. (20) And she hasted, and emptied the water-pot into the trough, and ran to the well to draw again, and drew water for all the camels. (21) And the man took great notice of her, and remained silent to know whether the Lord had made his way prosperous or not. (22) And it came to pass when all the camels ceased drinking, that the man took golden ear-rings, each of a drachm weight, and he put two bracelets on her hands, their weight was of ten pieces of gold. (23) And he asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me if there is room for us to lodge with thy father. (24) And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bathuel the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor. (25) And she said to him, We have both straw and much provender, and a place for resting. (26) And the man being well pleased, worshipped the Lord, (27) and said, Blessed be the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has not suffered his righteousness to fail, nor his truth from my master, and the Lord has brought me prosperously to the house of the brother of my lord. (28) And the damsel ran and reported to the house of her mother according to these words. (29) And Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man, to the well. (30) And it came to pass when he saw the earrings and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus the man spoke to me, that he went to the man, as he stood by the camels at the well. (31) And he said to him, Come in hither, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without, whereas I have prepared the house and a place for the camels? (32) And the man entered into the house, and unloaded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were with him. (33) And he set before them loaves to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he said, Speak on. (34) And he said, I am a servant of Abraam; (35) and the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he is exalted, and he has given him sheep, and calves, and silver, and gold, servants and servant-maids, camels, and asses. (36) And Sarrha my master’s wife bore one son to my master after he had grown old; and he gave him whatever he had. (37) And my master caused me to swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Chananites, among whom I sojourn in their land. (38) But thou shalt go to the house of my father, and to my tribe, and thou shalt take thence a wife for my son. (39) And I said to my master, Haply the woman shall not go with me. (40) And he said to me, The Lord God to whom I have been acceptable in his presence, himself shall send out his angel with thee, and shall prosper thy journey, and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my tribe, and of the house of my father. (41) Then shalt thou be clear from my curse, for whensoever thou shalt have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to thee, then shalt thou be clear from my oath. (42) And having come this day to the well, I said, Lord God of my master Abraam, if thou prosperest my journey on which I am now going, (43) behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come forth to draw water, and it shall be that the damsel to whom I shall say, Give me a little water to drink out of thy pitcher, (44) and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will draw water for thy camels, this shall be the wife whom the Lord has prepared for his own servant Isaac; and hereby shall I know that thou hast wrought mercy with my master Abraam. (45) And it came to pass before I had done speaking in my mind, straightway Rebecca came forth, having her pitcher on her shoulders; and she went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me to drink. (46) And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her arm from her head, and said, Drink thou, and I will give thy camels drink; and I drank, and she gave the camels drink. (47) And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me; and she said, I am daughter of Bathuel the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him; and I put on her the ear-rings, and the bracelets on her hands. (48) And being well-pleased I worshipped the Lord, and I blessed the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has prospered me in a true way, so that I should take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. (49) If then ye will deal mercifully and justly with my lord, tell me, and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. (50) And Laban and Bathuel answered and said, This matter has come forth from the Lord, we shall not be able to answer thee bad or good. (51) Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go away, and let her be wife to the son of thy master, as the Lord has said. (52) And it came to pass when the servant of Abraam heard these words, he bowed himself to the Lord down to the earth. (53) And the servant having brought forth jewels of silver and gold and raiment, gave them to Rebecca, and gave gifts to her brother, and to her mother. (54) And both he and the men with him ate and drank and went to sleep. And he arose in the morning and said, Send me away, that I may go to my master. (55) And her brethren and her mother said, Let the virgin remain with us about ten days, and after that she shall depart. (56) But he said to them, Hinder me not, for the Lord has prospered my journey for me; send me away, that I may depart to my master. (57) And they said, Let us call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. (58) And they called Rebecca, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? and she said, I will go. (59) So they sent forth Rebecca their sister, and her goods, and the servant of Abraam, and his attendants. (60) And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; become thou thousands of myriads and let thy seed possess the cities of their enemies. (61) And Rebecca rose up and her maidens, and they mounted the camels and went with the man; and the servant having taken up Rebecca, departed. (62) And Isaac went through the wilderness to the well of the vision, and he dwelt in the land toward the south. (63) And Isaac went forth into the plain toward evening to meditate; and having lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming. (64) And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and saw Isaac; and she alighted briskly from the camel, (65) and said to the servant, Who is that man that walks in the plain to meet us? And the servant said, This is my master; and she took her veil and covered herself. (66) And the servant told Isaac all that he had done. (67) And Isaac went into the house of his mother, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted for Sarrha his mother.

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(1) And Abraam again took a wife, whose name was Chettura. (2) And she bore to him Zombran, and Jezan, and Madal, and Madiam, and Jesboc, and Soie. (3) And Jezan begot Saba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Assurians and the Latusians, and Laomim. (4) And the sons of Madiam were Gephar and Aphir, and Enoch, and Abeida, and Eldaga; all these were sons of Chettura. (5) But Abraam gave all his possessions to Isaac his son. (6) But to the sons of his concubines Abraam gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, while he was yet living, to the east into the country of the east. (7) And these were the years of the days of the life of Abraam as many as he lived, a hundred and seventy-five years. (8) And Abraam failing died in a good old age, an old man and full of days, and was added to his people. (9) And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double cave, in the field of Ephron the son of Saar the Chettite, which is over against Mambre: (10) even the field and the cave which Abraam bought of the sons of Chet; there they buried Abraam and Sarrha his wife. (11) And it came to pass after Abraam was dead, that God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac dwelt by the well of the vision. (12) And these are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraam, whom Agar the Egyptian the hand-maid of Sarrha bore to Abraam. (13) And these are the names of the sons of Ismael, according to the names of their generations. The first-born of Ismael, Nabaioth, and Kedar, and Nabdeel, and Massam, (14) and Masma, and Duma, and Masse, (15) and Choddan, and Thæman, and Jetur, and Naphes, and Kedma. (16) These are the sons of Ismael, and these are their names in their tents and in their dwellings, twelve princes according to their nations. (17) And these are the years of the life of Ismael, a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he failed and died, and was added to his fathers. (18) And he dwelt from Evilat unto Sur, which is opposite Egypt, until one comes to the Assyrians; he dwelt in the presence of all his brethren. (19) And these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraam. (20) Abraam begot Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebecca, daughter of Bathuel the Syrian, out of Syrian Mesopotamia, sister of Laban the Syrian. (21) And Isaac prayed the Lord concerning Rebecca his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and his wife Rebecca conceived in her womb. (22) And the babes leaped within her; and she said, If it will be so with me, why is this to me? And she went to enquire of the Lord. (23) And the Lord said to her, There are two nations in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the elder shall serve the younger. (24) And the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered, and she had twins in her womb. (25) And the first came out red, hairy all over like a skin; and she called his name Esau. (26) And after this came forth his brother, and his hand took hold of the heel of Esau; and she called his name Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca bore them. (27) And the lads grew, and Esau was a man skilled in hunting, dwelling in the country, and Jacob a simple man, dwelling in a house. (28) And Isaac loved Esau, because his venison was his food, but Rebecca loved Jacob. (29) And Jacob cooked pottage, and Esau came from the plain, fainting. (30) And Esau said to Jacob, Let me taste of that red pottage, because I am fainting; therefore his name was called Edom. (31) And Jacob said to Esau, Sell me this day thy birthright. (32) And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die, and for what good does this birthright belong to me? (33) And Jacob said to him, Swear to me this day; and he swore to him; and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. (34) And Jacob gave bread to Esau, and pottage of lentiles; and he ate and drank, and he arose and departed; so Esau slighted his birthright.

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(1) And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine, which was in the time of Abraam; and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Phylistines to Gerara. (2) And the Lord appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt, but dwell in the land, which I shall tell thee of. (3) And sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee, and bless thee, for I will give to thee and to thy seed all this land; and I will establish my oath which I swore to thy father Abraam. (4) And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and I will give to thy seed all this land, and all the nations of the earth shall be blest in thy seed. (5) Because Abraam thy father hearkened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes. (6) And Isaac dwelt in Gerara. (7) And the men of the place questioned him concerning Rebecca his wife, and he said, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the place should slay him because of Rebecca, because she was fair. (8) And he remained there a long time, and Abimelech the king of Gerara leaned to look through the window, and saw Isaac sporting with Rebecca his wife. (9) And Abimelech called Isaac and said to him, Is she then thy wife? why hast thou said, She is my sister? And Isaac, said to him, I did so, for I said, Lest at any time I die on her account. (10) And Abimelech said to him, Why hast thou done this to us? one of my kindred within a little had lain with thy wife, and thou wouldst have brought a sin of ignorance upon us. (11) And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, Every man that touches this man and his wife shall be liable to death. (12) And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found in that year barley an hundred-fold, and the Lord blessed him. (13) And the man was exalted, and advancing he increased, till he became very great. (14) And he had cattle of sheep, and cattle of oxen, and many tilled lands, and the Phylistines envied him. (15) And all the wells which the servants of his father had dug in the time of his father, the Phylistines stopped them, and filled them with earth. (16) And Abimelech said to Isaac, Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we. (17) And Isaac departed thence, and rested in the valley of Gerara, and dwelt there. (18) And Isaac dug again the wells of water, which the servants of his father Abraam had dug, and the Phylistines had stopped them, after the death of his father Abraam; and he gave them names, according to the names by which his father named them. (19) And the servants of Isaac dug in the valley of Gerara, and they found there a well of living water. (20) And the shepherds of Gerara strove with the shepherds of Isaac, saying that the water was theirs; and they called the name of the well, Injury, for they injured him. (21) And having departed thence he dug another well, and they strove also for that; and he named the name of it, Enmity. (22) And he departed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive about that; and he named the name of it, Room, saying, Because now the Lord has made room for us, and has increased us upon the earth. (23) And he went up thence to the well of the oath. (24) And the Lord appeared to him in that night, and said, I am the God of Abraam thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraam thy father. (25) And he built there an altar, and called on the name of the Lord, and there he pitched his tent, and there the servants of Isaac dug a well in the valley of Gerara. (26) And Abimelech came to him from Gerara, and Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the commander-in-chief of his army. (27) And Isaac said to them, Wherefore have ye come to me? whereas ye hated me, and sent me away from you. (28) And they said, We have surely seen that the Lord was with thee, and we said, Let there be an oath between us and thee, and we will make a covenant with thee, (29) that thou shalt do no wrong by us, as we have not abhorred thee, and according as we have treated thee well, and have sent thee forth peaceably; and now thou art blessed of the Lord. (30) And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. (31) And they arose in the morning, and swore each to his neighbour; and Isaac sent them forth, and they departed from him in safety. (32) And it came to pass in that day, that the servants of Isaac came and told him of the well which they had dug; and they said, We have not found water. (33) And he called it, Oath; therefore he called the name of that city, the Well of Oath, until this day. (34) And Esau was forty years old; and he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beoch the Chettite, and Basemath, daughter of Helon the Chettite. (35) And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.

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(1) And it came to pass after Isaac was old, that his eyes were dimmed so that he could not see; and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him, My son; and he said, Behold, I am here. (2) And he said, Behold, I am grown old, and know not the day of my death. (3) Now then take thy weapons, both thy quiver and thy bow, and go into the plain, and get me venison, (4) and make me meats, as I like them, and bring them to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee, before I die. (5) And Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau his son; and Esau went to the plain to procure venison for his father. (6) And Rebecca said to Jacob her younger son, Behold, I heard thy father speaking to Esau thy brother, saying, (7) Bring me venison, and prepare me meats, that I may eat and bless thee before the Lord before I die. (8) Now then, my son, hearken to me, as I command thee. (9) And go to the cattle and take for me thence two kids, tender and good, and I will make them meats for thy father, as he likes. (10) And thou shalt bring them in to thy father, and he shall eat, that thy father may bless thee before he dies. (11) And Jacob said to his mother Rebecca, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I a smooth man. (12) Peradventure my father may feel me, and I shall be before him as one ill-intentioned, and I shall bring upon me a curse, and not a blessing. (13) And his mother said to him, On me be thy curse, Son; only hearken to my voice, and go and bring them me. (14) So he went and took and brought them to his mother; and his mother made meats, as his father liked them. (15) And Rebecca having taken the fine raiment of her elder son Esau which was with her in the house, put it on Jacob her younger son. (16) And she put on his arms the skins of the kids, and on the bare parts of his neck. (17) And she gave the meats, and the loaves which she had prepared, into the hands of Jacob her son. (18) And he brought them to his father, and said, Father; and he said, Behold I am here; who art thou, son? (19) And Jacob said to his father, I, Esau thy first-born, have done as thou toldest me, rise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. (20) And Isaac said to his son, What is this which thou hast quickly found? And he said, That which the Lord thy God presented before me. (21) And Isaac said to Jacob, Draw nigh to me, and I will feel thee, son, if thou art my son Esau or not. (22) And Jacob drew nigh to his father Isaac, and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. (23) And he knew him not, for his hands were as the hands of his brother Esau, hairy; and he blessed him, (24) and he said, Art thou my son Esau? and he said, I am. (25) And he said, Bring hither, and I will eat of thy venison, Son, that my soul may bless thee; and he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank. (26) And Isaac his father said to him, Draw nigh to me, and kiss me, son. (27) And he drew nigh and kissed him, and smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of an abundant field, which the Lord has blessed. (28) And may God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine. (29) And let nations serve thee, and princes bow down to thee, and be thou lord of thy brother, and the sons of thy father shall do thee reverence; accursed is he that curses thee, and blessed is he that blesses thee. (30) And it came to pass after Isaac had ceased blessing his son Jacob, it even came to pass, just when Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. (31) And he also had made meats and brought them to his father; and he said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. (32) And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy first-born son Esau. (33) And Isaac was amazed with very great amazement, and said, Who then is it that has procured venison for me and brought it to me? and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and I have blessed him; and he shall be blessed. (34) And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac, he cried out with a great and very bitter cry, and said, Bless, I pray thee, me also, father. (35) And he said to him, Thy brother has come with subtlety, and taken thy blessing. (36) And he said, Rightly was his name called Jacob, for lo! this second time has he supplanted me; he has both taken my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing; and Esau said to his father, Hast thou not left a blessing for me, father? (37) And Isaac answered and said to Esau, If I have made him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants, and have strengthened him with corn and wine, what then shall I do for thee, Son? (38) And Esau said to his father, Hast thou only one blessing, father? Bless, I pray thee, me also, father. And Isaac being troubled, Esau cried aloud and wept. (39) And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. (40) And thou shalt live by thy sword, and shalt serve thy brother; and there shall be a time when thou shalt break and loosen his yoke from off thy neck. (41) And Esau was angry with Jacob because of the blessing, with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his mind, Let the days of my father’s mourning draw nigh, that I may slay my brother Jacob. (42) And the words of Esau her elder son were reported to Rebecca, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, Esau thy brother threatens thee to kill thee. (43) Now then, my son, hear my voice, and rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia to Laban my brother into Charran. (44) And dwell with him certain days, until thy brother’s anger (45) and rage depart from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him; and I will send and fetch thee thence, lest at any time I should be bereaved of you both in one day. (46) And Rebecca said to Isaac, I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of the sons of Chet; if Jacob shall take a wife of the daughters of this land, wherefore should I live?

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(1) And Isaac having called for Jacob, blessed him, and charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites. (2) Rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia, to the house of Bathuel the father of thy mother, and take to thyself thence a wife of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. (3) And may my God bless thee, and increase thee, and multiply thee, and thou shalt become gatherings of nations. (4) And may he give thee the blessing of my father Abraam, even to thee and to thy seed after thee, to inherit the land of thy sojourning, which God gave to Abraam. (5) So Isaac sent away Jacob, and he went into Mesopotamia to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca the mother of Jacob and Esau. (6) And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Mesopotamia of Syria as he blessed him, to take to himself a wife thence, and that he charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites; (7) and that Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and went to Mesopotamia of Syria. (8) And Esau also having seen that the daughters of Chanaan were evil before his father Isaac, (9) Esau went to Ismael, and took Maeleth the daughter of Ismael, the son of Abraam, the sister of Nabeoth, a wife in addition to his other wives. (10) And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. (11) And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, (12) and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. (13) And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. (14) And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. (15) And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee. (16) And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. (17) And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. (18) And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he had laid there by his head, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. (19) And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Ulam-luz. (20) And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, (21) and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be for a God to me. (22) And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of all whatsoever thou shalt give me, I will tithe a tenth for thee.

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(1) And Jacob started and went to the land of the east to Laban, the son of Bathuel the Syrian, and the brother of Rebecca, mother of Jacob and Esau. (2) And he looks, and behold! a well in the plain; and there were there three flocks of sheep resting at it, for out of that well they watered the flocks, but there was a great stone at the mouth of the well. (3) And there were all the flocks gathered, and they used to roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the flocks, and set the stone again in its place on the mouth of the well. (4) And Jacob said to them, Brethren, whence are ye? and they said, We are of Charrhan. (5) And he said to them, Know ye Laban, the son of Nachor? and they said, We do know him. (6) And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well. And behold Rachel his daughter came with the sheep. (7) And Jacob said, it is yet high day, it is not yet time that the flocks be gathered together; water ye the flocks, depart and feed them. (8) And they said, We shall not be able, until all the shepherds be gathered together, and they shall roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, then we will water the flocks. (9) While he was yet speaking to them, behold, Rachel the daughter of Laban came with her father’s sheep, for she fed the sheep of her father. (10) And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother, that Jacob came and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. (11) And Jacob kissed Rachel, and cried with a loud voice and wept. (12) And he told Rachel that he was the near relative of her father, and the son of Rebecca; and she ran and reported to her father according to these words. (13) And it came to pass when Laban heard the name of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he told Laban all these sayings. (14) And Laban said to him, Thou art of my bones and of my flesh; and he was with him a full month. (15) And Laban said to Jacob, Surely thou shalt not serve me for nothing, because thou art my brother; tell me what thy reward is to be. (16) Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lea, and the name of the younger, Rachel. (17) And the eyes of Lea were weak. But Rachel was beautiful in appearance, and exceedingly fair in countenance. (18) And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for thy younger daughter Rachel. (19) And Laban said to him, It is better that I should give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man; dwell with me. (20) And Jacob served for Rachel seven years, and they were before him as a few days, by reason of his loving her. (21) And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. (22) And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a marriage-feast. (23) And it was even, and he took his daughter Lea, and brought her in to Jacob, and Jacob went in to her. (24) And Laban gave to his daughter Lea, Zelpha his handmaid, as a handmaid for her. (25) And it was morning, and behold it was Lea; and Jacob said to Laban, What is this that thou hast done unto me? did I not serve thee for Rachel? and wherefore hast thou deceived me? (26) And Laban answered, It is not done thus in our country, to give the younger before the elder. (27) Fulfil then her sevens, and I will give to thee her also in return for thy labour, which thou labourest with me, yet seven other years. (28) And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her sevens; and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to wife. (29) And Laban gave to his daughter his handmaid Balla, for a handmaid to her. (30) And he went in to Rachel; and he loved Rachel more than Lea; and he served him seven other years. (31) And when the Lord God saw that Lea was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. (32) And Lea conceived and bore a son to Jacob; and she called his name, Ruben; saying, Because the Lord has looked on my humiliation, and has given me a son, now then my husband will love me. (33) And she conceived again, and bore a second son to Jacob; and she said, Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given to me this one also; and she called his name, Simeon. (34) And she conceived yet again, and bore a son, and said, In the present time my husband will be with me, for I have born him three sons; therefore she called his name, Levi. (35) And having conceived yet again, she bore a son, and said, Now yet again this time will I give thanks to the Lord; therefore she called his name, Juda; and ceased bearing.

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(1) And Rachel having perceived that she bore Jacob no children, was jealous of her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children; and if not, I shall die. (2) And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, Am I in the place of God, who has deprived thee of the fruit of the womb? (3) And Rachel said to Jacob, Behold my handmaid Balla, go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I also shall have children by her. (4) And she gave him Balla her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her. (5) And Balla, Rachel’s maid, conceived, and bore Jacob a son. (6) And Rachel said, God has given judgment for me, and hearkened to my voice, and has given me a son, therefore she called his name, Dan. (7) And Balla, Rachel’s maid, conceived yet again, and bore a second son to Jacob. (8) And Rachel said, God has helped me, and I contended with my sister and prevailed; and she called his name, Nephthalim. (9) And Lea saw that she ceased from bearing, and she took Zelpha her maid, and gave her to Jacob for a wife; and he went in to her. (10) And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived, and bore Jacob a son. (11) And Lea said, It is happily: and she called his name, Gad. (12) And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived yet again, and bore Jacob a second son. (13) And Lea said, I am blessed, for the women will pronounce me blessed; and she called his name, Aser. (14) And Ruben went in the day of barley-harvest, and found apples of mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Lea; and Rachel said to Lea her sister, Give me of thy son’s mandrakes. (15) And Lea said, Is it not enough for thee that thou hast taken my husband, wilt thou also take my son’s mandrakes? And Rachel said, Not so: let him lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. (16) And Jacob came in out of the field at even; and Lea went forth to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in to me this day, for I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes; and he lay with her that night. (17) And God hearkened to Lea, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. (18) And Lea said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar, which is, Reward. (19) And Lea conceived again, and bore Jacob a sixth son. (20) And Lea said, God has given me a good gift in this time; my husband will choose me, for I have born him six sons: and she called his name, Zabulon. (21) And after this she bore a daughter; and she called her name, Dina. (22) And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and he opened her womb. (23) And she conceived, and bore Jacob a son; and Rachel said, God has taken away my reproach. (24) And she called his name Joseph, saying, Let God add to me another son. (25) And it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my land. (26) Restore my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart, for thou knowest the service wherewith I have served thee. (27) And Laban said to him, If I have found grace in thy sight, I would augur well, for the Lord has blessed me at thy coming in. (28) Appoint me thy wages, and I will give them. (29) And Jacob said, Thou knowest in what things I have served thee, and how many cattle of thine are with me. (30) For it was little thou hadst before my time, and it is increased to a multitude, and the Lord God has blessed thee since my coming; now then, when shall I set up also my own house? (31) And Laban said to him, What shall I give thee? and Jacob said to him, Thou shalt not give me anything; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again tend thy flocks and keep them. (32) Let all thy sheep pass by to-day, and separate thence every grey sheep among the rams, and every one that is speckled and spotted among the goats—this shall be my reward. (33) And my righteousness shall answer for me on the morrow, for it is my reward before thee: whatever shall not be spotted and speckled among the goats, and grey among the rams, shall be stolen with me. (34) And Laban said to him, Let it be according to thy word. (35) And he separated in that day the spotted and speckled he-goats, and all the spotted and speckled she-goats, and all that was grey among the rams, and every one that was white among them, and he gave them into the hand of his sons. (36) And he set a distance of a three days’ journey between them and Jacob. And Jacob tended the cattle of Laban that were left behind. (37) And Jacob took to himself green rods of storax tree and walnut and plane-tree; and Jacob peeled in them white stripes; and as he drew off the green, the white stripe which he had made appeared alternate on the rods. (38) And he laid the rods which he had peeled, in the hollows of the watering-troughs, that whensoever the cattle should come to drink, as they should have come to drink before the rods, the cattle might conceive at the rods. (39) So the cattle conceived at the rods, and the cattle brought forth young speckled, and streaked and spotted with ash-coloured spots. (40) And Jacob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram, and every variegated one among the lambs, and he separated flocks for himself alone, and did not mingle them with the sheep of Laban. (41) And it came to pass in the time wherein the cattle became pregnant, conceiving in the belly, Jacob put the rods before the cattle in the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods. (42) But he did not put them in indiscriminately whenever the cattle happened to bring forth, but the unmarked ones were Laban’s, and the marked ones Jacob’s. (43) And the man became very rich, and he had many cattle, and oxen, and servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.

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(1) And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and of our father’s property has he gotten all this glory. (2) And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before. (3) And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee. (4) And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were. (5) And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me. (6) And ye too know that with all my might I have served your father. (7) But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not power to hurt me. (8) If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white. (9) So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me. (10) And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with mine eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots. (11) And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it? (12) And he said, Look up with thine eyes, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to thee. (13) I am God that appeared to thee in the place of God, where thou anointedst a pillar to me, and vowedst to me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of thy nativity, and I will be with thee. (14) And Rachel and Lea answered and said to him, Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father? (15) Are we not considered strangers by him? for he has sold us, and quite devoured our money. (16) All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be our’s and our children’s; now then do whatsoever God has said to thee. (17) And Jacob arose and took his wives and his children up on the camels; (18) and he took away all his possessions and all his store, which he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and all that belonged to him, to depart to Isaac his father in the land of Chanaan. (19) And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole her father’s images. (20) And Jacob hid the matter from Laban the Syrian, so as not to tell him that he ran away. (21) And he departed himself and all that belonged to him, and passed over the river, and went into the mountain Galaad. (22) But it was told Laban the Syrian on the third day, that Jacob was fled. (23) And having taken his brethren with him, he pursued after him seven days’ journey, and overtook him on Mount Galaad. (24) And God came to Laban the Syrian in sleep by night, and said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not at any time to Jacob evil things. (25) And Laban overtook Jacob; and Jacob pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban stationed his brothers in the mount Galaad. (26) And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done? wherefore didst thou run away secretly, and pillage me, and lead away my daughters as captives taken with the sword? (27) Whereas if thou hadst told me, I would have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, and timbrels, and harp. (28) And I was not counted worthy to embrace my children and my daughters; now then thou hast wrought foolishly. (29) And now my hand has power to hurt thee; but the God of thy father spoke to me yesterday, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not evil words to Jacob. (30) Now then go on thy way, for thou hast earnestly desired to depart to the house of thy father; wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? (31) And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid; for I said, Lest at any time thou shouldest take away thy daughters from me, and all my possessions. (32) And Jacob said, With whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, he shall not live in the presence of our brethren; take notice of what I have of thy property, and take it; and he observed nothing with him, but Jacob knew not that his wife Rachel had stolen them. (33) And Laban went in and searched in the house of Lea, and found them not; and he went out of the house of Lea, and searched in the house of Jacob, and in the house of the two maid-servants, and found them not; and he went also into the house of Rachel. (34) And Rachel took the idols, and cast them among the camels’ packs, and sat upon them. (35) And she said to her father, Be not indignant, Sir: I cannot rise up before thee, for it is with me according to the manner of women. Laban searched in all the house, and found not the images. (36) And Jacob was angry, and strove with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my injustice, and what my sin, that thou hast pursued after me, (37) and that thou hast searched all the furniture of my house? what hast thou found of all the furniture of thine house? set it here between thy relations and my relations, and let them decide between us two. (38) These twenty years have I been with thee; thy sheep, and thy she-goats have not failed in bearing; I devoured not the rams of thy cattle. (39) That which was taken of beasts I brought not to thee; I made good of myself the thefts of the day, and the thefts of the night. (40) I was parched with heat by day, and chilled with frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. (41) These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years among thy sheep, and thou didst falsely rate my wages for ten lambs. (42) Unless I had the God of my father Abraam, and the fear of Isaac, now thou wouldest have sent me away empty; God saw my humiliation, and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday. (43) And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the cattle are my cattle, and all things which thou seest are mine, and the property of my daughters; what shall I do to them to-day, or their children which they bore? (44) Now then come, let me make a covenant, both I and thou, and it shall be for a witness between me and thee; and he said to him, Behold, there is no one with us; behold, God is witness between me and thee. (45) And Jacob having taken a stone, set it up for a pillar. (46) And Jacob said to his brethren, Gather stones; and they gathered stones and made a heap; and ate there upon the heap, and Laban said to him, This heap witnesses between me and thee to-day. (47) And Laban called it, the Heap of Testimony; and Jacob called it, the Witness Heap. (48) And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and thee; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called, the Heap witnesses. (49) And the vision of which he said—Let God look to it between me and thee, because we are about to depart from each other,— (50) If thou shalt humble my daughters, if thou shouldest take wives in addition to my daughters, see, there is no one with us looking on. God is witness between me and thee. (51) And Laban said to Jacob, Behold, this heap, and this pillar are a witness. (52) For if I should not cross over unto thee, neither shouldest thou cross over to me, for mischief beyond this heap and this pillar. (53) The God of Abraam and the God of Nachor judge between us; and Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. (54) And he offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren, and they ate and drank, and slept in the mountain. (55) And Laban rose up in the morning, kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban having turned back, departed to his place.

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(1) And Jacob departed for his journey; and having looked up, he saw the host of God encamped; and the angels of God met him. (2) And Jacob said, when he saw them, This is the Camp of God; and he called the name of that place, Encampments. (3) And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, to the country of Edom. (4) And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye say to my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob; I have sojourned with Laban and tarried until now. (5) And there were born to me oxen, and asses, and sheep, and men-servants and women-servants; and I sent to tell my lord Esau, that thy servant might find grace in thy sight. (6) And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and lo! he comes to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. (7) And Jacob was greatly terrified, and was perplexed; and he divided the people that was with him, and the cows, and the camels, and the sheep, into two camps. (8) And Jacob said, If Esau should come to one camp, and smite it, the other camp shall be in safety. (9) And Jacob said, God of my father Abraam, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, thou art he that said to me, Depart quickly to the land of thy birth, and I will do thee good. (10) Let there be to me a sufficiency of all the justice and all the truth which thou hast wrought with thy servant; for with this my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two camps. (11) Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, lest haply he should come and smite me, and the mother upon the children. (12) But thou saidst, I will do thee good, and will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which shall not be numbered for multitude. (13) And he slept there that night, and took of the gifts which he carried with him, and sent out to Esau his brother, (14) two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred sheep, twenty rams, (15) milch camels, and their foals, thirty, forty kine, ten bulls, twenty asses, and ten colts. (16) And he gave them to his servants each drove apart; and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and put a space between drove and drove. (17) And he charged the first, saying, If Esau my brother meet thee, and he ask thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither wouldest thou go, and whose are these possessions advancing before thee? (18) Thou shalt say, Thy servant Jacob’s; he hath sent gifts to my lord Esau, and lo! he is behind us. (19) And he charged the first and the second and the third, and all that went before him after these flocks, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Esau when ye find him; (20) and ye shall say, Behold thy servant Jacob comes after us. For he said, I will propitiate his countenance with the gifts going before his presence, and afterwards I will behold his face, for peradventure he will accept me. (21) So the presents went on before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. (22) And he rose up in that night, and took his two wives and his two servant-maids, and his eleven children, and crossed over the ford of Jaboch. (23) And he took them, and passed over the torrent, and brought over all his possessions. (24) And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him till the morning. (25) And he saw that he prevailed not against him; and he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh was benumbed in his wrestling with him. (26) And he said to him, Let me go, for the day has dawned; but he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (27) And he said to him, What is thy name? and he answered, Jacob. (28) And he said to him, Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; for thou hast prevailed with God, and shalt be mighty with men. (29) And Jacob asked and said, Tell me thy name; and he said, Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? and he blessed him there. (30) And Jacob called the name of that place, the Face of God; for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life was preserved. (31) And the sun rose upon him, when he passed the Face of God; and he halted upon his thigh. (32) Therefore the children of Israel will by no means eat of the sinew which was benumbed, which is on the broad part of the thigh, until this day, because the angel touched the broad part of the thigh of Jacob—even the sinew which was benumbed.

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(1) And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and beheld, and lo! Esau his brother coming, and four hundred men with him; and Jacob divided the children to Lea and to Rachel, and the two handmaidens. (2) And he put the two handmaidens and their children with the first, and Lea and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. (3) But he advanced himself before them, and did reverence to the ground seven times, until he drew near to his brother. (4) And Esau ran on to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept. (5) And Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, What are these to thee? And he said, The children with which God has mercifully blessed thy servant. (6) And the maid-servants and their children drew near and did reverence. (7) And Lea and her children drew near and did reverence; and after this drew near Rachel and Joseph, and did reverence. (8) And he said, What are these things to thee, all these companies that I have met? And he said, That thy servant might find grace in thy sight, my lord. (9) And Esau said, I have much, my brother; keep thine own. (10) And Jacob said, If I have found grace in thy sight, receive the gifts through my hands; therefore have I seen thy face, as if any one should see the face of God, and thou shalt be well-pleased with me. (11) Receive my blessings, which I have brought thee, because God has had mercy on me, and I have all things; and he constrained him, and he took them. (12) And he said, Let us depart, and proceed right onward. (13) And he said to him, My lord knows, that the children are very tender, and the flocks and the herds with me are with young; if then I shall drive them hard one day, all the cattle will die. (14) Let my lord go on before his servant, and I shall have strength on the road according to the ease of the journey before me, and according to the strength of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir. (15) And Esau said, I will leave with thee some of the people who are with me. And he said, Why so? it is enough that I have found favour before thee, my lord. (16) And Esau returned on that day on his journey to Seir. (17) And Jacob departs to his tents; and he made for himself there habitations, and for his cattle he made booths; therefore he called the name of that place, Booths. (18) And Jacob came to Salem, a city of Secima, which is in the land of Chanaan, when he departed out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and took up a position in front of the city. (19) And he bought the portion of the field, where he pitched his tent, of Emmor the father of Sychem, for a hundred lambs. (20) And he set up there an altar, and called on the God of Israel.

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(1) And Dina, the daughter of Lea, whom she bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the daughters of the inhabitants. (2) And Sychem the son of Emmor the Evite, the ruler of the land, saw her, and took her and lay with her, and humbled her. (3) And he was attached to the soul of Dina the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and he spoke kindly to the damsel. (4) Sychem spoke to Emmor his father, saying, Take for me this damsel to wife. (5) And Jacob heard that the son of Emmor had defiled Dina his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the plain). And Jacob was silent until they came. (6) And Emmor the father of Sychem went forth to Jacob, to speak to him. (7) And the sons of Jacob came from the plain; and when they heard, the men were deeply pained, and it was very grievous to them, because the man wrought folly in Israel, having lain with the daughter of Jacob, and so it must not be. (8) And Emmor spoke to them, saying, Sychem my son has chosen in his heart your daughter; give her therefore to him for a wife, (9) and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons. (10) And dwell in the midst of us; and, behold, the land is spacious before you, dwell in it, and trade, and get possessions in it. (11) And Sychem said to her father and to her brothers, I would find grace before you, and we will give whatever ye shall name. (12) Multiply your demand of dowry very much, and I will give accordingly as ye shall say to me, only ye shall give me this damsel for a wife. (13) And the sons of Jacob answered to Sychem and Emmor his father craftily, and spoke to them, because they had defiled Dina their sister. (14) And Symeon and Levi the brothers of Dina, said to them, We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us. (15) Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell among you, if ye also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised. (16) And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race. (17) But if ye will not hearken to us to be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart. (18) And the words pleased Emmor, and Sychem the son of Emmor. (19) And the young man delayed not to do this thing, for he was much attached to Jacob’s daughter, and he was the most honourable of all in his father’s house. (20) And Emmor and Sychem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying, (21) These men are peaceable, let them dwell with us upon the land, and let them trade in it, and behold the land is extensive before them; we will take their daughters to us for wives, and we will give them our daughters. (22) Only on these terms will the men conform to us to dwell with us so as to be one people, if every male of us be circumcised, as they also are circumcised. (23) And shall not their cattle and their herds, and their possessions, be ours? only in this let us conform to them, and they will dwell with us. (24) And all that went in at the gate of their city hearkened to Emmor and Sychem his son, and they were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin every male. (25) And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, the two sons of Jacob, Symeon and Levi, Dina’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city securely, and slew every male. (26) And they slew Emmor and Sychem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dina out of the house of Sychem, and went forth. (27) But the sons of Jacob came upon the wounded, and ravaged the city wherein they had defiled Dina their sister. (28) And their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses they took, and all things whatsoever were in the city, and whatsoever were in the plain. (29) And they took captive all the persons of them, and all their store, and their wives, and plundered both whatever things there were in the city, and whatever things there were in the houses. (30) And Jacob said to Symeon and Levi, Ye have made me hateful so that I should be evil to all the inhabitants of the land, both among the Chananites and the Pherezites, and I am few in number; they will gather themselves against me and cut me in pieces, and I shall be utterly destroyed, and my house. (31) And they said, Nay, but shall they treat our sister as an harlot?

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(1) And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to the place, Bæthel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to the God that appeared to thee, when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. (2) And Jacob said to his house, and to all that were with him, Remove the strange gods that are with you from the midst of you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes. (3) And let us rise and go up to Bæthel, and let us there make an altar to God who hearkened to me in the day of calamity, who was with me, and preserved me throughout in the journey, by which I went. (4) And they gave to Jacob the strange gods, which were in their hands, and the ear-rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the turpentine tree which is in Secima, and destroyed them to this day. (5) So Israel departed from Secima, and the fear of God was upon the cities round about them, and they did not pursue after the children of Israel. (6) And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, which is Bæthel, he and all the people that were with him. (7) And he built there an altar, and called the name of the place Bæthel; for there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau. (8) And Deborrha, Rebecca’s nurse, died, and was buried below Bæthel under the oak; and Jacob called its name, The Oak of Mourning. (9) And God appeared to Jacob once more in Luza, when he came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and God blessed him. (10) And God said to him, Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and he called his name Israel. (11) And God said to him, I am thy God, increase and multiply; for nations and gatherings of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. (12) And the land which I gave to Abraam and Isaac, I have given it to thee; and it shall come to pass that I will give this land also to thy seed after thee. (13) And God went up from him from the place where he spoke with him. (14) And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God spoke with him, even a pillar of stone and offered a libation upon it, and poured oil upon it. (15) And Jacob called the name of the place in which God spoke with him, Bæthel. (16) [And Jacob removed from Bæthel, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Gader,] and it came to pass when he drew nigh to Chabratha, to enter into Ephratha, Rachel travailed; and in her travail she was in hard labour. (17) And it came to pass in her hard labour, that the midwife said to her, Be of good courage, for thou shalt also have this son. (18) And it came to pass in her giving up the ghost (for she was dying), that she called his name, The son of my pain; but his father called his name Benjamin. (19) So Rachel died, and was buried in the way of the course of Ephratha, this is Bethleem. (20) And Jacob set up a pillar on her tomb; this is the pillar on the tomb of Rachel, until this day. (21) And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land, that Ruben went and lay with Balla, the concubine of his father Jacob; and Israel heard, and the thing appeared grievous before him. (22) And the sons of Jacob were twelve. (23) The sons of Lea, the first-born of Jacob; Ruben, Symeon, Levi, Judas, Issachar, Zabulon. (24) And the sons of Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin. (25) And the sons of Balla, the hand-maid of Rachel, Dan and Nephthalim. (26) And the sons of Zelpha, the hand-maid of Lea; Gad and Aser. These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria. (27) And Jacob came to Isaac his father to Mambre, to a city of the plain; this is Chebron in the land of Chanaan, where Abraam and Isaac sojourned. (28) And the days of Isaac which he lived were a hundred and eighty years. (29) And Isaac gave up the ghost and died, and was laid to his family, old and full of days; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.

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(1) And these are the generations of Esau; this is Edom. (2) And Esau took to himself wives of the daughters of the Chananites; Ada, the daughter of Ælom the Chettite; and Olibema, daughter of Ana the son of Sebegon, the Evite; (3) and Basemath, daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabaioth. (4) And Ada bore to him Eliphas; and Basemath bore Raguel. (5) And Olibema bore Jeus, and Jeglom, and Core; these are the sons of Esau, which were born to him in the land of Chanaan. (6) And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and all his possessions, and all his cattle, and all that he had got, and all things whatsoever he had acquired in the land of Chanaan; and Esau went forth from the land of Chanaan, from the face of his brother Jacob. (7) For their substance was too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojourning could not bear them, because of the abundance of their possessions. (8) And Esau dwelt in mount Seir; Esau, he is Edom. (9) And these are the generations of Esau the father of Edom in the mount Seir. (10) And these are the names of the sons of Esau. Eliphas, the son of Ada, the wife of Esau; and Raguel, the son of Basemath, wife of Esau. (11) And the sons of Eliphas were Thæman, Omar, Sophar, Gothom, and Kenez. (12) And Thamna was a concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau; and she bore Amalec to Eliphas. These are the sons of Ada, the wife of Esau. (13) And these are the sons of Raguel; Nachoth, Zare, Some, and Moze. These were the sons of Basemath wife of Esau. (14) And these are the sons of Olibema, the daughter of Ana, the son of Sebegon, the wife of Esau; and she bore to Esau, Jeus, and Jeglom, and Core. (15) These are the chiefs of the son of Esau, even the sons of Eliphas, the first-born of Esau; chief Thæman, chief Omar, chief Sophar, chief Kenez, (16) chief Core, chief Gothom, chief Amalec. These are the chiefs of Eliphas, in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Ada. (17) And these are the sons of Raguel, the son of Esau; chief Nachoth, chief Zare, chief Some, chief Moze. These are the chiefs of Raguel, in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, wife of Esau. (18) And these are the sons of Olibema, wife of Esau; chief Jeus, chief Jeglom, chief Core. These are the chiefs of Olibema, daughter of Ana, wife of Esau. (19) These are the sons of Esau, and these are the chiefs; these are the sons of Edom. (20) And these are the sons of Seir, the Chorrhite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, Sobal, Sebegon, Ana, (21) and Deson, and Asar, and Rison. These are the chiefs of the Chorrhite, the son of Seir, in the land of Edom. (22) And the sons of Lotan were Chorrhi and Hæman; and the sister of Lotan, Thamna. (23) And these are the sons of Sobal; Golam, and Manachath, and Gæbel, and Sophar, and Omar. (24) And these are the sons of Sebegon; Aïe, and Ana; this is the Ana who found Jamin in the wilderness, when he tended the beasts of his father Sebegon. (25) And these are the sons of Ana; Deson—and Olibema was daughter of Ana. (26) And these are the sons of Deson; Amada, and Asban, and Ithran, and Charrhan. (27) And these are the sons of Asar; Balaam, and Zucam, and Jucam. (28) And these are the sons of Rison; Hos, and Aran. (29) And these are the chiefs of Chorri; chief Lotan, chief Sobal, chief Sebegon, chief Ana, (30) chief Deson, chief Asar, chief Rison. These are the chiefs of Chorri, in their principalities in the land of Edom. (31) And these are the kings which reigned in Edom, before a king reigned in Israel. (32) And Balac, son of Beor, reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dennaba. (33) And Balac died; and Jobab, son of Zara, from Bosorrha reigned in his stead. (34) And Jobab died; and Asom, from the land of the Thæmanites, reigned in his stead. (35) And Asom died; and Adad son of Barad, who cut off Madiam in the plain of Moab, ruled in his stead; and the name of his city was Getthaim. (36) And Adad died; and Samada of Massecca reigned in his stead. (37) And Samada died; and Saul of Rhoöboth by the river reigned in his stead. (38) And Saul died; and Ballenon the son of Achobor reigned in his stead. (39) And Ballenon the son of Achobor died; and Arad the son of Barad reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Phogor; and the name of his wife was Metebeel, daughter of Matraith, son of Maizoöb. (40) These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, in their tribes, according to their place, in their countries, and in their nations; chief Thamna, chief Gola, chief Jether, (41) chief Olibema, chief Helas, chief Phinon, (42) chief Kenez, chief Thæman, chief Mazar, (43) chief Magediel, chief Zaphoin. These are the chiefs of Edom in their dwelling-places, in the land of their possession; this is Esau, the father of Edom.

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(36:44) And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned, in the land of Chanaan. (1) And these are the generations of Jacob. And Joseph was seventeen years old, feeding the sheep of his father with his brethren, being young; with the sons of Balla, and with the sons of Zelpha, the wives of his father; and Joseph brought to Israel their father their evil reproach. (2) And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was to him the son of old age; and he made for him a coat of many colours. (3) And his brethren having seen that his father loved him more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him. (4) And Joseph dreamed a dream, and reported it to his brethren. (5) And he said to them, Hear this dream which I have dreamed. (6) I thought ye were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and my sheaf stood up and was erected, and your sheaves turned round, and did obeisance to my sheaf. (7) And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed be lord over us? And they hated him still more for his dreams and for his words. (8) And he dreamed another dream, and related it to his father, and to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream: as it were the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars did me reverence. (9) And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamed? shall indeed both I and thy mother and thy brethren come and bow before thee to the earth? (10) And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. (11) And his brethren went to feed the sheep of their father to Sychem. (12) And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed their flock in Sychem? Come, I will send thee to them; and he said to him, Behold, I am here. (13) And Israel said to him, Go and see if thy brethren and the sheep are well, and bring me word; and he sent him out of the valley of Chebron, and he came to Sychem. (14) And a man found him wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? (15) And he said, I am seeking my brethren; tell me where they feed their flocks. (16) And the man said to him, They have departed hence, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothaim; and Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothaim. (17) And they spied him from a distance before he drew nigh to them, and they wickedly took counsel to slay him. (18) And each said to his brother, Behold, that dreamer comes. (19) Now then come, let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits; and we will say, An evil wild beast has devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams will be. (20) And Ruben having heard it, rescued him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him. (21) And Ruben said to them, Shed not blood; cast him into one of these pits in the wilderness, but do not lay your hand upon him; that he might rescue him out of their hands, and restore him to his father. (22) And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his many-coloured coat that was upon him. (23) And they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, it had not water. (24) And they sat down to eat bread and having lifted up their eyes they beheld, and lo, Ismaelitish travellers came from Galaad, and their camels were heavily loaded with spices, and resin, and myrrh; and they went to bring them to Egypt. (25) And Judas said to his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? (26) Come, let us sell him to these Ismaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren hearkened. (27) And the men, the merchants of Madian, went by, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit; and sold Joseph to the Ismaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt. (28) And Ruben returned to the pit, and sees not Joseph in the pit, and he rent his garments. (29) And he returned to his brethren and said, The boy is not; and I, whither am I yet to go? (30) And having taken the coat of Joseph, they slew a kid of the goats, and stained the coat with the blood. (31) And they sent the coat of many colours; and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found; know if it be thy sons’ coat or no. (32) And he recognised it, and said, It is my son’s coat, an evil wild beast has devoured him; a wild beast has carried off Joseph. (33) And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. (34) And all his sons and his daughters gathered themselves together, and came to comfort him; but he would not be comforted, saying, I will go down to my son mourning to Hades; and his father wept for him. (35) And the Madianites sold Joseph into Egypt; to Petephres, the eunuch of Pharao, captain of the guard.

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(1) And it came to pass at that time that Judas went down from his brethren, and came as far as to a certain man of Odollam, whose name was Iras. (2) And Judas saw there the daughter of a Chananitish man, whose name was Sava; and he took her, and went in to her. (3) And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name, Er. (4) And she conceived and bore a son again; and called his name, Aunan. (5) And she again bore a son; and called his name, Selom; and she was in Chasbi when she bore them. (6) And Judas took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Thamar. (7) And Er, the first-born of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him. (8) And Judas said to Aunan, Go in to thy brother’s wife, and marry her as her brother-in-law, and raise up seed to thy brother. (9) And Aunan, knowing that the seed should not be his—it came to pass when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he spilled it upon the ground, so that he should not give seed to his brother’s wife. (10) And his doing this appeared evil before God; and he slew him also. (11) And Judas said to Thamar, his daughter-in-law, Sit thou a widow in the house of thy father-in-law, until Selom my son be grown; for he said, lest he also die as his brethren; and Thamar departed, and sat in the house of her father. (12) And the days were fulfilled, and Sava the wife of Judas died; and Judas, being comforted, went to them that sheared his sheep, himself and Iras their shepherd the Odollamite, to Thamna. (13) And it was told Thamar his daughter-in-law, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Thamna, to shear his sheep. (14) And having taken off the garments of her widowhood from her, she put on a vail, and ornamented her face, and sat by the gates of Ænan, which is in the way to Thamna, for she saw that Selom was grown; but he gave her not to him for a wife. (15) And when Judas saw her, thought her to be a harlot; for she covered her face, and he knew her not. (16) And he went out of his way to her, and said to her, Let me come in to thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law; and she said, What wilt thou give me if thou shouldest come in to me? (17) And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from my flock; and she said, Well, if thou wilt give me an earnest, until thou send it. (18) And he said, What is the earnest that I shall give thee? and she said, Thy ring, and thy bracelet, and the staff in thy hand; and he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. (19) And she arose and departed, and took her veil from off her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. (20) And Judas sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd the Odollamite, to receive the pledge from the woman; and he found her not. (21) And he asked the men of the place, Where is the harlot who was in Ænan by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot here. (22) And he returned to Judas, and said, I have not found her; and the men of the place say, There is no harlot here. (23) And Judas said, Let her have them, but let us not be ridiculed; I sent this kid, but thou hast not found her. (24) And it came to pass after three months, that it was told Judas, saying, Thamar thy daughter-in-law has grievously played the harlot, and behold she is with child by whoredom; and Judas said, Bring her out, and let her be burnt. (25) And as they were bringing her, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man whose these things are; and she said, See whose is this ring and bracelet and staff. (26) And Judas knew them, and said, Thamar is cleared rather than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Selom my son: and he knew her not again. (27) And it came to pass when she was in labour, that she also had twins in her womb. (28) And it came to pass as she was bringing forth, one thrust forth his hand, and the midwife having taken hold of it, bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This one shall come out first. (29) And when he drew back his hand, then immediately came forth his brother; and she said, Why has the barrier been cut through because of thee? and she called his name, Phares. (30) And after this came forth his brother, on whose hand was the scarlet thread; and she called his name, Zara.

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(1) And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Petephres the eunuch of Pharao, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ismaelites, who brought him down thither. (2) And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house with his lord the Egyptian. (3) And his master knew that the Lord was with him, and the Lord prospers in his hands whatsoever he happens to do. (4) And Joseph found grace in the presence of his lord, and was well-pleasing to him; and he set him over his house, and all that he had he gave into the hand of Joseph. (5) And it came to pass after that he was set over his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all his possessions in the house, and in his field. (6) And he committed all that he had into the hands of Joseph; and he knew not of anything that belonged to him, save the bread which he himself ate. And Joseph was handsome in form, and exceedingly beautiful in countenance. (7) And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, Lie with me. (8) But he would not; but said to his master’s wife, If because of me my master knows nothing in his house, and has given into my hands all things that belong to him: (9) and in this house there is nothing above me, nor has anything been kept back from me, but thou, because thou art his wife—how then shall I do this wicked thing, and sin against God? (10) And when she talked with Joseph day by day, and he hearkened not to her to sleep with her, so as to be with her, (11) it came to pass on a certain day, that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was no one of the household within. (12) And she caught hold of him by his clothes, and said, Lie with me; and having left his clothes in her hands, he fled, and went forth. (13) And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his clothes in her hands, and fled, and gone forth, (14) that she called those that were in the house, and spoke to them, saying, See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew servant to mock us—he came in to me, saying, Lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. (15) And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, having left his clothes with me, he fled, and went forth out. (16) So she leaves the clothes by her, until the master came to his house. (17) And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, whom thou broughtest in to us, came in to me to mock me, and said to me, I will lie with thee. (18) And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, having left his clothes with me, he fled and departed forth. (19) And it came to pass, when his master heard all the words of his wife, that she spoke to him, saying, Thus did thy servant to me, that he was very angry. (20) And his master took Joseph, and cast him into the prison, into the place where the king’s prisoners are kept, there in the prison; (21) And the Lord was with Joseph, and poured down mercy upon him, and he gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison. (22) And the chief keeper of the prison gave the prison into the hand of Joseph, and all the prisonersas many as were in the prison; and all things whatsoever they do there, he did them. (23) Because of him the chief keeper of the prison knew nothing, for all things were in the hand of Joseph, because the Lord was with him; and whatever things he did, the Lord made them to prosper in his hands.

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(1) And it came to pass after these things, that the chief cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the chief baker trespassed against their lord the king of Egypt. (2) And Pharao was wroth with his two eunuchs, with his chief cupbearer, and with his chief baker. (3) And he put them in ward, into the prison, into the place whereinto Joseph had been led. (4) And the chief keeper of the prison committed them to Joseph, and he stood by them; and they were some days in the prison. (5) And they both had a dream in one night; and the vision of the dream of the chief cupbearer and chief baker, who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were in the prison, was this. (6) Joseph went in to them in the morning, and saw them, and they had been troubled. (7) And he asked the eunuchs of Pharao who were with him in the prison with his master, saying, Why is it that your countenances are sad to-day? (8) And they said to him, We have seen a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Is not the interpretation of them through God? tell them then to me. (9) And the chief cupbearer related his dream to Joseph, and said, In my dream a vine was before me. (10) And in the vine were three stems; and it budding shot forth blossoms; the clusters of grapes were ripe. (11) And the cup of Pharao was in my hand; and I took the bunch of grapes, and squeezed it into the cup, and gave the cup into Pharao’s hand. (12) And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it. The three stems are three days. (13) Yet three days and Pharao shall remember thy office, and he shall restore thee to thy place of chief cupbearer, and thou shalt give the cup of Pharao into his hand, according to thy former high place, as thou wast wont to be cupbearer. (14) But remember me of thyself, when it shall be well with thee, and thou shalt deal mercifully with me, and thou shalt make mention of me to Pharao, and thou shalt bring me forth out of this dungeon. (15) For surely I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here I have done nothing, but they have cast me into this pit. (16) And the chief baker saw that he interpreted aright; and he said to Joseph, I also saw a dream, and methought I took up on my head three baskets of mealy food. (17) And in the upper basket there was the work of the baker of every kind which Pharao eats; and the fowls of the air ate them out of the basket that was on my head. (18) And Joseph answered and said to him, This is the interpretation of it; The three baskets are three days. (19) Yet three days, and Pharao shall take away thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds of the sky shall eat thy flesh from off thee. (20) And it came to pass on the third day that it was Pharao’s birth-day, and he made a banquet for all his servants, and he remembered the office of the cupbearer and the office of the baker in the midst of his servants. (21) And he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he gave the cup into Pharao’s hand. (22) And he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph interpreted to them. (23) Yet did not the chief cupbearer remember Joseph, but forgot him.

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(1) And it came to pass after two full years that Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood upon the bank of the river. (2) And lo, there came up as it were out of the river seven cows, fair in appearance, and choice of flesh, and they fed on the sedge. (3) And other seven cows came up after these out of the river, ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, and fed by the other cows on the bank of the river. (4) And the seven ill-favoured and lean cows devoured the seven well-favoured and choice-fleshed cows; and Pharao awoke. (5) And he dreamed again. And, behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, choice and good. (6) And, behold, seven ears thin and blasted with the wind, grew up after them. (7) And the seven thin ears and blasted with the wind devoured the seven choice and full ears; and Pharao awoke, and it was a dream. (8) And it was morning, and his soul was troubled; and he sent and called all the interpreters of Egypt, and all her wise men; and Pharao related to them his dream, and there was no one to interpret it to Pharao. (9) And the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharao, saying, I this day remember my fault: (10) Pharao was angry with his servants, and put us in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker. (11) And we had a dream both in one night, I and he; we saw, each according to his dream. (12) And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew servant of the captain of the guard; and we related to him our dreams, and he interpreted them to us. (13) And it came to pass, as he interpreted them to us, so also it happened, both that I was restored to my office, and that he was hanged. (14) And Pharao having sent, called Joseph; and they brought him out from the prison, and shaved him, and changed his dress, and he came to Pharao. (15) And Pharao said to Joseph, I have seen a vision, and there is no one to interpret it; but I have heard say concerning thee that thou didst hear dreams and interpret them. (16) And Joseph answered Pharao and said, Without God an answer of safety shall not be given to Pharao. (17) And Pharao spoke to Joseph, saying, In my dream me thought I stood by the bank of the river; (18) and there came up as it were out of the river, seven cows well-favoured and choice-fleshed, and they fed on the sedge. (19) And behold seven other cows came up after them out of the river, evil and ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, such that I never saw worse in all the land of Egypt. (20) And the seven ill-favoured and thin cows ate up the seven first good and choice cows. (21) And they went into their bellies, and it was not perceptible that they had gone into their bellies; and their appearance was ill-favoured, as also at the beginning; and after I awoke I slept, (22) and saw again in my sleep, and as it were seven ears came up on one stem, full and good. (23) And other seven ears, thin and blasted with the wind, sprang up close to them. (24) And the seven thin and blasted ears devoured the seven fine and full ears: so I spoke to the interpreters, and there was no one to explain it to me. (25) And Joseph said to Pharao, The dream of Pharao is one; whatever God does, he has shewn to Pharao. (26) The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream of Pharao is one. (27) And the seven thin kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven thin and blasted ears are seven years; there shall be seven years of famine. (28) And as for the word which I have told Pharao, whatsoever God intends to do, he has shewn to Pharao: (29) behold, for seven years there is coming great plenty in all the land of Egypt. (30) But there shall come seven years of famine after these, and they shall forget the plenty that shall be in all Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. (31) And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine that shall be after this, for it shall be very grievous. (32) And concerning the repetition of the dream to Pharao twice, it is because the saying which is from God shall be true, and God will hasten to accomplish it. (33) Now then, look out a wise and prudent man, and set him over the land of Egypt. (34) And let Pharao make and appoint local governors over the land; and let them take up a fifth part of all the produce of the land of Egypt for the seven years of the plenty. (35) And let them gather all the food of these seven good years that are coming, and let the corn be gathered under the hand of Pharao; let food be kept in the cities. (36) And the stored food shall be for the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; and the land shall not be utterly destroyed by the famine. (37) And the word was pleasing in the sight of Pharao, and in the sight of all his servants. (38) And Pharao said to all his servants, Shall we find such a man as this, who has the spirit of God in him? (39) And Pharao said to Joseph, Since God has shewed thee all these things, there is not a wiser or more prudent man than thou. (40) Thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall be obedient to thy word; only in the throne will I excel thee. (41) And Pharao said to Joseph, Behold, I set thee this day over all the land of Egypt. (42) And Pharao took his ring off his hand, and put it on the hand of Joseph, and put on him a robe of fine linen, and put a necklace of gold about his neck. (43) And he mounted him on the second of his chariots, and a herald made proclamation before him; and he set him over all the land of Egypt. (44) And Pharao said to Joseph, I am Pharao; without thee no one shall lift up his hand on all the land of Egypt. (45) And Pharao called the name of Joseph, Psonthomphanech; and he gave him Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, to wife. (46) And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharao, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharao, and went through all the land of Egypt. (47) And the land produced in the seven years of plenty, whole handfuls of corn. (48) And he gathered all the food of the seven years, in which was the plenty in the land of Egypt; and he laid up the food in the cities; the food of the fields of a city round about it he laid up in it. (49) And Joseph gathered very much corn as the sand of the sea, until it could not be numbered, for there was no number of it. (50) And to Joseph were born two sons, before the seven years of famine came, which Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him. (51) And Joseph called the name of the first-born, Manasse; for God, said he, has made me forget all my toils and all my father’s house. (52) And he called the name of the second, Ephraim; for God, said he, has increased me in the land of my humiliation. (53) And the seven years of plenty passed away, which were in the land of Egypt. (54) And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph said; and there was a famine in all the land; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (55) And all the land of Egypt was hungry; and the people cried to Pharao for bread. And Pharao said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph, and do whatsoever he shall tell you. (56) And the famine was on the face of all the earth; and Joseph opened all the granaries, and sold to all the Egyptians. (57) And all countries came to Egypt to buy of Joseph, for the famine prevailed in all the earth.

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(1) And Jacob having seen that there was a sale of corn in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are ye indolent? (2) Behold I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; go down thither, and buy for us a little food, that we may live, and not die. (3) And the ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy corn out of Egypt. (4) But Jacob sent not Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brethren; for he said, Lest, haply, disease befal him. (5) And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that came, for the famine was in the land of Chanaan. (6) And Joseph was ruler of the land; he sold to all the people of the land. And the brethren of Joseph, having come, did reverence to him, bowing with the face to the ground. (7) And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke hard words to them, and said to them; Whence are ye come? and they said, Out of the land of Chanaan, to buy food. (8) And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. (9) And Joseph remembered his dream, which he saw; and he said to them, Ye are spies; to observe the marks of the land are ye come. (10) But they said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to buy food; (11) we are all sons of one man; we are peaceable, thy servants are not spies. (12) And he said to them, Nay, but ye are come to observe the marks of the land. (13) And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Chanaan, and behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, but the other one is not. (14) And Joseph said to them, This is it that I spoke to you, saying, ye are spies; (15) herein shall ye be manifested; by the health of Pharao, ye shall not depart hence, unless your younger brother come hither. (16) Send one of you, and take your brother; and go ye to prison, till your words be clear, whether ye speak the truth or not; but if not, by the health of Pharao, verily ye are spies. (17) And he put them in prison three days. (18) And he said to them on the third day, This do, and ye shall live, for I fear God. (19) If ye be peaceable, let one of your brethren be detained in prison; but go ye, and carry back the corn ye have purchased. (20) And bring your younger brother to me, and your words shall be believed; but, if not, ye shall die. And they did so. (21) And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not unto him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us. (22) And Ruben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye heard me not? and, behold, his blood is required. (23) But they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. (24) And Joseph turned away from them, and wept; and again he came to them, and spoke to them; and he took Symeon from them, and bound him before their eyes. (25) And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to return their money to each into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and it was so done to them. (26) And having put the corn on the asses, they departed thence. (27) And one having opened his sack to give his asses, fodder, at the place where they rested, saw also his bundle of money, for it was on the mouth of his sack. (28) And he said to his brethren, my money has been restored to me, and behold this is in my sack. And their heart was wonder-struck, and they were troubled, saying one to another, What is this that God has done to us? (29) And they came to their father, Jacob, into the land of Chanaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying, (30) The man, the lord of the land, spoke harsh words to us, and put us in prison as spies of the land. (31) And we said to him, We are men of peace, we are not spies. (32) We are twelve brethren, sons of our father, one is not, and the youngest is with his father to-day in the land of Chanaan. (33) And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Herein shall I know that ye are peaceable; leave one brother here with me, and having taken the corn ye have purchased for your family, depart. (34) And bring to me your younger brother, then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I will restore you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land. (35) And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid. (36) And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me. (37) And Ruben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee. (38) But he said, My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he only has been left; and suppose it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which ye go, then ye shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades.

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(1) But the famine prevailed in the land. (2) And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again; buy us a little food. (3) And Judas spoke to him, saying, The man, the lord of the country, positively testified to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you. (4) If, then, thou send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy thee food; (5) but if thou send not our brother with us, we will not go: for the man spoke to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you. (6) And Israel said, Why did ye harm me, inasmuch as ye told the man that ye had a brother? (7) And they said, The man closely questioned us about our family also, saying, Does your father yet live, and have ye a brother? and we answered him according to this question: did we know that he would say to us, Bring your brother? (8) And Judas said to his father Israel, Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and our store. (9) And I engage for him; at my hand do thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty toward thee for ever. (10) For if we had not tarried, we should now have returned twice. (11) And Israel, their father, said to them, If it be so, do this; take of the fruits of the earth in your vessels, and carry down to the man presents of gum and honey, and frankincense, and stacte, and turpentine, and walnuts. (12) And take double money in your hands, and the money that was returned in your sacks, carry back with you, lest peradventure it is a mistake. (13) And take your brother; and arise, go down to the man. (14) And my God give you favour in the sight of the man, and send away your other brother, and Benjamin, for I accordingly as I have been bereaved, am bereaved. (15) And the men having taken these presents, and the double money, took in their hands also Benjamin; and they rose up and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. (16) And Joseph saw them and his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said to the steward of his household, Bring the men into the house, and slay beasts and make ready, for the men are to eat bread with me at noon. (17) And the man did as Joseph said; and he brought the men into the house of Joseph. (18) And the men, when they perceived that they were brought into the house of Joseph, said, We are brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first; even in order to inform against us and lay it to our charge; to take us, for servants, and our asses. (19) And having approached the man who was over the house of Joseph, they spoke to him in the porch of the house, (20) saying, We pray thee, Sir; we came down at first to buy food. (21) And it came to pass, when we came to unlade, and opened our sacks, there was also this money of each in his sack; we have now brought back our money by weight in our hands. (22) And we have brought other money with us to buy food; we know not who put the money into our sacks. (23) And he said to them, God deal mercifully with you; be not afraid; your God, and the God of your fathers, has given you treasures in your sacks, and I have enough of your good money. And he brought Symeon out to them. (24) And he brought water to wash their feet; and gave provender to their asses. (25) And they prepared their gifts, until Joseph came at noon, for they heard that he was going to dine there. (26) And Joseph entered into the house, and they brought him the gifts which they had in their hands, into the house; and they did him reverence with their face to the ground. (27) And he asked them, How are ye? and he said to them, Is your father, the old man of whom ye spoke, well? Does he yet live? (28) And they said, Thy servant our father is well; he is yet alive. And he said, Blessed be that man by God;—and they bowed, and did him reverence. (29) And Joseph lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother, Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said, Is this your younger brother whom ye spoke of bringing to me? and he said, God have mercy on thee, my son. (30) And Joseph was troubled, for his bowels yearned over his brother, and he sought to weep; and he went into his chamber, and wept there. (31) And he washed his face and came out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. (32) And they set on bread for him alone, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians feasting with him by themselves, for the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the Egyptians. (33) And they sat before him, the first-born according to his seniority, and the younger according to his youth; and the men looked with amazement every one at his brother. (34) And they took their portions from him to themselves; but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as the portions of the others. And they drank and were filled with drink with him.

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(1) And Joseph charged the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack. (2) And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said. (3) The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses. (4) And when they had gone out of the city, and were not far off, then Joseph said to his steward, Arise, and pursue after the men; and thou shalt overtake them, and say to them, Why have ye returned evil for good? (5) Why have ye stolen my silver cup? is it not this out of which my lord drinks? and he divines augury with it; ye have accomplished evil in that which ye have done. (6) And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words. (7) And they said to him, Why does our lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word. (8) If we brought back to thee out of the land of Chanaan the money which we found in our sacks, how should we steal silver or gold out of the house of thy lord? (9) With whomsoever of thy servants thou shalt find the cup, let him die; and moreover, we will be servants to our lord. (10) And he said, Now then it shall be as ye say; with whomsoever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and ye shall be clear. (11) And they hasted, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man his sack. (12) And he searched, beginning from the eldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. (13) And they rent their garments, and laid each man his sack on his ass, and returned to the city. (14) And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him. (15) And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine? (16) And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found. (17) And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father. (18) And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant; for thou art next to Pharao. (19) Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother? (20) And we said to my lord, we have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him. (21) And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him. (22) And we said to my lord, The child will not be able to leave his father, but if he should leave his father, he will die. (23) But thou saidst to thy servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face again. (24) And it came to pass, when we went up to thy servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord. (25) And our father said, Go again and buy us a little food. (26) And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down, for we shall not be able to see the man’s face, our younger brother not being with us. (27) And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons; (28) and one is departed from me; and ye said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now. (29) If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave. (30) Now then, if I should go in to thy servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this lad’s life)— (31) it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, that he will die, and thy servants will bring down the old age of thy servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave. (32) For thy servant has received the boy in charge from his father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever. (33) Now then I will remain a servant with thee instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren. (34) For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befal my father.

45

(1) And Joseph could not refrain himself when all were standing by him, but said, Dismiss all from me; and no one stood near Joseph, when he made himself known to his brethren. (2) And he uttered his voice with weeping; and all the Egyptians heard, and it was reported to the house of Pharao. (3) And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled. (4) And Joseph said to his brethren, Draw nigh to me; and they drew nigh; and he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom ye sold into Egypt. (5) Now then be not grieved, and let it not seem hard to you that ye sold me hither, for God sent me before you for life. (6) For this second year there is famine on the earth, and there are yet five years remaining, in which there is to be neither ploughing, nor mowing. (7) For God sent me before you, that there might be left to you a remnant upon the earth, even to nourish a great remnant of you. (8) Now then ye did not send me hither, but God; and he hath made me as a father of Pharao, and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt. (9) Hasten, therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, These things saith thy son Joseph; God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down therefore to me, and tarry not. (10) And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gesem of Arabia; and thou shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons’ sons, thy sheep and thine oxen, and whatsoever things are thine. (11) And I will nourish thee there: for the famine is yet for five years; lest thou be consumed, and thy sons, and all thy possessions. (12) Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. (13) Report, therefore to my father all my glory in Egypt, and all things that ye have seen, and make haste and bring down my father hither. (14) And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept on him; and Benjamin wept on his neck. (15) And he kissed all his brethren and wept on them; and after these things his brethren spoke to him. (16) And the report was carried into the house of Pharao, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come; and Pharao was glad, and his household. (17) And Pharao said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, Do this; fill your waggons, and depart into the land of Chanaan. (18) And take up your father, and your possessions and come to me; and I will give you of all the goods of Egypt, and ye shall eat the marrow of the land. (19) And do thou charge them thus; that they should take for them waggons out of the land of Egypt, for your little ones, and for your wives; and take up your father, and come. (20) And be not sparing in regard to your property, for all the good of Egypt shall be yours. (21) And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave to them waggons, according to the words spoken by king Pharao; and he gave them provision for the journey. (22) And he gave to them all two sets of raiment apiece; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of gold, and five changes of raiment. (23) And to his father he sent presents at the same rate, and ten asses bearing some of all the good things of Egypt, and ten mules, bearing bread for his father for thy journey. (24) And he sent away his brethren, and they went; and he said to them, Be not angry by the way. (25) And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chanaan, to Jacob their father. (26) And they reported to him, saying, Thy son Joseph is living, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt; and Jacob was amazed, for he did not believe them. (27) But they spoke to him all the words uttered by Joseph, whatsoever he said to them; and having seen the chariots which Joseph sent to take him up, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. (28) And Israel said, It is a great thing for me if Joseph my son is yet alive, I will go and see him before I die.

46

(1) And Israel departed, he and all that he had, and came to the well of the oath; and he offered sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac. (2) And God spoke to Israel in a night vision, saying, Jacob, Jacob; and he said, What is it? (3) And he says to him, I am the God of thy fathers; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will make thee there a great nation. (4) And I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will bring thee up at the end; and Joseph shall put his hands on thine eyes. (5) And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath; and the sons of Israel took up their father, and the baggage, and their wives on the waggons, which Joseph sent to take them. (6) And they took up their goods, and all their property, which they had gotten in the land of Chanaan; they came into the land of Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him. (7) The sons, and the sons of his sons with him; his daughters, and the daughters of his daughters; and he brought all his seed into Egypt. (8) And these are the names of the sons of Israel that went into Egypt with their father Jacob—Jacob and his sons. The first-born of Jacob, Ruben. (9) And the sons of Ruben; Enoch, and Phallus, Asron, and Charmi. (10) And the sons of Symeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Aod, and Achin, and Saar, and Saul the son of a Chananitish woman. (11) And the sons of Levi; Gerson, Cath, and Merari. (12) And the sons of Judas; Er, and Aunan, and Selom, and Phares, and Zara: and Er and Aunan died in the land of Chanaan. (13) And the sons of Phares were Esron, and Jemuel. And the sons of Issachar; Thola, and Phua, and Asum, and Sambran. (14) And the sons of Zabulun, Sered, and Allon, and Achoel. (15) These are the sons of Lea, which she bore to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, and Dina his daughter; all the souls, sons and daughters, thirty-three. (16) And the sons of Gad; Saphon, and Angis, and Sannis, and Thasoban, and Aedis, and Aroedis, and Areelis. (17) And the sons of Aser; Jemna, Jessua, and Jeul, and Baria; and Sara their sister. And the sons of Baria, Chobor, and Melchiil. (18) These are the sons of Zelpha, which Laban gave to his daughter Lea, who bore these to Jacob, sixteen souls. (19) And the sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob; Joseph, and Benjamin. (20) And there were sons born to Joseph in the land of Egypt, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him, even Manasses and Ephraim. And there were sons born to Manasses, which the Syrian concubine bore to him, even Machir. And Machir begot Galaad. And the sons of Ephraim, the brother of Manasses; Sutalaam, and Taam. And the sons of Sutalaam; Edom. (21) And the sons of Benjamin; Bala, and Bochor, and Asbel. And the sons of Bala were Gera, and Noeman, and Anchis and Ros, and Mamphim. And Gera begot Arad. (22) These are the sons of Rachel, which she bore to Jacob; all the souls eighteen. (23) And the sons of Dan; Asom. (24) And the sons of Nephthalim; Asiel, and Goni, and Issaar, and Sollem. (25) These are the sons of Balla, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, who bore these to Jacob; all the souls, seven. (26) And all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, who came out of his loins, besides the wives of the sons of Jacob, even all the souls were sixty-six. (27) And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in the land of Egypt were nine souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob who came with Joseph into Egypt, were seventy-five souls. (28) And he sent Judas before him to Joseph, to meet him to the city of Heroes, into the land of Ramesses. (29) And Joseph having made ready his chariots, went up to meet Israel his father, at the city of Heroes; and having appeared to him, fell on his neck, and wept with abundant weeping. (30) And Israel said to Joseph, After this I will gladly die, since I have seen thy face, for thou art yet living. (31) And Joseph said to his brethren, I will go up and tell Pharao, and will say to him, My brethren and my father’s house, who were in the land of Chanaan, are come to me. (32) And the men are shepherds; for they have been feeders of cattle; and they have brought with them their cattle, and their kine, and all their property. (33) If then Pharao call you, and say to you, What is your occupation? (34) Ye shall say, We thy servants are herdsmen from our youth until now, both we and our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Gesem of Arabia, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

47

(1) And Joseph came and told Pharao, saying, My father, and my brethren, and their cattle, and their oxen, and all their possessions, are come out of the land of Chanaan, and, behold, they are in the land of Gesem. (2) And he took of his brethren five men, and set them before Pharao. (3) And Pharao said to the brethren of Joseph, What is your occupation? and they said to Pharao, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers. (4) And they said to Pharao, We are come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for the flocks of thy servants, for the famine has prevailed in the land of Chanaan; now then, we will dwell in the land of Gesem. And Pharao said to Joseph, Let them dwell in the land of Gesem; and if thou knowest that there are among them able men, make them overseers of my cattle. So Jacob and his sons came into Egypt, to Joseph; and Pharao, king of Egypt, heard of it. (5) And Pharao spoke to Joseph, saying, Thy father, and thy brethren, are come to thee. (6) Behold, the land of Egypt is before thee; settle thy father and thy brethren in the best land. (7) And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharao; and Jacob blessed Pharao. (8) And Pharao said to Jacob, How many are the years of the days of thy life? (9) And Jacob said to Pharao, The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned. (10) And Jacob blessed Pharao, and departed from him. (11) And Joseph settled his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best land, in the land of Ramesses, as Pharao commanded. (12) And Joseph gave provision to his father, and his brethren, and to all the house of his father, corn for each person. (13) And there was no corn in all the land, for the famine prevailed greatly; and the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, fainted for the famine. (14) And Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, in return for the corn which they bought, and he distributed corn to them; and Joseph brought all the money into the house of Pharao. (15) And all the money failed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Chanaan; and all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, Give us bread, and why do we die in thy presence? for our money is spent. (16) And Joseph said to them, Bring your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if your money is spent. (17) And they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in return for their horses, and for their sheep, and for their oxen, and for their asses; and Joseph maintained them with bread for all their cattle in that year. (18) And that year passed, and they came to him in the second year, and said to him, Must we then be consumed from before our lord? for if our money has failed, and our possessions, and our cattle, brought to thee our lord, and there has not been left to us before our lord more than our own bodies and our land, we are indeed destitute. (19) In order, then, that we die not before thee, and the land be made desolate, buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharao: give seed that we may sow, and live and not die, so our land shall not be made desolate. (20) And Joseph bought all the land of the Egyptians, for Pharao; for the Egyptians sold their land to Pharao; for the famine prevailed against them, and the land became Pharao’s. (21) And he brought the people into bondage to him, for servants, from one extremity of Egypt to the other, (22) except only the land of the priests; Joseph bought not this, for Pharao gave a portion in the way of gift to the priests; and they ate their portion which Pharao gave them; therefore they sold not their land. (23) And Joseph said to all the Egyptians, Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharao; take seed for you, and sow the land. (24) And there shall be the fruits of it; and ye shall give the fifth part to Pharao, and the four remaining parts shall be for yourselves, for seed for the earth, and for food for you, and all that are in your houses. (25) And they said, Thou hast saved us; we have found favour before our lord, and we will be servants to Pharao. (26) And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao’s. (27) And Israel dwelt in Egypt, in the land of Gesem, and they gained an inheritance upon it; and they increased and multiplied very greatly. (28) And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob’s days of the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven years. (29) And the days of Israel drew nigh for him to die: and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If I have found favour before thee, put thy hand under my thigh, and thou shalt execute mercy and truth toward me, so as not to bury me in Egypt. (30) But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me up out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulchre. And he said, I will do according to thy word. (31) And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel did reverence, leaning on the top of his staff.

48

(1) And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Joseph, Behold, thy father is ill; and, having taken his two sons Manasse and Ephraim, he came to Jacob. (2) And it was reported to Jacob, saying, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh to thee; and Israel having strengthened himself, sat upon the bed. (3) And Jacob said to Joseph, My God appeared to me in Luza, in the land of Chanaan, and blessed me, (4) and said to me, Behold, I will increase thee, and multiply thee, and will make of thee multitudes of nations; and I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession. (5) Now then thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasse, as Ruben and Symeon they shall be mine. (6) And the children which thou shalt beget hereafter, shall be in the name of their brethren; they shall be named after their inheritances. (7) And as for me, when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, Rachel, thy mother, died in the land of Chanaan, as I drew nigh to the horse-course of Chabratha of the land of Chanaan, so as to come to Ephratha; and I buried her in the road of the course; this is Bethlehem. (8) And when Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he said, Who are these to thee? (9) And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God gave me here; and Jacob said, Bring me them, that I may bless them. (10) Now the eyes of Israel were dim through age, and he could not see; and he brought them near to him, and he kissed them, and embraced them. (11) And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I have not been deprived of seeing thy face, and lo! God has showed me thy seed also. (12) And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and they did reverence to him, with their face to the ground. (13) And Joseph took his two sons, both Ephraim in his right hand, but on the left of Israel, and Manasse on his left hand, but on the right of Israel, and brought them near to him. (14) But Israel having stretched out his right hand, laid it on the head of Ephraim, and he was the younger; and his left hand on the head of Manasse, guiding his hands crosswise. (15) And he blessed them and said, The God in whose sight my fathers were well pleasing, even Abraam and Isaac, the God who continues to feed me from my youth until this day; (16) the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth. (17) And Joseph having seen that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim—it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph took hold of the hand of his father, to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasse. (18) And Joseph said to his father, Not so, father; for this is the first-born; lay thy right-hand upon his head. (19) And he would not, but said, I know it, son, I know it; he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted, but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. (20) And he blessed them in that day, saying, In you shall Israel be blessed, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasse; and he set Ephraim before Manasse. (21) And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and restore you to the land of your fathers. (22) And I give to thee Sicima, a select portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.

49

(1) And Jacob called his sons, and said to them, (2) Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear me, sons of Jacob; hear Israel, hear your father. (3) Ruben, thou art my first-born, thou my strength, and the first of my children, hard to be endured, hard and self-willed. (4) Thou wast insolent like water, burst not forth with violence, for thou wentest up to the bed of thy father; then thou defiledst the couch, whereupon thou wentest up. (5) Symeon and Levi, brethren, accomplished the injustice of their cutting off. (6) Let not my soul come into their counsel, and let not mine inward parts contend in their conspiracy, for in their wrath they slew men, and in their passion they houghed a bull. (7) Cursed be their wrath, for it was wilful, and their anger, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. (8) Juda, thy brethren have praised thee, and thy hands shall be on the back of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall do thee reverence. (9) Juda is a lion’s whelp: from the tender plant, my son, thou art gone up, having couched thou liest as a lion, and as a whelp; who shall stir him up? (10) A ruler shall not fail from Juda, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of nations. (11) Binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the branch of it, he shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape. (12) His eyes shall be more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. (13) Zabulon shall dwell on the coast, and he shall be by a haven of ships, and shall extend to Sidon. (14) Issachar has desired that which is good; resting between the inheritances. (15) And having seen the resting place that it was good, and the land that it was fertile, he subjected his shoulder to labour, and became a husbandman. (16) Dan shall judge his people, as one tribe too in Israel. (17) And let Dan be a serpent in the way, besetting the path, biting the heel of the horse (and the rider shall fall backward), (18) waiting for the salvation of the Lord. (19) Gad, a plundering troop shall plunder him; but he shall plunder him, pursuing him closely. (20) Aser, his bread shall be fat; and he shall yield dainties to princes. (21) Nephthalim is a spreading stem, bestowing beauty on its fruit. (22) Joseph is a son increased; my dearly loved son is increased; my youngest son, turn to me. (23) Against whom men taking evil counsel reproached him, and the archers pressed hard upon him. (24) But their bow and arrows were mightily consumed, and the sinews of their arms were slackened by the hand of the mighty one of Jacob; thence is he that strengthened Israel from the God of thy father; (25) and my God helped thee, and he blessed thee with the blessing of heaven from above, and the blessing of the earth possessing all things, because of the blessing of the breasts and of the womb, (26) the blessings of thy father and thy mother—it has prevailed above the blessing of the lasting mountains, and beyond the blessings of the everlasting hills; they shall be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the head of the brothers of whom he took the lead. (27) Benjamin, as a ravening wolf, shall eat still in the morning, and at evening he gives food. (28) All these are the twelve sons of Jacob; and their father spoke these words to them; and he blessed them, he blessed each of them according to his blessing. (29) And he said to them, I am added to my people; ye shall bury me with my fathers in the cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Chettite, (30) in the double cave which is opposite Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, the cave which Abraam bought of Ephron the Chettite, for a possession of a sepulchre. (31) There they buried Abraam and Sarrha his wife; there they buried Isaac, and Rebecca his wife; there they buried Lea; (32) in the portion of the field, and of the cave that was in it, purchased of the sons of Chet. (33) And Jacob ceased giving charges to his sons; and having lifted up his feet on the bed, he died, and was gathered to his people.

50

(1) And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept on him, and kissed him. (2) And Joseph commanded his servants the embalmers to embalm his father; and the embalmers embalmed Israel. (3) And they fulfilled forty days for him, for so are the days of embalming numbered; and Egypt mourned for him seventy days. (4) And when the days of mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the princes of Pharao, saying, If I have found favour in your sight, speak concerning me in the ears of Pharao, saying, (5) My father adjured me, saying, In the sepulchre which I dug for myself in the land of Chanaan, there thou shalt bury me; now then I will go up and bury my father, and return again. (6) And Pharao said to Joseph, Go up, bury thy father, as he constrained thee to swear. (7) So Joseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharao went up with him, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. (8) And all the household of Joseph, and his brethren, and all the house of his father, and his kindred; and they left behind the sheep and the oxen in the land of Gesem. (9) And there went up with him also chariots and horsemen; and there was a very great company. (10) And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan; and they bewailed him with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. (11) And the inhabitants of the land of Chanaan saw the mourning at the floor of Atad, and said, This is a great mourning to the Egyptians; therefore he called its name, The mourning of Egypt, which is beyond Jordan. (12) And thus his sons did to him. (13) So his sons carried him up into the land of Chanaan, and buried him in the double cave, which cave Abraam bought for possession of a burying place, of Ephrom the Chettite, before Mambre. (14) And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brethren, and those that had gone up with him to bury his father. (15) And when the brethren of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, Let us take heed, lest at any time Joseph remember evil against us, and recompense to us all the evils which we have done against him. (16) And they came to Joseph, and said, Thy father adjured us before his death, saying, (17) Thus say ye to Joseph, Forgive them their injustice and their sin, forasmuch as they have done thee evil; and now pardon the injustice of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept while they spoke to him. (18) And they came to him and said, We, these persons, are thy servants. (19) And Joseph said to them, Fear not, for I am God’s. (20) Ye took counsel against me for evil, but God took counsel for me for good, that the matter might be as it is to-day, and much people might be fed. (21) And he said to them, Fear not, I will maintain you, and your families: and he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. (22) And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brethren, and all the family of his father; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. (23) And Joseph saw the children of Ephraim to the third generation; and the sons of Machir the son of Manasse were borne on the sides of Joseph. (24) And Joseph spoke to his brethren, saying, I die, and God will surely visit you, and will bring you out of this land to the land concerning which God sware to our fathers, Abraam, Isaac, and Jacob. (25) And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel, saying, At the visitation with which God shall visit you, then ye shall carry up my bones hence with you. (26) And Joseph died, aged an hundred and ten years; and they prepared his corpse, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus

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1

(1) These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family. (2) Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, (3) Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin, (4) Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser. (5) But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls born of Jacob were seventy-five. (6) And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. (7) And the children of Israel increased and multiplied, and became numerous and grew exceedingly strong, and the land multiplied them. (8) And there arose up another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. (9) And he said to his nation, Behold, the race of the children of Israel is a great multitude, and is stronger than we: (10) come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest at any time they be increased, and whensoever war shall happen to us, these also shall be added to our enemies, and having prevailed against us in war, they will depart out of the land. (11) And he set over them task-masters, who should afflict them in their works; and they built strong cities for Pharao, both Pitho, and Ramesses, and On, which is Heliopolis. (12) But as they humbled them, by so much they multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong; and the Egyptians greatly abhorred the children of Israel. (13) And the Egyptians tyrannised over the children of Israel by force. (14) And they embittered their life by hard labours, in the clay and in brick-making, and all the works in the plains, according to all the works, wherein they caused them to serve with violence. (15) And the king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews; the name of the one was, Sepphora; and the name of the second, Phua. (16) And he said, When ye do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and they are about to be delivered, if it be a male, kill it; but if a female, save it. (17) But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt appointed them; and they saved the male children alive. (18) And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Why is it that ye have done this thing, and saved the male children alive? (19) And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hebrew women are not as the women of Egypt, for they are delivered before the midwives go in to them. So they bore children. (20) And God did well to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very strong. (21) And as the midwives feared God, they established for themselves families. (22) And Pharao charged all his people, saying, Whatever male child shall be born to the Hebrews, cast into the river; and every female, save it alive.

2

(1) And there was a certain man of the tribe of Levi, who took to wife one of the daughters of Levi. (2) And she conceived, and bore a male child; and having seen that he was fair, they hid him three months. (3) And when they could no longer hide him, his mother took for him an ark, and besmeared it with bitumen, and cast the child into it, and put it in the ooze by the river. (4) And his sister was watching from a distance, to learn what would happen to him. (5) And the daughter of Pharao came down to the river to bathe; and her maids walked by the river’s side, and having seen the ark in the ooze, she sent her maid, and took it up. (6) And having opened it, she sees the babe weeping in the ark: and the daughter of Pharao had compassion on it, and said, This is one of the Hebrew’s children. (7) And his sister said to the daughter of Pharao, Wilt thou that I call to thee a nurse of the Hebrews, and shall she suckle the child for thee? (8) And the daughter of Pharao said, Go: and the young woman went, and called the mother of the child. (9) And the daughter of Pharao said to her, Take care of this child, and suckled it for me, and I will give thee the wages; and the woman took the child, and suckled it. (10) And when the boy was grown, she brought him to the daughter of Pharao, and he became her son; and she called his name, Moses, saying, I took him out of the water. (11) And it came to pass in that length of time, that Moses having grown, went out to his brethren the sons of Israel: and having noticed their distress, he sees an Egyptian smiting a certain Hebrew of his brethren the children of Israel. (12) And having looked round this way and that way, he sees no one; and he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. (13) And having gone out the second day he sees two Hebrew men fighting; and he says to the injurer, Wherefore smitest thou thy neighbour? (14) And he said, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? wilt thou slay me as thou yesterday slewest the Egyptian? Then Moses was alarmed, and said, If it be thus, this matter has become known. (15) And Pharao heard this matter, and sought to slay Moses; and Moses departed from the presence of Pharao, and dwelt in the land of Madiam; and having come into the land of Madiam, he sat on the well. (16) And the priest of Madiam had seven daughters, feeding the flock of their father Jothor; and they came and drew water until they filled their pitchers, to water the flock of their father Jothor. (17) And the shepherds came, and were driving them away; and Moses rose up and rescued them, and drew water for them, and watered their sheep. (18) And they came to Raguel their father; and he said to them, Why have ye come so quickly to-day? (19) And they said, An Egyptian delivered us from the shepherds, and drew water for us and watered our sheep. (20) And he said to his daughters, And where is he? and why have ye left the man? call him therefore, that he may eat bread. (21) And Moses was established with the man, and he gave Sepphora his daughter to Moses to wife. (22) And the woman conceived and bore a son, and Moses called his name Gersam, saying, I am a sojourner in a strange land. (23) And in those days after a length of time, the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of their tasks, and cried, and their cry because of their tasks went up to God. (24) And God heard their groanings, and God remembered his covenant made with Abraam and Isaac and Jacob. (25) And God looked upon the children of Israel, and was made known to them.

3

(1) And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb. (2) And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire out of the bush, and he sees that the bush burns with fire, —but the bush was not consumed. (3) And Moses said, I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. (4) And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses; and he said, What is it? (5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (6) And he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. (7) And the Lord said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their task-masters; for I know their affliction. (8) And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey, into the place of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites. (9) And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to me, and I have seen the affliction with which the Egyptians afflict them. (10) And now come, I will send thee to Pharao king of Egypt, and thou shalt bring out my people the children of Israel from the land of Egypt. (11) And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharao king of Egypt, and that I should bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt? (12) And God spoke to Moses, saying, I will be with thee, and this shall be the sign to thee that I shall send thee forth, —when thou bringest out my people out of Egypt, then ye shall serve God in this mountain. (13) And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? (14) And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you. (15) And God said again to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, The Lord God of our fathers, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and my memorial to generations of generations. (16) Go then and gather the elders of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God of our fathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, saying, I have surely looked upon you, and upon all the things which have happened to you in Egypt. (17) And he said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of the Egyptians to the land of the Chananites and the Chettites, and Amorites and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. (18) And they shall hearken to thy voice, and thou and the elders of Israel shall go in to Pharao king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him, The God of the Hebrews has called us; we will go then a journey of three days into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to our God. (19) But I know that Pharao king of Egypt will not let you go, save with a mighty hand; (20) and I will stretch out my hand, and smite the Egyptians with all my wonders, which I shall work among them, and after that he will send you forth. (21) And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and whenever ye shall escape, ye shall not depart empty. (22) But every woman shall ask of her neighbour and fellow lodger, articles of gold and silver, and apparel; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters, —and spoil ye the Egyptians.

4

(1) And Moses answered and said, If they believe me not, and do not hearken to my voice (for they will say, God has not appeared to thee), what shall I say to them? (2) And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in thine hand? and he said, A rod. (3) And he said, Cast it on the ground: and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. (4) And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail, (5) and it became a rod in his hand, —that they may believe thee, that the God of thy fathers has appeared to thee, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. (6) And the Lord said again to him, Put thine hand into thy bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and his hand became as snow. (7) And he said again, Put thy hand into thy bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and it was again restored to the complexion of his other flesh. (8) And if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe thee because of the voice of the second sign. (9) And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee for these two signs, and will not hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which thou shalt take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land. (10) And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that thou hast begun to speak to thy servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued. (11) And the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God? (12) And now go and I will open thy mouth, and will instruct thee in what thou shalt say. (13) And Moses said, I pray thee, Lord, appoint another able person whom thou shalt send. (14) And the Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Lo! is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he will surely speak to thee; and, behold, he will come forth to meet thee, and beholding thee he will rejoice within himself. (15) And thou shalt speak to him; and thou shalt put my words into his mouth, and I will open thy mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what ye shall do. (16) And he shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall be thy mouth, and thou shalt be for him in things pertaining to God. (17) And this rod that was turned into a serpent thou shalt take in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt work miracles. (18) And Moses went and returned to Jothor his father-in-law, and says, I will go and return to my brethren in Egypt, and will see if they are yet living. And Jothor said to Moses, Go in health. And in those days after some time, the king of Egypt died. (19) And the Lord said to Moses in Madiam, Go, depart into Egypt, for all that sought thy life are dead. (20) And Moses took his wife and his children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod which he had from God in his hand. (21) And the Lord said to Moses, When thou goest and returnest to Egypt, see—all the miracles I have charged thee with, thou shalt work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people. (22) And thou shalt say to Pharao, These things saith the Lord, Israel is my first-born. (23) And I said to thee, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if thou wilt not send them away, see, I will slay thy fir-born son. (24) And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to slay him. (25) and Sepphora having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched: (26) and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched. (27) And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other. (28) And Moses reported to Aaron all the words of the Lord, which he sent, and all the things which he charged him. (29) And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children of Israel. (30) And Aaron spoke all these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before the people. (31) and the people believed and rejoiced, because God visited the children of Israel, and because he saw their affliction: and the people bowed and worshipped.

5

(1) And after this went in Moses and Aaron to Pharao, and they said to him, These things says the Lord God of Israel, Send my people away, that they may keep a feast to me in the wilderness. (2) And Pharao said, Who is he that I should hearken to his voice, so that I should send away the children of Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. (3) And they say to him, The God of the Hebrews has called us to him: we will go therefore a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest at any time death or slaughter happen to us. (4) And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, turn the people from their works? depart each of you to your works. (5) And Pharao said, Behold now, the people is very numerous; let us not then give them rest from their work. (6) And Pharao gave orders to the task-masters of the people and the accountants, saying, (7) Ye shall no longer give straw to the people for brick-making as yesterday and the third day; but let them go themselves, and collect straw for themselves. (8) And thou shalt impose on them daily the rate of brick-making which they perform: thou shalt not abate anything, for they are idle; therefore have they cried, saying, Let us arise and do sacrifice to our God. (9) Let the works of these men be made grievous, and let them care for these things, and not care for vain words. (10) And the taskmasters and the accountants hastened them, and they spoke to the people, saying, thus says Pharao, I will give you straw no longer. (11) Go ye, yourselves, get for yourselves straw whencesoever ye can find it, for nothing is diminished from your rate. (12) So the people were dispersed in all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. (13) and the taskmasters hastened them, saying, Fulfil your regular daily tasks, even as when straw was given you. (14) And the accountants of the race of the children of Israel, who were set over them by the masters of Pharao, were scourged, [[and questioned,]]men saying, Why have ye not fulfilled your rates of brick-work as yesterday and the third day, to-day also? (15) And the accountants of the children of Israel went in and cried to Pharao, saying, Why dost thou act thus to thy servants? (16) Straw is not given to thy servants, and they tell us to make brick; and behold thy servants have been scourged: thou wilt therefore injure thy people. (17) And he said to them, Ye are idle, ye are idlers: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to our God. (18) Now then go and work, for straw shall not be given to you, yet ye shall return the rate of bricks. (19) And the accountants of the children of Israel saw themselves in an evil plight, men saying, Ye shall not fail to deliver the daily rate of the brick-making. (20) And they met Moses and Aaron coming forth to meet them, as they came forth from Pharao. (21) And they said to them, The Lord look upon you and judge you, for ye have made our savour abominable before Pharao, and before his servants, to put a sword into his hands to slay us. (22) And Moses turned to the Lord, and said, I pray, Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? and wherefore hast thou sent me? (23) For from the time that I went to Pharao to speak in thy name, he has afflicted this people, and thou hast not delivered thy people.

6

(1) And the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao; for he shall send them forth with a mighty hand, and with a high arm shall he cast them out of his land. (2) And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord. (3) And I appeared to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, being their God, but I did not manifest to them my name Lord. (4) And I established my covenant with them, to give them the land of the Chananites, the land wherein they sojourned, in which also they dwelt as strangers. (5) And I hearkened to the groaning of the children of Israel (the affliction with which the Egyptians enslave them) and I remembered the covenant with you. (6) Go, speak to the children of Israel, saying, I am the Lord; and I will lead you forth from the tyranny of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage, and I will ransom you with a high arm, and great judgment. (7) And I will take you to me a people for myself, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the tyranny of the Egyptians. (8) And I will bring you into the land concerning which I stretched out my hand to give it to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it you for an inheritance: I am the Lord. (9) And Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, and they hearkened not to Moses for faint-heartedness, and for their hard tasks. (10) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (11) Go in, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he send forth the children of Israel out of his land. (12) And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel hearkened not to me, and how shall Pharao hearken to me? and I am not eloquent. (13) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to Pharao king of Egypt, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. (14) And these are the heads of the houses of their families: the sons of Ruben the first-born of Israel; Enoch and Phallus, Asron, and Charmi, this is the kindred of Ruben. (15) And the sons of Symeon, Jemuel and Jamin, and Aod, and Jachin and Saar, and Saul the son of a Phoenician woman, these are the families of the sons of Symeon. (16) And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their kindreds, Gedson, Caath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven. (17) And these are the sons of Gedson, Lobeni and Semei, the houses of their family. And the sons of Caath, (18) Ambram and Issaar, Chebron, and Oziel; and the years of the life of Caath were a hundred and thirty-three years. (19) And the sons of Merari, Mooli, and Omusi, these are the houses of the families of Levi, according to their kindreds. (20) And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father’s brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister: and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years. (21) And the sons of Issaar, Core, and Naphec, and Zechri. (22) And the sons of Oziel, Misael, and Elisaphan, and Segri. (23) And Aaron took to himself to wife Elisabeth daughter of Aminadab sister of Naasson, and she bore to him both Nadab and Abiud, and Eleazar and Ithamar. (24) And the sons of Core, Asir, and Elkana, and Abiasar, these are the generations of Core. (25) And Eleazar the son of Aaron took to himself for a wife one of the daughters of Phutiel, and she bore to him Phinees. These are the heads of the family of the Levites, according to their generations. (26) This is Aaron and Moses, whom God told to bring out the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their forces. (27) These are they that spoke with Pharao king of Egypt, and Aaron himself and Moses brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, (28) in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt; (29) then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak to Pharao king of Egypt whatsoever I say to thee. (30) And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am not able in speech, and how shall Pharao hearken to me?

7

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, I have made thee a god to Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (2) And thou shalt say to him all things that I charge thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speak to Pharao, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of his land. (3) And I will harden the heart of Pharao, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. (4) And Pharao will not hearken to you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt; and will bring out my people the children of Israel with my power out of the land of Egypt with great vengeance. (5) And all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, stretching out my hand upon Egypt, and I will bring out the children of Israel out of the midst of them. (6) And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they. (7) And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao. (8) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (9) Now if Pharao should speak to you, saying, Give us a sign or a wonder, then shalt thou say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it upon the ground before Pharao, and before his servants, and it shall become a serpent. (10) And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and before his servants, and they did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharao, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. (11) But Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt, and the sorcerers, and the charmers also of the Egyptians did likewise with their sorceries. (12) And they cast down each his rod, and they became serpents, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods. (13) and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord charged them. (14) and the Lord said to Moses, The heart of Pharao is made hard, so that he should not let the people go. (15) Go to Pharao early in the morning: behold, he goes forth to the water; and thou shalt meet him on the bank of the river, and thou shalt take in thine hand the rod that was turned into a serpent. (16) And thou shalt say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Send my people away, that they may serve me in the wilderness, and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened. (17) These things saith the Lord: Hereby shalt thou know that I am the Lord: behold, I strike with the rod that is in my hand on the water which is in the river, and it shall change it into blood. (18) And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink thereupon, and the Egyptians shall not be able to drink water from the river. (19) And the Lord said to Moses, Say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod in thy hand, and stretch forth thy hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, and over their canals, and over their ponds, and over all their standing water, and it shall become blood: and there was blood in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone. (20) and Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron having lifted up his hand with his rod, smote the water in the river before Pharao, and before his servants, and changed all the water in the river into blood. (21) And the fish in the river died, and the river stank thereupon; and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. (22) And the charmers also of the Egyptians did so with their sorceries; and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, even as the Lord said. (23) And Pharao turned and entered into his house, nor did he fix his attention even on this thing. (24) And all the Egyptians dug round about the river, so as to drink water, for they could not drink water from the river. (25) and seven days were fulfilled after the Lord has smitten the river.

8

(1) And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him, These things says the Lord: send forth my people, that they may serve me. (2) And if thou wilt not send them forth, behold, I afflict all thy borders with frogs: (3) and the river shall teem with frogs, and they shall go up and enter into thy houses, and into thy bed-chambers, and upon thy beds, and upon the houses of thy servants, and of thy people and on thy dough, and on thine ovens. (4) And upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, shall the frogs come up. (5) And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron thy brother, Stretch forth with the hand thy rod over the rivers, and over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs. (6) And Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and brought up the frogs: and the frog was brought up, and covered the land of Egypt. (7) And the charmers of the Egyptians also did likewise with their sorceries, and brought up the frogs on the land of Egypt. (8) And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said, Pray for me to the Lord, and let him take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will send them away, and they shall sacrifice to the Lord. (9) And Moses said to Pharao, Appoint me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to cause the frogs to disappear from thee, and from thy people, and from your houses, only in the river shall they be left behind. (10) And he said, On the morrow: he said therefore, As thou has said; that thou mayest know, that there is no other God but the Lord. (11) And the frogs shall be removed away from thee, and from your houses and from the villages, and from thy servants, and from thy people, only in the river they shall be left. (12) And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the restriction of the frogs, as Pharao appointed him. (13) And the Lord did as Moses said, and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields. (14) And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. (15) And when Pharao saw that there was relief, his heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord spoke. (16) And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch forth thy rod with thy hand and smite the dust of the earth; and there shall be lice both upon man, and upon quadrupeds, and in all the land of Egypt. (17) So Aaron stretched out his rod with his hand, and smote the dust of the earth; and the lice were on men and on quadrupeds, and in all the dust of the earth there were lice. (18) And the charmers also did so with their sorceries, to bring forth the louse, and they could not. And the lice were both on the men and on the quadrupeds. (19) So the charmers said to Pharao, This is the finger of God. But the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord said. (20) And the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharao: and behold, he will go forth to the water, and thou shalt say to him, These things says the Lord: Send away my people, that they may serve me in the wilderness. (21) And if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I send upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and upon your houses, the dog-fly; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the dog-fly, even throughout the land upon which they are. (22) and I will distinguish marvellously in that day the land of Gesem, on which my people dwell, in which the dog-fly shall not be: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord the God of all the earth. (23) And I will put a difference between my people and thy people, and on the morrow shall this be on the land. And the Lord did thus. (24) And the dog-fly came in abundance into the houses of Pharao, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was destroyed by the dog-fly. (25) And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, saying, Go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the land. (26) And Moses said, It cannot be so, for we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God the abominations of the Egyptians; for if we sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians before them, we shall be stoned. (27) We will go a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as the Lord said to us. (28) And Pharao said, I will let you go, and do ye sacrifice to your God in the wilderness, but do not go very far away: pray then for me to the Lord. (29) And Moses said, I then will go forth from thee and pray to God, and the dog-fly shall depart both from thy servants, and from thy people to-morrow. Do not thou, Pharao, deceive again, so as not to send the people away to do sacrifice to the Lord. (30) And Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to God. (31) And the Lord did as Moses said, and removed the dog-fly from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people, and there was not one left. (32) And Pharao hardened his heart, even on this occasion, and he would not send the people away.

9

(1) And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews; Send my people away that they may serve me. (2) If however thou wilt not send my people away, but yet detainest them: (3) behold, the hand of the Lord shall be upon thy cattle in the fields, both on the horses, and on the asses, and on the camels and oxen and sheep, a very great mortality. (4) And I will make a marvellous distinction in that time between the cattle of the Egyptians, and the cattle of the children of Israel: nothing shall die of all that is of the children’s of Israel. (5) And God fixed a limit, saying, To-morrow the Lord will do this thing on the land. (6) And the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the children of Israel there died not one. (7) And when Pharao saw, that of all the cattle of the children of Israel there died not one, the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not let the people go. (8) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, Take you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward heaven before Pharao, and before his servants. (9) And let it become dust over all the land of Egypt, and there shall be upon men and upon beasts sore blains breaking forth both on men and on beasts, in all the land of Egypt. (10) So he took of the ashes of the furnace before Pharao, and Moses scattered it toward heaven, and it became sore blains breaking forth both on men and on beasts. (11) And the sorcerers could not stand before Moses because of the sores, for the sores were on the sorcerers, and in all the land of Egypt. (12) And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord appointed. (13) And the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharao; and thou shalt say to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Send away my people that they may serve me. (14) For at this present time do I send forth all my plagues into thine heart, and the heart of thy servants and of thy people; that thou mayest know that there is not another such as I in all the earth. (15) For now I will stretch forth my hand and smite thee and kill thy people, and thou shalt be consumed from off the earth. (16) And for this purpose hast thou been preserved, that I might display in thee my strength, and that my name might be published in all the earth. (17) Dost thou then yet exert thyself to hinder my people, so as not to let them go? (18) Behold, to-morrow at this hour I will rain a very great hail, such as has not been in Egypt, from the time it was created until this day. (19) Now then hasten to gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the fields; for all the men and cattle as many as shall be found in the fields, and shall not enter into a house, (but the hail shall fall upon them,) shall die. (20) He of the servants of Pharao that feared the word of the Lord, gathered his cattle into the houses. (21) And he that did not attend in his mind to the word of the Lord, left the cattle in the fields. (22) And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thine hand to heaven, and there shall be hail on all the land of Egypt, both on the men and on the cattle, and on all the herbage on the land. (23) And Moses stretched forth his hand to heaven, and the Lord sent thunderings and hail; and the fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord rained hail on all the land of Egypt. (24) So there was hail and flaming fire mingled with hail; and the hail was very great, such as was not in Egypt, from the time there was a nation upon it. (25) And the hail smote in all the land of Egypt both man and beast, and the hail smote all the grass in the field, and the hail broke in pieces all the trees in the field. (26) Only in the land of Gesem where the children of Israel were, the hail was not. (27) And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. (28) Pray then for me to the Lord, and let him cause the thunderings of God to cease, and the hail and the fire, and I will send you forth and ye shall remain no longer. (29) And Moses said to him, When I shall have departed from the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord, and the thunderings shall cease, and the hail and the rain shall be no longer, that thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord’s. (30) But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye have not yet feared the Lord. (31) And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was advanced, and the flax was seeding. (32) But the wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were late. (33) And Moses went forth from Pharao out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunders ceased and the hail, and the rain did not drop on the earth. (34) And when Pharao saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders ceased, he continued to sin; and he hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants. (35) And the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not send forth the children of Israel, as the Lord said to Moses.

10

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in to Pharao: for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that these signs may come upon them; in order (2) that ye may relate in the ears of your children, and to your children’s children, in how many things I have mocked the Egyptians, and my wonders which I wrought among them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (3) And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and they said to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long dost thou refuse to reverence me? Send my people away, that they may serve me. (4) But if thou wilt not send my people away, behold, at this hour to-morrow I will bring an abundance of locusts upon all thy coasts. (5) And they shall cover the face of the earth, and thou shalt not be able to see the earth; and they shall devour all that is left of the abundance of the earth, which the hail has left you, and shall devour every tree that grows for you on the land. (6) And thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of thy servants, and all the houses in all the land of the Egyptians; things which thy fathers have never seen, nor their forefathers, from the day that they were upon the earth until this day. And Moses turned away and departed from Pharao. (7) And the servants of Pharao say to him, How long shall this be a snare to us? send away the men, that they may serve their God; wilt thou know that Egypt is destroyed? (8) And they brought back both Moses and Aaron to Pharao; and he said to them, Go and serve the Lord your God; but who are they that are going with you? (9) And Moses said, We will go with the young and the old, with our sons, and daughters, and sheep, and oxen, for it is a feast of the Lord. (10) And he said to them, So let the Lord be with you: as I will send you away, must I send away you store also? see that evil is attached to you. (11) Not so, but let the men go and serve God, for this ye yourselves seek; and they cast them out from the presence of Pharao. (12) And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt, and let the locust come up on the land, and it shall devour every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which the hail left. (13) And Moses lifted up his rod towards heaven, and the Lord brought a south wind upon the earth, all that day and all that night: the morning dawned, and the south wind brought up the locusts, (14) and brought them up over all the land of Egypt. And they rested in very great abundance over all the borders of Egypt. Before them there were not such locusts, neither after them shall there be. (15) And they covered the face of the earth, and the land was wasted, and they devoured all the herbage of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which was left by the hail: there was no green thing left on the trees, nor on all the herbage of the field, in all the land of Egypt. (16) And Pharao hasted to call Moses and Aaron, saying, I have sinned before the Lord your God, and against you; (17) pardon therefore my sin yet this time, and pray to the Lord your God, and let him take away from me this death. (18) And Moses went forth from Pharao, and prayed to God. (19) And the Lord brought in the opposite direction a strong wind from the sea, and took up the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea, and there was not one locust left in all the land of Egypt. (20) And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he did not send away the children of Israel. (21) And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand to heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt—darkness that may be felt. (22) And Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was darkness very black, even a storm over all the land of Egypt three days. (23) And for three days no man saw his brother, and no man rose up from his bed for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in all the places where they were. (24) And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, saying, Go, serve the Lord your God, only leave your sheep and your oxen, and let your store depart with you. (25) And Moses said, Nay, but thou shalt give to us whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, which we will sacrifice to the Lord our God. (26) And our cattle shall go with us, and we will not leave a hoof behind, for of them we will take to serve the Lord our God: but we know not in what manner we shall serve the Lord our God, until we arrive there. (27) But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he would not let them go. (28) And Pharao says, Depart from me, beware of seeing my face again, for in what day thou shalt appear before me, thou shalt die. (29) And Moses says, Thou hast said, I will not appear in thy presence again.

11

(1) And the Lord said to Moses, I will yet bring one plague upon Pharao and upon Egypt, and after that he will send you forth thence; and whenever he sends you forth with every thing, he will indeed drive you out. (2) Speak therefore secretly in the ears of the people, and let every one ask of his neighbour jewels of silver and gold, and raiment. (3) And the Lord gave his people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and they lent to them; and the man Moses was very great before the Egyptians, and before Pharao, and before his servants. (4) And Moses said, These things saith the Lord, About midnight I go forth into the midst of Egypt. (5) And every first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharao that sits on the throne, even to the first-born of the woman-servant that is by the mill, and to the first-born of all cattle. (6) And there shall be a great cry through all the land of Egypt, such as has not been, and such shall not be repeated any more. (7) But among all the children of Israel shall not a dog snarl with his tongue, either at man or beast; that thou mayest know how wide a distinction the Lord will make between the Egyptians and Israel. (8) And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and do me reverence, saying, Go forth, thou and all the people over whom thou presidest, and afterwards I will go forth. (9) And Moses went forth from Pharao with wrath. And the Lord said to Moses, Pharao will not hearken to you, that I may greatly multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. (10) And Moses and Aaron wrought all these signs and wonders in the land of Egypt before Pharao; and the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he did not hearken to send forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

12

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, (2) This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it is the first to you among the months of the year. (3) Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month let them take each man a lamb according to the houses of their families, every man a lamb for his household. (4) And if they be few in a household, so that there are not enough for the lamb, he shall take with himself his neighbour that lives near to him, —as to the number of souls, every one according to that which suffices him shall make a reckoning for the lamb. (5) It shall be to you a lamb unblemished, a male of a year old: ye shall take it of the lambs and the kids. (6) And it shall be kept by you till the fourteenth of this month, and all the multitude of the congregation of the children of Israel shall kill it toward evening. (7) And they shall take of the blood, and shall put it on the two door-posts, and on the lintel, in the houses in which soever they shall eat them. (8) And they shall eat the flesh in this night roast with fire, and they shall eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs. (9) Ye shall not eat of it raw nor sodden in water, but only roast with fire, the head with the feet and the appurtenances. (10) Nothing shall be left of it till the morning, and a bone of it ye shall not break; but that which is left of it till the morning ye shall burn with fire. (11) And thus shall ye eat it: your loins girded, and your sandals on your feet, and your staves in your hands, and ye shall eat it in haste. It is a passover to the Lord. (12) and I will go throughout the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt both man and beast, and on all the gods of Egypt will I execute vengeance: I am the Lord. (13) And the blood shall be for a sign to you on the houses in which ye are, and I will see the blood, and will protect you, and there shall not be on you the plague of destruction, when I smite in the land of Egypt. (14) And this day shall be to you a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord through all your generations; ye shall keep it a feast for a perpetual ordinance. (15) Seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread, and from the first day ye shall utterly remove leaven from your houses: whoever shall eat leaven, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day. (16) And the first day shall be called holy, and the seventh day shall be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work on them, only as many things as will necessarily be done by every soul, this only shall be done by you. (17) And ye shall keep this commandment, for on this day will I bring out your force out of the land of Egypt; and ye shall make this day a perpetual ordinance for you throughout your generations. (18) Beginning the fourteenth day of the first month, ye shall eat unleavened bread from evening, till the twenty-first day of the month, till evening. (19) Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses; whosoever shall eat anything leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, both among the occupiers of the land and the original inhabitants. (20) Ye shall eat nothing leavened, but in every habitation of your ye shall eat unleavened bread. (21) And Moses called all the elders of the children of Israel, and said to them, Go away and take to yourselves a lamb according to your kindreds, and slay the passover. (22) And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and having dipped it into some of the blood that is by the door, ye shall touch the lintel, and shall put it upon both door-posts, even of the blood which is by the door; but ye shall not go out every one from the door of his house till the morning. (23) And the Lord shall pass by to smite the Egyptians, and shall see the blood upon the lintel, and upon both the door-posts; and the Lord shall pass by the door, and shall not suffer the destroyer to enter into your houses to smite you. (24) And keep ye this thing as an ordinance for thyself and for thy children for ever. (25) And if ye should enter into the land, which the Lord shall give you, as he has spoken, keep this service. (26) And it shall come to pass, if your sons say to you, What is this service? (27) that ye shall say to them, This passover is a sacrifice to the Lord, as he defended the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, but delivered our houses. (28) And the people bowed and worshipped. And the children of Israel departed and did as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. (29) And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharao that sat on the throne, to the first-born of the captive-maid in the dungeon, and the first-born of all cattle. (30) And Pharao rose up by night, and his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in all the land of Egypt, for there was not a house in which there was not one dead. (31) And Pharao called Moses and Aaron by night, and said to them, Rise and depart from my people, both ye and the children of Israel. Go and serve the Lord your God, even as ye say. (32) And take with you your sheep, and your oxen: bless me also, I pray you. (33) And the Egyptians constrained the people, so that they cast them out of the land with haste, for they said, We all shall die. (34) And the people took their dough before their meal was leavened, bound up as it was in their garments, on their shoulders. (35) And the children of Israel did as Moses commanded them, and they asked of the Egyptians articles of silver and gold and apparel. (36) And the Lord gave his people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and they lent to them; and they spoiled the Egyptians. (37) And the children Israel departed from Ramesses to Socchoth, to the full number of six hundred thousand footmen, even men, besides the baggage. (38) And a great mixed company went up with them, and sheep and oxen and very much cattle. (39) And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt, unleavened cakes, for it had not been leavened; for the Egyptians cast them out, and they could not remain, neither did they prepare provision for themselves for the journey. (40) And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Chanaan, was four hundred and thirty years. (41) And it came to pass after the four hundred and thirty years, all the forces of the Lord came forth out of the land of Egypt by night. (42) It is a watch kept to the Lord, so that he should bring them out of the land of Egypt; that very night is a watch kept to the Lord, so that it should be to all the children of Israel to their generations. (43) And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the law of the passover: no stranger shall eat of it. (44) And every slave or servant bought with money—him thou shalt circumcise, and then shall he eat of it. (45) A sojourner or hireling shall not eat of it. (46) In one house shall it be eaten, and ye shall not carry of the flesh out from the house; and a bone of it ye shall not break. (47) All the congregation of the children of Israel shall keep it. (48) And if any proselyte shall come to you to keep the passover to the Lord, thou shalt circumcise every male of him, and then shall he approach to sacrifice it, and he shall be even as the original inhabitant of the land; no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. (49) There shall be one law to the native, and to the proselyte coming among you. (50) And the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron for them, so they did. (51) And it came to pass in that day that the Lord brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt with their forces.

13

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Sanctify to me every first-born, first produced, opening every womb among the children of Israel both of man and beast: it is mine. (3) And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which ye came forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand the Lord brought you forth thence; and leaven shall not be eaten. (4) For on this day ye go forth in the month of new corn. (5) And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Evites, and Jebusites, and Gergesites, and Pherezites, which he sware to thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt perform this service in this month. (6) Six days ye shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a feast to the Lord. (7) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; nothing leavened shall be seen with thee, neither shalt thou have leaven in all thy borders. (8) And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying, Therefore the Lord dealt thus with me, as I was going out of Egypt. (9) And it shall be to thee a sign upon thy hand and a memorial before thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord God brought thee out of Egypt. (10) And preserve ye this law according to the times of the seasons, from year to year. (11) And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land of the Chananites, as he sware to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, (12) that thou shalt set apart every offspring opening the womb, the males to the Lord, every one that opens the womb out of the herds or among thy cattle, as many as thou shalt have: thou shalt sanctify the males to the Lord. (13) Every offspring opening the womb of the ass thou shalt change for a sheep; and if thou wilt not change it, thou shalt redeem it: every first-born of man of thy sons shalt thou redeem. (14) And if thy son should ask thee hereafter, saying, What is this? then thou shalt say to him, With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (15) And when Pharao hardened his heart so as not to send us away, he slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast; therefore do I sacrifice every offspring that opens the womb, the males to the Lord, and every first-born of my sons I will redeem. (16) And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and immovable before thine eyes, for with a strong hand the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. (17) And when Pharao sent forth the people, God led them not by the way of the land of the Phylistines, because it was near; for God said, Lest at any time the people repent when they see war, and return to Egypt. (18) And God led the people round by the way to the wilderness, to the Red Sea: and in the fifth generation the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt. (19) And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had solemnly adjured the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones hence with you. (20) And the children of Israel departed from Socchoth, and encamped in Othom by the wilderness. (21) And God led them, in the day by a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and in the night by a pillar of fire. (22) And the pillar of cloud failed not by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before all the people.

14

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and let them turn and encamp before the village, between Magdol and the sea, opposite Beel-sepphon: before them shalt thou encamp by the sea. (3) And Pharao will say to his people, As for these children of Israel, they are wandering in the land, for the wilderness has shut them in. (4) And I will harden the heart of Pharao, and he shall pursue after them; and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so. (5) And it was reported to the king of the Egyptians that the people had fled: and the heart of Pharao was turned, and that of his servants against the people; and they said, What is this that we have done, to let the children of Israel go, so that they should not serve us? (6) So Pharao yoked his chariots, and led off all his people with himself: (7) having also taken six hundred chosen chariots, and all the cavalry of the Egyptians, and rulers over all. (8) And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao king of Egypt, and of his servants, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went forth with a high hand. (9) And the Egyptians pursued after them, and found them encamped by the sea; and all the cavalry and the chariots of Pharao, and the horsemen, and his host were before the village, over against Beel-sepphon. (10) And Pharao approached, and the children of Israel having looked up, beheld, and the Egyptians encamped behind them: and they were very greatly terrified, and the children of Israel cried to the Lord; (11) and said to Moses, Because there were no graves in the land of Egypt, hast thou brought us forth to slay us in the wilderness? What is this that thou hast done to us, having brought us out of Egypt? (12) Is not this the word which we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness. (13) And Moses said to the people, Be of good courage: stand and see the salvation which is from the Lord, which he will work for us this day; for as ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (14) The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (15) and the Lord said to Moses, Why criest thou to me? speak to the children of Israel, and let them proceed. (16) And do thou lift up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it, and let the children of Israel enter into the midst of the sea on the dry land. (17) And lo! I will harden the heart of Pharao and of all the Egyptians, and they shall go in after them; and I will be glorified upon Pharao, and on all his host, and on his chariots and his horses. (18) And all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I am glorified upon Pharao and upon his chariots and his horses. (19) And the angel of God that went before the camp of the children of Israel removed and went behind, and the pillar of the cloud also removed from before them and stood behind them. (20) And it went between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and stood; and there was darkness and blackness; and the night passed, and they came not near to one another during the whole night. (21) And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Lord carried back the sea with a strong south wind all the night, and made the sea dry, and the water was divided. (22) And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the water of it was a wall on the right hand and a wall on the left. (23) And the Egyptians pursued them and went in after them, and every horse of Pharao, and his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. (24) And it came to pass in the morning watch that the Lord looked forth on the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled the camp of the Egyptians, (25) and bound the axle-trees of their chariots, and caused them to go with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. (26) And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth tine hand over the sea, and let the water be turned back to its place, and let it cover the Egyptians coming both upon the chariots and the riders. (27) And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the water returned to its place toward day; and the Egyptians fled from the water, and the Lord shook off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. (28) and the water returned and covered the chariots and the riders, and all the forces of Pharao, who entered after them into the sea: and there was not left of them even one. (29) But the children of Israel went along dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them a wall on the right hand, and a wall on the left. (30) So the Lord delivered Israel in that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead by the shore of the sea. (31) And Israel saw the mighty hand, the things which the Lord did to the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and they believed God and Moses his servant.

15

(1) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to God, and spoke, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he is very greatly glorified: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. (2) He was to me a helper and protector for salvation: this is my God and I will glorify him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (3) The Lord bringing wars to nought, the Lord is his name. (4) He has cast the chariots of Pharao and his host into the sea, the chosen mounted captains: they were swallowed up in the Red Sea. (5) He covered them with the sea: they sank to the depth like a stone. (6) Thy right hand, O God, has been glorified in strength; thy right hand, O God, has broken the enemies. (7) And in the abundance of thy glory thou hast broken the adversaries to pieces: thou sentest forth thy wrath, it devoured them as stubble. (8) And by the breath of thine anger the water parted asunder; the waters were congealed as a wall, the waves were congealed in the midst of the sea. (9) The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; I will satisfy my soul, I will destroy with my sword, my hand shall have dominion. (10) Thou sentest forth thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty water. (11) Who is like to thee among the gods, O Lord? who is like to thee? glorified in holiness, marvellous in glories, doing wonders. (12) Thou stretchedst forth thy right hand, the earth swallowed them up. (13) Thou hast guided in thy righteousness this thy people whom thou hast redeemed, by thy strength thou hast called them into thy holy resting-place. (14) The nations heard and were angry, pangs have seized on the dwellers among the Phylistines. (15) Then the princes of Edom, and the chiefs of the Moabites hasted; trembling took hold upon them, all the inhabitants of Chanaan melted away. (16) Let trembling and fear fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm, let them become as stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till this thy people pass over, whom thou hast purchased. (17) Bring them in and plant them in the mountain of their inheritance, in thy prepared habitation, which thou, O Lord, hast prepared; the sanctuary, O Lord, which thine hands have made ready. (18) The Lord reigns for ever and ever and ever. (19) For the horse of Pharao went in with the chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought upon them the water of the sea, but the children of Israel walked through dry land in the midst of the sea. (20) And Mariam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, having taken a timbrel in her hand—then there went forth all the women after her with timbrels and dances. (21) And Mariam led them, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been very greatly glorified: the horse and rider has he cast into the sea. (22) So Moses brought up the children of Israel from the Red Sea, and brought them into the wilderness of Sur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water to drink. (23) and they came to Merrha, and could not drink of Merrha, for it was bitter; therefore he named the name of that place, Bitterness. (24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? (25) And Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord shewed him a tree, and he cast it into the water, and the water was sweetened: there he established to him ordinances and judgments, and there he proved him, (26) and said, If thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do things pleasing before him, and wilt hearken to his commands, and keep all his ordinances, no disease which I have brought upon the Egyptians will I bring upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God that heals thee. (27) And they came to Ælim, and there were there twelve fountains of water, and seventy stems of palm-trees; and they encamped there by the waters.

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(1) And they departed from Ælim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Ælim and Sina; and on the fifteenth day, in the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt, (2) all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. (3) And the children of Israel said to them, Would we had died smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and ate bread to satiety! for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to slay all this congregation with hunger. (4) And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread upon you out of heaven: and the people shall go forth, and they shall gather their daily portion for the day, that I may try them whether they will walk in my law or not. (5) And it shall come to pass on the sixth day that they shall prepare whatsoever they have brought in, and it shall be double of what they shall have gathered for the day, daily. (6) And Moses and Aaron said to all the congregation of the children of Israel, At even ye shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt; (7) and in the morning ye shall see the glory of the Lord, inasmuch as he hears your murmuring against God; and who are we, that ye continue to murmur against us? (8) And Moses said, This shall be when the Lord gives you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety, because the Lord has heard your murmuring, which ye murmur against us: and what are we? for your murmuring is not against us, but against God. (9) And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before God; for he has heard your murmuring. (10) And when Aaron spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they turned toward the wilderness, then the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud. (11) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (12) I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel: speak to them, saying, Towards evening ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be satisfied with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. (13) And it was evening, and quails came up and covered the camp: (14) in the morning it came to pass as the dew ceased round about the camp, that, behold, on the face of the wilderness was a small thing like white coriander seed, as frost upon the earth. (15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, What is this? for they knew not what it was; and Moses said to them, (16) This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is that which the Lord has appointed: gather of it each man for his family, a homer for each person, according to the number of your souls, gather each of you with his fellow-lodgers. (17) And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some much and some less. (18) And having measured the homer full, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered less had no lack; each gathered according to the need of those who belonged to him. (19) And Moses said to them, Let no man leave of it till the morning. (20) But they did not hearken to Moses, but some left of it till the morning; and it bred worms and stank: and Moses was irritated with them. (21) And they gathered it every morning, each man what he needed, and when the sun waxed hot it melted. (22) And it came to pass on the sixth day, they gathered double what was needed, two homers for one man; and all the chiefs of the synagogue went in and reported it to Moses. (23) And Moses said to them, Is not this the word which the Lord spoke? To-morrow is the sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord: bake that ye will bake, and seethe that ye will seethe, and all that is over leave to be laid by for the morrow. (24) And they left of it till the morning, as Moses commanded them; and it stank not, neither was there a worm in it. (25) And Moses said, Eat that to-day, for to-day is a sabbath to the Lord: it shall not be found in the plain. (26) Six days ye shall gather it, and on the seventh day is a sabbath, for there shall be none on that day. (27) And it came to pass on the seventh day that some of the people went forth to gather, and found none. (28) And the Lord said to Moses, How long are ye unwilling to hearken to my commands and my law? (29) See, for the Lord has given you this day as the sabbath, therefore he has given you on the sixth day the bread of two days: ye shall sit each of you in your houses; let no one go forth from his place on the seventh day. (30) And the people kept sabbath on the seventh day. (31) And the children of Israel called the name of it Man; and it was as white coriander seed, and the taste of it as a wafer with honey. (32) And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Fill an homer with manna, to be laid up for your generations; that they may see the bread which ye ate in the wilderness, when the Lord led you forth out of the land of Egypt. (33) And Moses said to Aaron, Take a golden pot, and cast into it one full homer of manna; and thou shalt lay it up before God, to be kept for your generations, (34) as the Lord commanded Moses: and Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept. (35) And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to the land they ate the manna, until they came to the region of Phoenicia. (36) Now the homer was the tenth part of three measures.

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(1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the wilderness of Sin, according to their encampments, by the word of the Lord; and they encamped in Raphidin: and there was no water for the people to drink. (2) And the people reviled Moses, saying, Give us water, that we may drink; and Moses said to them, Why do ye revile me, and why tempt ye the Lord? (3) And the people thirsted there for water, and there the people murmured against Moses, saying, Why is this? hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to slay us and our children and our cattle with thirst? (4) And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, What shall I do to this people? yet a little while and they will stone me. (5) And the Lord said to Moses, Go before this people, and take to thyself of the elders of the people; and the rod with which thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and thou shalt go. (6) Behold, I stand there before thou come, on the rock in Choreb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and water shall come out from it, and the people shall drink. And Moses did so before the sons of Israel. (7) And he called the name of that place, Temptation, and Reviling, because of the reviling of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? (8) And Amalec came and fought with Israel in Raphidin. (9) And Moses said to Joshua, Choose out for thyself mighty men, and go forth and set the army in array against Amalec to-morrow; and, behold, I shall stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God will be in my hand. (10) And Joshua did as Moses said to him, and he went out and set the army in array against Amalec, and Moses and Aaron and Or went up to the top of the hill. (11) And it came to pass, when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands, Amalec prevailed. (12) But the hands of Moses were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it; and Aaron and Or supported his hands one on this side and the other on that, and the hands of Moses were supported till the going down of the sun. (13) And Joshua routed Amalec and all his people with the slaughter of the sword. (14) And the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and speak this in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly blot out the memorial of Amalec from under heaven. (15) And Moses built an altar to the Lord, and called the name of it, The Lord my Refuge. (16) For with a secret hand the Lord wages war upon Amalec to all generations.

18

(1) And Jothor the priest of Madiam, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that the Lord did to his people Israel; for the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. (2) And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, took Sepphora the wife of Moses after she had been sent away, (3) and her two sons: the name of the one was Gersam, his father saying, I was a sojourner in a strange land; — (4) and the name of the second Eliezer, saying, For the God of my father is my helper, and he has rescued me out of the hand of Pharao. (5) And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, and his sons and his wife, went forth to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped on the mount of God. (6) And it was told Moses, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law Jothor is coming to thee, and thy wife and two sons with him. (7) And Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law, and did him reverence, and kissed him, and they embraced each other, and he brought them into the tent. (8) And Moses related to his father-in-law all things that the Lord did to Pharao and all the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the labour that had befallen them in the way, and that the Lord had rescued them out of the hand of Pharao, and out of the hand of the Egyptians. (9) And Jothor was amazed at all the good things which the Lord did to them, forasmuch as he rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao. (10) And Jothor said, Blessed be the Lord, because he has rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao. (11) Now know I that the Lord is great above all gods, because of this, wherein they attacked them. (12) And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses took whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for God, for Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God. (13) And it came to pass after the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people, and all the people stood by Moses from morning till evening. (14) And Jothor having seen all that Moses did to the people, says, What is this that thou doest to the people? wherefore sittest thou alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning till evening? (15) And Moses says to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to seek judgment from God. (16) For whenever there is a dispute among them, and they come to me, I give judgment upon each, and I teach them the ordinances of God and his law. (17) And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, Thou dost not this thing rightly, (18) thou wilt wear away with intolerable weariness, both those and all this people which is with thee: this thing is hard, thou wilt not be able to endure it thyself alone. (19) Now then hearken to me, and I will advise thee, and God shall be with thee: be thou to the people in the things pertaining to God, and thou shalt bring their matters to God. (20) And thou shalt testify to them the ordinances of God and his law, and thou shalt shew to them the ways in which they shall walk, and the works which they shall do. (21) And do thou look out for thyself out of all the people able men, fearing God, righteous men, hating pride, and thou shalt set over the people captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens. (22) And they shall judge the people at all times, and the too burdensome matter they shall bring to thee, but they shall judge the smaller cases; so they shall relieve thee and help thee. (23) If thou wilt do this thing, God shall strengthen thee, and thou shalt be able to attend, and all this people shall come with peace into their own place. (24) And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did whatsoever he said to him. (25) And Moses chose out able men out of all Israel, and he made them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties and captains of tens over the people. (26) And they judged the people at all times; and every too burdensome matter they brought to Moses, but every light matter they judged themselves. (27) And Moses dismissed his father-in-law, and he returned to his own land.

19

(1) And in the third month of the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came into the wilderness of Sina. (2) And they departed from Raphidin, and came into the wilderness of Sina, and there Israel encamped before the mountain. (3) And Moses went up to the mount of God, and God called him out of the mountain, saying, These things shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and thou shalt report them to the children of Israel. (4) Ye have seen all that I have done to the Egyptians, and I took you up as upon eagles’ wings, and I brought you near to myself. (5) And now if ye will indeed hear my voice, and keep my covenant, ye shall be to me a peculiar people above all nations; for the whole earth is mine. (6) And ye shall be to me a royal priesthood and a holy nation: these words shalt thou speak to the children of Israel. (7) And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and he set before them all these words, which God appointed them. (8) And all the people answered with one accord, and said, All things that God has spoken, we will do and hearken to: and Moses reported these words to God. (9) And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! I come to thee in a pillar of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever: and Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. (10) And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and solemnly charge the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments. (11) And let them be ready against the third day, for on the third day the Lord will descend upon mount Sina before all the people. (12) And thou shalt separate the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mountain, nor touch any part of it: every one that touches the mountain shall surely die. (13) A hand shall not touch it, for every one that touches shall be stoned with stones or shot through with a dart, whether beast or whether man, it shall not live: when the voices and trumpets and cloud depart from off the mountain, they shall come up on the mountain. (14) And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified them, and they washed their clothes. (15) And he said to the people, Be ready: for three days come not near to a woman. (16) And it came to pass on the third day, as the morning drew nigh, there were voices and lightnings and a dark cloud on mount Sina: the voice of the trumpet sounded loud, and all the people in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses led the people forth out of the camp to meet God, and they stood by under the camp. (18) The mount of Sina was altogether on a smoke, because God had descended upon it in fire; and the smoke went up as the smoke of a furnace, and the people were exceedingly amazed. (19) And the sounds of the trumpet were waxing very much louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice. (20) And the Lord came down upon mount Sina on the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (21) And God spoke to Moses, saying, Go down, and solemnly charge the people, lest at any time they draw nigh to God to gaze, and a multitude of them fall. (22) And let the priests that draw nigh to the Lord God sanctify themselves, lest he destroy some of them. (23) And Moses said to God, The people will not be able to approach to the mount of Sina, for thou hast solemnly charged us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain and sanctify it. (24) And the Lord said to him, Go, descend, and come up thou and Aaron with thee; but let not the priests and the people force their way to come up to God, lest the Lord destroy some of them. (25) And Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.

20

(1) And the Lord spoke all these words, saying: (2) I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (3) Thou shalt have no other gods beside me. (4) Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are in the heaven above, and whatever are in the earth beneath, and whatever are in the waters under the earth. (5) Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, recompensing the sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation to them that hate me, (6) and bestowing mercy on them that love me to thousands of them, and on them that keep my commandments. (7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord thy God will not acquit him that takes his name in vain. (8) Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. (9) Six days thou shalt labour, and shalt perform all thy work. (10) But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt do no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servant nor thy maidservant, thine ox nor thine ass, nor any cattle of thine, nor the stranger that sojourns with thee. (11) For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all things in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. (12) Honour thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the good land, which the Lord thy God gives to thee. (13) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (14) Thou shalt not steal. (15) Thou shalt not kill. (16) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (17) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; nor his field, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any of his cattle, nor whatever belongs to thy neighbour. (18) And all the people perceived the thundering, and the flashes, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and all the people feared and stood afar off, (19) and said to Moses, Speak thou to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die. (20) And Moses says to them, Be of good courage, for God is come to you to try you, that his fear may be among you, that ye sin not. (21) And the people stood afar off, and Moses went into the darkness where God was. (22) And the Lord said to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and thou shalt report it to the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. (23) Ye shall not make to yourselves gods of silver, and gods of gold ye shall not make to yourselves. (24) Ye shall make to me an altar of earth; and upon it ye shall sacrifice your whole burnt-offerings, and your peace-offerings, and your sheep and your calves in every place, where I shall record my name; and I will come to thee and bless thee. (25) And if thou wilt make to me an altar of stones, thou shalt not build them hewn stones; for thou hast lifted up thy tool upon them, and they are defiled. (26) Thou shalt not go up to my altar by steps, that thou mayest not uncover thy nakedness upon it.

21

(1) And these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them. (2) If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee, and in the seventh year he shall go forth free for nothing. (3) If he should have come in alone, he shall also go forth alone; and if his wife should have gone in together with him, his wife also shall go out. (4) Moreover, if his master give him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters, the wife and the children shall be his master’s; and he shall go forth alone. (5) And if the servant should answer and say, I love my master and wife and children, I will not go away free; (6) his master shall bring him to the judgment-seat of God, and then shall he bring him to the door, —to the door-post, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever. (7) And if any one sell his daughter as a domestic, she shall not depart as the maid-servants depart. (8) If she be not pleasing to her master, after she has betrothed herself to him, he shall let her go free; but he is not at liberty to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has trifled with her. (9) And if he should have betrothed her to his son, he shall do to her according to the right of daughters. (10) And if he take another to himself, he shall not deprive her of necessaries and her apparel, and her companionship with him. (11) And if he will not do these three things to her, she shall go out free without money. (12) And if any man smite another and he die, let him be certainly put to death. (13) But as for him that did it not willingly, but God delivered him into his hands, I will give thee a place whither the slayer may flee. (14) And if any one lie in wait for his neighbour to slay him by craft, and he go for refuge, thou shalt take him from my altar to put him to death. (15) Whoever smites his father or his mother, let him be certainly put to death. (17) He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die. (16) Whosoever shall steal one of the children of Israel, and prevail over him and sell him, and he be found with him, let him certainly die. (18) And if two men revile each other and smite the one the other with a stone or his fist, and he die not, but be laid upon his bed; (19) if the man arise and walk abroad on his staff, he that smote him shall be clear; only he shall pay for his loss of time, and for his healing. (20) And if a man smite his man-servant or his maid-servant, with a rod, and the party die under his hands, he shall be surely punished. (21) But if the servant continue to live a day or two, let not the master be punished; for he is his money. (22) And if two men strive and smite a woman with child, and her child be born imperfectly formed, he shall be forced to pay a penalty: as the woman’s husband may lay upon him, he shall pay with a valuation. (23) But if it be perfectly formed, he shall give life for life, (24) eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (25) burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (26) And if one smite the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his maid-servant, and put it out, he shall let them go free for their eye’s sake. (27) And if he should smite out the tooth of his man-servant, or the tooth of his maid-servant, he shall send them away free for their tooth’s sake. (28) And if a bull gore a man or woman and they die, the bull shall be stoned with stones, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall be clear. (29) But if the bull should have been given to goring in former time, and men should have told his owner, and he have not removed him, but he should have slain a man or woman, the bull shall be stoned, and his owner shall die also. (30) And if a ransom should be imposed on him, he shall pay for the ransom of his soul as much as they shall lay upon him. (31) And if the bull gore a son or daughter, let them do to him according to this ordinance. (32) And if the bull gore a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall pay to their master thirty silver didrachms, and the bull shall be stoned. (33) And if any one open a pit or dig a cavity in stone, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall in there, (34) the owner of the pit shall make compensation; he shall give money to their owner, and the dead shall be his own. (35) And if any man’s bull gore the bull of his neighbour, and it die, they shall sell the living bull and divide the money, and they shall divide the dead bull. (36) But if the bull be known to have been given to goring in time past, and they have testified to his owner, and he have not removed him, he shall repay bull for bull, but the dead shall be his own.

22

(1) And if one steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it or sell it, he shall pay five calves for a calf, and four sheep for a sheep. (2) And if the thief be found in the breach made by himself and be smitten and die, there shall not be blood shed for him. (3) But if the sun be risen upon him, he is guilty, he shall die instead; and if a thief have nothing, let him be sold in compensation for what he has stolen. (4) And if the thing stolen be left and be in his hand alive, whether ox or sheep, he shall restore them two-fold. (5) And if any one should feed down a field or a vineyard, and should send in his beast to feed down another field, he shall make compensation of his own field according to his produce; and if he shall have fed down the whole field, he shall pay for compensation the best of his own field and the best of his vineyard. (6) And if fire have gone forth and caught thorns, and should also set on fire threshing-floors or ears of corn or a field, he that kindled the fire shall make compensation. (7) And if any one give to his neighbour money r goods to keep, and they be stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief be found he shall repay double. (8) But if the thief be not found, the master of the house shall come forward before God, and shall swear that surely he has not wrought wickedly in regard of any part of his neighbour’s deposit, (9) according to every injury alleged, both concerning a calf, and an ass, and a sheep, and a garment, and every alleged loss, whatsoever in fact it may be, —the judgment of both shall proceed before God, and he that is convicted by God shall repay to his neighbour double. (10) And if any one give to his neighbour to keep a calf or sheep or any beast, and it be wounded or die or be taken, and no one know, (11) an oath of God shall be between both, each swearing that he has surely not at all been guilty in the matter of his neighbour’s deposit; and so his master shall hold him guiltless, and he shall not make compensation. (12) And if it be stolen from him, he shall make compensation to the owner. (13) And if it be seized of beasts, he shall bring him to witness the prey, and he shall not make compensation. (14) And if any one borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be wounded or die or be carried away, and the owner of it be not with it, he shall make compensation. (15) But if the owner be with it, he shall not make compensation: but if it be a hired thing, there shall be a compensation to him instead of his hire. (16) And if any one deceive a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her for a wife to himself. (17) And if her father positively refuse, and will not consent to give her to him for a wife, he shall pay compensation to her father according to the amount of the dowry of virgins. (18) Ye shall not save the lives of sorcerers. (19) Every one that lies with a beast ye shall surely put to death. (20) He that sacrifices to any gods but to the Lord alone, shall be destroyed by death. (21) And ye shall not hurt a stranger, nor afflict him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22) Ye shall hurt no widow or orphan. (23) And if ye should afflict them by ill-treatment, and they should cry aloud to me, I will surely hear their voice. (24) And I will be very angry, and will slay you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children orphans. (25) And if thou shouldest lend money to thy poor brother who is by thee, thou shalt not be hard upon him thou shalt not exact usury of him. (26) And if thou take thy neighbour’s garment for a pledge, thou shalt restore it to him before sunset. (27) For this is his clothing, this is the only covering of his nakedness; wherein shall he sleep? If then he shall cry to me, I will hearken to him, for I am merciful. (28) Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor speak ill of the ruler of thy people. (29) Thou shalt not keep back the first-fruits of thy threshing floor and press. The first-born of thy sons thou shalt give to me. (30) So shalt thou do with thy calf and thy sheep and thine ass; seven days shall it be under the mother, and the eighth day thou shalt give it to me. (31) And ye shall be holy men to me; and ye shall not eat flesh taken of beasts, ye shall cast it to the dog.

23

(1) Thou shalt not receive a vain report: thou shalt not agree with the unjust man to become an unjust witness. (2) Thou shalt not associate with the multitude for evil; thou shalt not join thyself with a multitude to turn aside with the majority so as to shut out judgment. (3) And thou shalt not spare a poor man in judgment. (4) And if thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt turn them back and restore them to him. (5) And if thou see thine enemy’s ass fallen under its burden, thou shalt not pass by it, but shalt help to raise it with him. (6) Thou shalt not wrest the sentence of the poor in his judgment. (7) Thou shalt abstain from every unjust thing: thou shalt not slay the innocent and just, and thou shalt not justify the wicked for gifts. (8) And thou shalt not receive gifts; for gifts blind the eyes of the seeing, and corrupt just words. (9) And ye shall not afflict a stranger, for ye know the heart of a stranger; for ye were yourselves strangers in the land of Egypt. (10) Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the fruits of it. (11) But in the seventh year thou shalt let it rest, and leave it, and the poor of thy nation shall feed; and the wild beasts of the field shall eat that which remains: thus shalt thou do to thy vineyard and to thine oliveyard. (12) Six days shalt thou do thy works, and on the seventh day there shall be rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and that the son of thy maid-servant and the stranger may be refreshed. (13) Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and ye shall make no mention of the name of other gods, neither shall they be heard out of your mouth. (14) Keep ye a feast to me three times in the year. (15) Take heed to keep the feast of unleavened bread: seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread, as I charged thee at the season of the month of new corn, for in it thou camest out of Egypt: thou shalt not appear before me empty. (16) And thou shalt keep the feast of the harvest of first-fruits of thy labours, whatsoever thou shalt have sown in thy field, and the feast of completion at the end of the year in the gathering in of thy fruits out of thy field. (17) Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God. (18) For when I shall have cast out the nations from before thee, and shall have widened thy borders, thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, neither must the fat of my feast abide till the morning. (19) Thou shalt bring the first-offerings of the first-fruits of thy land into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a lamb in its mother’s milk. (20) And, behold, I send my angel before thy face, that he may keep thee in the way, that he may bring thee into the land which I have prepared for thee. (21) Take heed to thyself and hearken to him, and disobey him not; for he will not give way to thee, for my name is on him. (22) If ye will indeed hear my voice, and if thou wilt do all the things I shall charge thee with, and keep my covenant, ye shall be to me a peculiar people above all nations, for the whole earth is mine; and ye shall be to me a royal priesthood, and a holy nation: these words shall ye speak to the children of Israel, If ye shall indeed hear my voice, and do all the things I shall tell thee, I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries. (23) For my angel shall go as thy leader, and shall bring thee to the Amorite, and Chettite, and Pherezite, and Chananite, and Gergesite, and Evite, and Jebusite, and I will destroy them. (24) Thou shalt not worship their gods, nor serve them: thou shalt not do according to their works, but shalt utterly destroy them, and break to pieces their pillars. (25) And thou shalt serve the Lord thy God, and I will bless thy bread and thy wine and thy water, and I will turn away sickness from you. (26) There shall not be on thy land one that is impotent or barren. I will surely fulfil the number of thy days. (27) And I will send terror before thee, and I will strike with amazement all the nations to which thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies to flee. (28) And I will send hornets before thee, and thou shalt cast out the Amorites and the Evites, and the Chananites and the Chettites from thee. (29) I will not cast them out in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee. (30) By little and little I will cast them out from before thee, until thou shalt be increased and inherit the earth. (31) And I will set thy borders from the Red Sea, to the sea of the Phylistines, and from the wilderness to the great river Euphrates; and I will give into your hand those that dwell in the land, and will cast them out from thee. (32) Thou shalt make no covenant with them and their gods. (33) And they shall not dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to sin against me; for if thou shouldest serve their gods, these will be an offence to thee.

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(1) And to Moses he said, Go up to the Lord, thou and Aaron and Nadab and Abiud, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and they shall worship the Lord from a distance. (2) And Moses alone shall draw nigh to God; and they shall not draw nigh, and the people shall not come up with them. (3) And Moses went in and related to the people all the words of God and the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, All the words which the Lord has spoken, we will do and be obedient. (4) And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and set up twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. (5) And he sent forth the young men of the children of Israel, and they offered whole burnt-offerings, and they sacrificed young calves as a peace-offering to God. (6) And Moses took half the blood and poured it into bowls, and half the blood he poured out upon the altar. (7) And he took the book of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people, and they said, All things whatsoever the Lord has spoken we will do and hearken therein. (8) And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words. (9) And Moses went up, and Aaron, and Nadab and Abiud, and seventy of the elders of Israel. (10) And they saw the place where the God of Israel stood; and under his feet was as it were a work of sapphire slabs, and as it were the appearance of the firmament of heaven in its purity. (11) And of the chosen ones of Israel there was not even one missing, and they appeared in the place of God, and did eat and drink. (12) And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, the law and the commandments, which I have written to give them laws. (13) And Moses rose up and Joshua his attendant, and they went up into the mount of God. (14) And to the elders they said, Rest there till we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Or are with you: if any man have a cause to be tried, let them go to them. (15) And Moses and Joshua went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. (16) And the glory of God came down upon the mount Sina, and the cloud covered it six days; and the Lord called Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud. (17) And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was as burning fire on the top of the mountain, before the children of Israel. (18) And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up to the mountain, and was there in the mountain forty days and forty nights.

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(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and take first-fruits of all, who may be disposed in their heart to give; and ye shall take my first-fruits. (3) And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold and silver and brass, (4) and blue, and purple, and double scarlet, and fine spun linen, and goats’ hair, (5) and rams’ skins dyed red, and blue skins, and incorruptible wood, (6) and oil for the light, incense for anointing oil, and for the composition of incense, (7) and sardius stones, and stones for the carved work of the breast-plate, and the full-length robe. (8) And thou shalt make me a sanctuary, and I will appear among you. (9) And thou shalt make for me according to all things which I shew thee in the mountain; even the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its furniture: so shalt thou make it. (10) And thou shalt make the ark of testimony of incorruptible wood; the length of two cubits and a half, and the breadth of a cubit and a half, and the height of a cubit and a half. (11) And thou shalt gild it with pure gold, thou shalt gild it within and without; and thou shalt make for it golden wreaths twisted round about. (12) And thou shalt cast for it four golden rings, and shalt put them on the four sides; two rings on the one side, and two rings on the other side. (13) And thou shalt make staves of incorruptible wood, and shalt gild them with gold. (14) And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark with them. (15) The staves shall remain fixed in the rings of the ark. (16) And thou shalt put into the ark the testimonies which I shall give thee. (17) And thou shalt make a propitiatory, a lid of pure gold; the length of two cubits and a half, and the breadth of a cubit and a half. (18) And thou shalt make two cherubs graven in gold, and thou shalt put them on both sides of the propitiatory. (19) They shall be made, one cherub on this side, and another cherub on the other side of the propitiatory; and thou shalt make the two cherubs on the two sides. (20) The cherubs shall stretch forth their wings above, overshadowing the propitiatory with their wings; and their faces shall be toward each other, the faces of the cherubs shall be toward the propitiatory. (21) And thou shalt set the propitiatory on the ark above, and thou shalt put into the ark the testimonies which I shall give thee. (22) And I will make myself known to thee from thence, and I will speak to thee above the propitiatory between the two cherubs, which are upon the ark of testimony, even in all things which I shall charge thee concerning the children of Israel. (23) And thou shalt make a golden table of pure gold, in length two cubits, and in breadth a cubit, and in height a cubit and a half. (24) And thou shalt make for it golden wreaths twisted round about, and thou shalt make for it a crown of an hand-breadth round about. (25) And thou shalt make a twisted wreath for the crown round about. (26) And thou shalt make four golden rings; and thou shalt put the four rings upon the four parts of its feet under the crown. (27) And the rings shall be for bearings for the staves, that they may bear the table with them. (28) And thou shalt make the staves of incorruptible wood, and thou shalt gild them with pure gold; and the table shall be borne with them. (29) And thou shalt make its dishes and its censers, and its bowls, and its cups, with which thou shalt offer drink-offerings: of pure gold shalt thou make them. (30) And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me continually. (31) And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold; thou shalt make the candlestick of graven work: its stem and its branches, and its bowls and its knops and its lilies shall be of one piece. (32) And six branches proceeding sideways, three branches of the candlestick from one side of it, and three branches of the candlestick from the other side. (33) And three bowls fashioned like almonds, on each branch a knop and a lily; so to the six branches proceeding from the candlestick, (34) and in the candlestick four bowls fashioned like almonds, in each branch knops and the flowers of the same. (35) A knop under two branches out of it, and a knop under four branches out of it; so to the six branches proceeding from the candlestick; and in the candlestick four bowls fashioned like almonds. (36) Let the knops and the branches be of one piece, altogether graven of one piece of pure gold. (37) And thou shalt make its seven lamps: and thou shalt set on it the lamps, and they shall shine from one front. (38) And thou shalt make its funnel and its snuff-dishes of pure gold. (39) All these articles shall be a talent of pure gold. (40) See, thou shalt make them according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount.

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(1) And thou shalt make the tabernacle, ten curtains of fine linen spun, and blue and purple, and scarlet spun with cherubs; thou shalt make them with work of a weaver. (2) The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and one curtain shall be the breadth of four cubits: there shall be the same measure to all the curtains. (3) And the five curtains shall be joined one to another, and the other five curtains shall be closely connected the one with the other. (4) And thou shalt make for them loops of blue on the edge of one curtain, on one side for the coupling, and so shalt thou make on the edge of the outer curtain for the second coupling. (5) Fifty loops shalt thou make for one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make on the part of the curtain answering to the coupling of the second, opposite each other, corresponding to each other at each point. (6) And thou shalt make fifty golden rings; and thou shalt join the curtains to each other with the rings, and it shall be one tabernacle. (7) And thou shalt make for a covering of the tabernacle skins with the hair on, thou shalt make them eleven skins. (8) The length of one skin thirty cubits, and the breadth of one skin four cubits: there shall be the same measure to the eleven skins. (9) And thou shalt join the five skins together, and the six skins together; and thou shalt double the sixth skin in front of the tabernacle. (10) And thou shalt make fifty loops on the border of one skin, which is in the midst for the joinings; and thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the second skin that joins it. (11) And thou shalt make fifty brazen rings; and thou shalt join the rings by the loops, and thou shalt join the skins, and they shall be one. (12) And thou shalt fix at the end that which is over in the skins of the tabernacle; the half of the skin that is left shalt thou fold over, according to the overplus of the skins of the tabernacle; thou shalt fold it over behind the tabernacle. (13) A cubit an this side, and a cubit on that side of that which remains of the skins, of the length of the skins of the tabernacle: it shall be folding over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and that side, that it may cover it. (14) And thou shalt make for a covering of the tabernacle rams’ skins dyed red, and blue skins as coverings above. (15) And thou shalt make the posts of the tabernacle of incorruptible wood. (16) Of ten cubits shalt thou make one post, and the breadth of one post of a cubit and a half. (17) Two joints shalt thou make in one post, answering the one to the other: so shalt thou do to all the posts of the tabernacle. (18) And thou shalt make posts to the tabernacle, twenty posts on the north side. (19) And thou shalt make to the twenty posts forty silver sockets; two sockets to one post on both its sides, and two sockets to the other post on both its sides. (20) And for the next side, toward the south, twenty posts, (21) and their forty silver sockets: two sockets to one post on both its sides, and two sockets to the other post on both its sides. (22) And on the back of the tabernacle at the part which is toward the west thou shalt make six posts. (23) And thou shalt make two posts on the corners of the tabernacle behind. (24) And it shall be equal below, they shall be equal toward the same part from the heads to one joining; so shalt thou make to both the two corners, let them be equal. (25) And there shall be eight posts, and their sixteen silver sockets; two sockets to one post on both its sides, and two sockets to the other post. (26) And thou shalt make bars of incorruptible wood; five to one post on one side of the tabernacle, (27) and five bars to one post on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars to the hinder posts, on the side of the tabernacle toward the sea. (28) And let the bar in the middle between the posts go through from the one side to the other side. (29) And thou shalt gild the posts with gold; and thou shalt make golden rings, into which thou shalt introduce the bars, and thou shalt gild the bars with gold. (30) And thou shalt set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount. (31) And thou shalt make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet woven, and fine linen spun: thou shalt make it cherubs in woven work. (32) And thou shalt set it upon four posts of incorruptible wood overlaid with gold; and their tops shall be gold, and their four sockets shall be of silver. (33) And thou shalt put the veil on the posts, and thou shalt carry in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall make a separation for you between the holy and the holy of holies. (34) And thou shalt screen with the veil the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies. (35) And thou shalt set the table outside the veil, and the candlestick opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle; and thou shalt put the table on the north side of the tabernacle. (36) And thou shalt make a screen for the door of the tabernacle of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet and fine linen spun, the work of the embroiderer. (37) And thou shalt make for the veil five posts, and thou shalt gild them with gold; and their chapiters shall be gold; and thou shalt cast for them five brazen sockets.

27

(1) And thou shalt make an altar of incorruptible wood, of five cubits in the length, and five cubits in the breadth; the altar shall be square, and the height of it shall be of three cubits. (2) And thou shalt make the horns on the four corners; the horns shall be of the same piece, and thou shalt overlay them with brass. (3) And thou shalt make a rim for the altar; and its covering and its cups, and its flesh-hooks, and its fire-pan, and all its vessels shalt thou make of brass. (4) And thou shalt make for it a brazen grate with net-work; and thou shalt make for the grate four brazen rings under the four sides. (5) And thou shalt put them below under the grate of the altar, and the grate shall extend to the middle of the altar. (6) And thou shalt make for the altar staves of incorruptible wood, and thou shalt overlay them with brass. (7) And thou shalt put the staves into the rings; and let the staves be on the sides of the altar to carry it. (8) Thou shalt make it hollow with boards: according to what was shewed thee in the mount, so thou shalt make it. (9) And thou shalt make a court for the tabernacle, curtains of the court of fine linen spun on the south side, the length of a hundred cubits for one side. (10) And their pillars twenty, and twenty brazen sockets for them, and their rings and their clasps of silver. (11) Thus shall there be to the side toward the north curtains of a hundred cubits in length; and their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty of brass, and the rings and the clasps of the pillars, and their sockets overlaid with silver. (12) And in the breadth of the tabernacle toward the west curtains of fifty cubits, their pillars ten and their sockets ten. (13) And in the breadth of the tabernacle toward the south, curtains of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. (14) And the height of the curtains shall be of fifty cubits for the one side of the gate; their pillars three, and their sockets three. (15) And for the second side the height of the curtains shall be of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. (16) And a veil for the door of the court, the height of it of twenty cubits of blue linen, and of purple, and spun scarlet, and of fine linen spun with the art of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four. (17) All the pillars of the court round about overlaid with silver, and their chapiters silver and their brass sockets. (18) And the length of the court shall be a hundred cubits on each side, and the breadth fifty on each side, and the height five cubits of fine linen spun, and their sockets of brass. (19) And all the furniture and all the instruments and the pins of the court shall be of brass. (20) And do thou charge the children of Israel, and let them take for thee refined pure olive-oil beaten to burn for light, that a lamp may burn continually (21) in the tabernacle of the testimony, without the veil that is before the ark of the covenant, shall Aaron and his sons burn it from evening until morning, before the Lord: it is a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations of the children of Israel.

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(1) And do thou take to thyself both Aaron thy brother, and his sons, even them of the children of Israel; so that Aaron, and Nadab and Abiud, and Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron, may minister to me. (2) And thou shalt make holy apparel for Aaron thy brother, for honour and glory. (3) And speak thou to all those who are wise in understanding, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom and perception; and they shall make the holy apparel of Aaron for the sanctuary, in which apparel he shall minister to me as priest. (4) And these are the garments which they shall make: the breast-plate, and the shoulder-piece, and the full-length robe, and the tunic with a fringe, and the tire, and the girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron and his sons to minister to me as priests. (5) And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen. (6) And they shall make the shoulder-piece of fine linen spun, the woven work of the embroiderer. (7) It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined together, fastened on the two sides. (8) And the woven work of the shoulder-pieces which is upon it, shall be of one piece according to the work, of pure gold and blue and purple, and spun scarlet and fine twined linen. (9) And thou shalt take the two stones, the stones of emerald, and thou shalt grave on them the names of the children of Israel. (10) Six names on the first stone, and the other six names on the second stone, according to their births. (11) It shall be the work of the stone-engraver’s art; as the graving of a seal thou shalt engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel. (12) And thou shalt put the two stones on the shoulders of the shoulder-piece: they are memorial-stones for the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel before the Lord on his two shoulders, a memorial for them. (13) And thou shalt make circlets of pure gold; (14) and thou shalt make two fringes of pure gold, variegated with flowers wreathen work; and thou shalt put the wreathen fringes on the circlets, fastening them on their shoulder-pieces in front. (15) And thou shalt make the oracle of judgment, the work of the embroiderer: in keeping with the ephod, thou shalt make it of gold, and blue and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen spun. (16) Thou shalt make it square: it shall be double; of a span the length of it, and of a span the breadth. (17) And thou shalt interweave with it a texture of four rows of stone; there shall be a row of stones, a sardius, a topaz, and emerald, the first row. (18) And the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper. (19) And the third row, a ligure, an agate, an amethyst: (20) and the fourth row, a chrysolite, and a beryl, and an onyx stone, set round with gold, bound together with gold: let them be according to their row. (21) And let the stones of the names of the children of Israel be twelve according to their names, engravings as of seals: let them be for the twelve tribes each according to the name. (22) And thou shalt make on the oracle woven fringes, a chain-work of pure gold. (23) And Aaron shall take the names of the children of Israel, on the oracle of judgment on his breast; a memorial before God for him as he goes into the sanctuary. (24) And thou shalt put the fringes on the oracle of judgment; thou shalt put the wreaths on both sides of the oracle, (25) and thou shalt put the two circlets on both the shoulders of the ephod in front. (26) And thou shalt put the Manifestation and the Truth on the oracle of judgment; and it shall be on the breast of Aaron, when he goes into the holy place before the Lord; and Aaron shall bear the judgments of the children of Israel on his breast before the Lord continually. (27) And thou shalt make the full-length tunic all of blue. (28) And the opening of it shall be in the middle having a fringe round about the opening, the work of the weaver, woven together in the joining of the same piece that it might not be rent. (29) And under the fringe of the robe below thou shalt make as it were pomegranates of a flowering pomegranate tree, of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen spun, under the fringe of the robe round about: golden pomegranates of the same shape, and bells round about between these. (30) A bell by the side of a golden pomegranate, and flower-work on the fringe of the robe round about. (31) And the sound of Aaron shall be audible when he ministers, as he goes into the sanctuary before the Lord, and has he goes out, that he die not. (32) And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and thou shalt grave on it as the graving of a signet, Holiness of the Lord. (33) And thou shalt put it on the spun blue cloth, and it shall be on the mitre: it shall be in the front of the mitre. (34) And it shall be on the forehead of Aaron; and Aaron shall bear away the sins of their holy things, all that the children of Israel shall sanctify of every gift of their holy things, and it shall be on the forehead of Aaron continually acceptable for them before the Lord. (35) And the fringes of the garments shall be of fine linen; and thou shalt make a tire of fine linen, and thou shalt make a girdle, the work of the embroiderer. (36) And for the sons of Aaron thou shalt make tunics and girdles, and thou shalt make for them tires for honour and glory. (37) And thou shalt put them on Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, and thou shalt anoint them and fill their hands: and thou shalt sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. (38) And thou shalt make for them linen drawers to cover the nakedness of their flesh; they shall reach from the loins to the thighs. (39) And Aaron shall have them, and his sons, whenever they enter into the tabernacle of witness, or when they shall advance to the altar of the sanctuary to minister, so they shall not bring sin upon themselves, lest they die: it is a perpetual statute for him, and for his seed after him.

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(1) And these are the things which thou shalt do to them: thou shalt sanctify them, so that they shall serve me in the priesthood; and thou shalt take one young calf from the herd, and two unblemished rams; (2) and unleavened loaves kneaded with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil: thou shalt make them of fine flour of wheat. (3) And thou shalt put them on one basket, and thou shalt offer them on the basket, and the young calf and the two rams. (4) And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the doors of the tabernacle of testimony, and thou shalt wash them with water. (5) And having taken the garments, thou shalt put on Aaron thy brother both the full-length robe and the ephod and the oracle; and thou shalt join for him the oracle to the ephod. (6) And thou shalt put the mitre on his head; and thou shalt put the plate, even the Holiness, on the mitre. (7) And thou shalt take of the anointing oil, and thou shalt pour it on his head, and shalt anoint him, (8) and thou shalt bring his sons, and put garments on them. (9) And thou shalt gird them with the girdles, and put the tires upon them, and they shall have a priestly office to me for ever; and thou shalt fill the hands of Aaron and the hands of his sons. (10) And thou shalt bring the calf to the door of the tabernacle of witness; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the calf, before the Lord, by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (11) And thou shalt slay the calf before the Lord, by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (12) And thou shalt take of the blood of the calf, and put it on the horns of the altar with thy finger, but all the rest of the blood thou shalt pour out at the foot of the altar. (13) And thou shalt take all the fat that is on the belly, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt put them upon the altar. (14) But the flesh of the calf, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp; for it is an offering on account of sin. (15) And thou shalt take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. (16) And thou shalt kill it, and take the blood and pour it on the altar round about. (17) And thou shalt divide the ram by his several limbs, and thou shalt wash the inward parts and the feet with water, and thou shalt put them on the divided parts with the head. (18) And thou shalt offer the whole ram on the altar, a whole burnt-offering to the Lord for a sweet-smelling savour: it is an offering of incense to the Lord. (19) And thou shalt take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. (20) And thou shalt kill it, and take of the blood of it, and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the great toes of their right feet. (21) And thou shalt take of the blood from the altar, and of the anointing oil; and thou shalt sprinkle it upon Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; and he shall be sanctified and his apparel, and his sons and his sons’ apparel with him: but the blood of the ram thou shalt pour round about upon the altar. (22) And thou shalt take from the ram its fat, both the fat that covers the belly, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, for this is a consecration. (23) And one cake made with oil, and one cake from the basket of unleavened bread set forth before the Lord. (24) And thou shalt put them all on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and thou shalt separate them as a separate offering before the Lord. (25) And thou shalt take them from their hands, and shalt offer them up on the altar of whole burnt-offering for a sweet-smelling savour before the Lord: it is an offering to the Lord. (26) And thou shalt take the breast from the ram of consecration which is Aaron’s, and thou shalt separate it as a separate offering before the Lord, and it shall be to thee for a portion. (27) And thou shalt sanctify the separated breast and the shoulder of removal which has been separated, and which has been removed from the ram of consecration, of the portion of Aaron and of that of his sons. (28) And it shall be a perpetual statute of the children of Israel to Aaron and his sons, for this is a separate offering; and it shall be a special offering from the children of Israel, from the peace-offerings of the children of Israel, a special offering to the Lord. (29) And the apparel of the sanctuary which is Aaron’s shall be his son’s after him, for them to be anointed in them, and to fill their hands. (30) The priest his successor from among his sons who shall go into the tabernacle of witness to minister in the holies, shall put them on seven days. (31) And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and thou shalt boil the flesh in the holy place. (32) And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the loaves in the basket, by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (33) They shall eat the offerings with which they were sanctified to fill their hands, to sanctify them; and a stranger shall not eat of them, for they are holy. (34) And if aught be left of the flesh of the sacrifice of consecration and of the loaves until the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, for it is a holy thing. (35) And thus shalt thou do for Aaron and for his sons according to all things that I have commanded thee; seven days shalt thou fill their hands. (36) And thou shalt sacrifice the calf of the sin-offering on the day of purification, and thou shalt purify the altar when thou dost perform consecration upon it, and thou shalt anoint it so as to sanctify it. (37) Seven days shalt thou purify the altar and sanctify it; and the altar shall be most holy, every one that touches the altar shall be hallowed. (38) And these are the offerings which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two unblemished lambs of a year old daily on the altar continually, a constant offering. (39) One lamb thou shalt offer in the morning, and the second lamb thou shalt offer in the evening. (40) And a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil, and a drink-offering the fourth part of a hin of wine for one lamb. (41) And thou shalt offer the second lamb in the evening, after the manner of the morning-offering, and according to the drink-offering of the morning lamb; thou shalt offer it an offering to the Lord for a sweet-smelling savour, (42) a perpetual sacrifice throughout your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of witness before the Lord; wherein I will be known to thee from thence, so as to speak to thee. (43) And I will there give orders to the children of Israel, and I will be sanctified in my glory. (44) And I will sanctify the tabernacle of testimony and the altar, and I will sanctify Aaron and his sons, to minister as priests to me. (45) And I will be called upon among the children of Israel, and will be their God. (46) And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, to be called upon by them, and to be their God.

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(1) And thou shalt make the altar of incense of incorruptible wood. (2) And thou shalt make it a cubit in length, and a cubit in breadth: it shall be square; and the height of it shall be of two cubits, its horns shall be of the same piece. (3) And thou shalt gild its grate with pure gold, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make for it a wreathen border of gold round-about. (4) And thou shalt make under its wreathen border two rings of pure gold; thou shalt make it to the two corners on the two sides, and they shall be bearings for the staves, so as to bear it with them. (5) And thou shalt make the staves of incorruptible wood, and shalt gild them with gold. (6) And thou shalt set it before the veil that is over the ark of the testimonies, wherein I will make myself known to thee from thence. (7) And Aaron shall burn upon it fine compound incense every morning; whensoever he trims the lamps he shall burn incense upon it. (8) And when Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he shall burn incense upon it; a constant incense-offering always before the Lord for their generations. (9) And thou shalt not offer strange incense upon it, nor and offering made by fire, nor a sacrifice; and thou shalt not pour a drink-offering upon it. (10) And once in the year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns, he shall purge it with the blood of purification for their generations: it is most holy to the Lord. (11) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (12) If thou take account of the children of Israel in the surveying of them, and they shall give every one a ransom for his soul to the Lord, then there shall not be among them a destruction in the visiting of them. (13) And this is what they shall give, as many as pass the survey, half a didrachm which is according to the didrachm of the sanctuary: twenty oboli go to the didrachm, but the half of the didrachm is the offering to the Lord. (14) Every one that passes the survey from twenty years old and upwards shall give the offering to the Lord. (15) The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half didrachm in giving the offering to the Lord, to make atonement for your souls. (16) And thou shalt take the money of the offering from the children of Israel, and shalt give it for the service of the tabernacle of testimony; and it shall be to the children of Israel a memorial before the Lord, to make atonement for your souls. (17) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (18) Make a brazen laver, and a brazen base for it, for washing; and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of witness and the altar, and thou shalt pour forth water into it. (19) And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet with water from it. (20) Whensoever they shall go into the tabernacle of witness, they shall wash themselves with water, so they shall not die, whensoever they advance to the altar to do service and to offer the whole burnt-offerings to the Lord. (21) They shall wash their hands and feet with water, whensoever they shall go into the tabernacle of witness; they shall wash themselves with water, that they die not; and it shall be for them a perpetual statute, for him and his posterity after him. (22) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (23) Do thou also take sweet herbs, the flower of choice myrrh five hundred shekels, and the half of this two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling calamus, (24) and of cassia five hundred shekels of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. (25) And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfumed ointment tempered by the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil. (26) And thou shalt anoint with it the tabernacle of witness, and the ark of the tabernacle of witness, (27) and all its furniture, and the candlestick and all its furniture, and the altar of incense, (28) and the altar of whole burnt-offerings and all its furniture, and the table and all its furniture, and the laver. (29) And thou shalt sanctify them, and they shall be most holy: every one that touches them shall be hallowed. (30) And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them that they may minister to me as priests. (31) And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, This shall be to you a holy anointing oil throughout your generations. (32) On man’s flesh it shall not be poured, and ye shall not make any for yourselves according to this composition: it is holy, and shall be holiness to you. (33) Whosoever shall make it in like manner, and whosoever shall give of it to a stranger, shall be destroyed from among his people. (34) And the Lord said to Moses, Take for thyself sweet herbs, stacte, onycha, sweet galbanum, and transparent frankincense; there shall be and equal weight of each. (35) And they shall make with it perfumed incense, tempered with the art of a perfumer, a pure holy work. (36) And of these thou shalt beat some small, and thou shalt put it before the testimonies in the tabernacle of testimony, whence I will make myself known to thee: it shall be to you a most holy incense. (37) Ye shall not make any for yourselves according to this composition; it shall be to you a holy thing for the Lord. (38) Whosoever shall make any in like manner, so as to smell it, shall perish from his people.

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(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Behold, I have called by name Beseleel the son of Urias the son of Or, of the tribe of Juda. (3) And I have filled him with a divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to invent in every work, (4) and to frame works, to labour in gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, (5) and works in stone, and for artificers’ work in wood, to work at all works. (6) And I have appointed him and Eliab the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, and to every one understanding in heart I have given understanding; and they shall make all things as many as I have appointed thee, — (7) the tabernacle of witness, and the ark of the covenant, and the propitiatory that is upon it, and the furniture of the tabernacle, (8) and the altars, and the table and all its furniture, (9) and the pure candlestick and all its furniture, and the laver and its base, (10) and Aaron’s robes of ministry, and the robes of his sons to minister to me as priests, (11) and the anointing oil and the compound incense of the sanctuary; according to all that I have commanded thee shall they make them. (12) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (13) Do thou also charge the children of Israel, saying, Take heed and keep my sabbaths; for they are a sign with me and among you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you. (14) And ye shall keep the sabbaths, because this is holy to the Lord for you; he that profanes it shall surely be put to death: every one who shall do a work on it, that soul shall be destroyed from the midst of his people. (15) Six days thou shalt do works, but the seventh day is the sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord; every one who shall do a work on the seventh day shall be put to death. (16) And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbaths, to observe them throughout their generations. (17) It is a perpetual covenant with me and the children of Israel, it is a perpetual sign with me; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased, and rested. (18) And he gave to Moses when he left off speaking to him in mount Sina the two tables of testimony, tables of stone written upon with the finger of God.

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(1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people combined against Aaron, and said to him, Arise and make us gods who shall go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what is become of him. (2) And Aaron says to them, Take off the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of your wives and daughters, and bring them to me. (3) And all the people took off the golden ear-rings that were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. (4) And he received them at their hands, and formed them with a graving tool; and he made them a molten calf, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (5) And Aaron having seen it built an altar before it, and Aaron made proclamation saying, To-morrow is a feast of the Lord. (6) And having risen early on the morrow, he offered whole burnt-offerings, and offered a peace-offering; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (7) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go quickly, descend hence, for thy people whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have transgressed; (8) they have quickly gone out of the way which thou commandedst; they have made for themselves a calf, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, (9) These are thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (10) And now let me alone, and I will be very angry with them and consume them, and I will make thee a great nation. (11) And Moses prayed before the Lord God, and said, Wherefore, O Lord, art thou very angry with thy people, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt with great strength, and with thy high arm? (12) Take heed lest at any time the Egyptians speak, saying, With evil intent he brought them out to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from off the earth; cease from thy wrathful anger, and be merciful to the sin of thy people, (13) remembering Abraam and Isaac and Jacob thy servants, to whom thou hast sworn by thyself, and hast spoken to them, saying, I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven for multitude, and all this land which thou spokest of to give to them, so that they shall possess it for ever. (14) And the Lord was prevailed upon to preserve his people. (15) And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tables of testimony were in his hands, tables of stone written on both their sides: they were written within and without. (16) And the tables were the work of God, and the writing the writing of God written on the tables. (17) And Joshua having heard the voice of the people crying, says to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. (18) And Moses says, It is not the voice of them that begin the battle, nor the voice of them that begin the cry of defeat, but the voice of them that begin the banquet of wine do I hear. (19) And when he drew nigh to the camp, he sees the calf and the dances; and Moses being very angry cast the two tables out of his hands, and broke them to pieces under the mountain. (20) And having taken the calf which they made, he consumed it with fire, and ground it very small, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel to drink it. (21) And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought upon them a great sin? (22) And Aaron said to Moses, Be not angry, my lord, for thou knowest the impetuosity of this people. (23) For they say to me, Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what is become of him. (24) And I said to them, If any one has golden ornaments, take them off; and they gave them me, and I cast them into the fire, and there came out this calf. (25) And when Moses saw that the people was scattered, —for Aaron had scattered them so as to be a rejoicing to their enemies, — (26) then stood Moses at the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come to me. Then all the sons of Levi came to him. (27) And he says to them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every one his sword on his thigh, and go through and return from gate to gate through the camp, and slay every one his brother, and every one his neighbour, and every one him that is nearest to him. (28) And the sons of Levi did as Moses spoke to them, and there fell of the people in that day to the number of three thousand men. (29) And Moses said to them, Ye have filled your hands this day to the Lord each one on his son or on his brother, so that blessing should be given to you. (30) And it came to pass after the morrow had begun, that Moses said to the people, Ye have sinned a great sin; and now I will go up to God, that I may make atonement for your sin. (31) And Moses returned to the Lord and said, I pray, O Lord, this people has sinned a great sin, and they have made for themselves golden gods. (32) And now if thou wilt forgive their sin, forgive it; and if not, blot me out of thy book, which thou hast written. (33) And the Lord said to Moses, If any one has sinned against me, I will blot them out of my book. (34) And now go, descend, and lead this people into the place of which I spoke to thee: behold, my angel shall go before thy face; and in the day when I shall visit I will bring upon them their sin. (35) And the Lord smote the people for the making the calf, which Aaron made.

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(1) And the Lord said to Moses, Go forward, go up hence, thou and thy people, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I swore to Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your seed. (2) And I will send at the same time my angel before thy face, and he shall cast out the Amorite and the Chettite, and the Pherezite and Gergesite, and Evite, and Jebusite, and Chananite. (3) And I will bring thee into a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up with thee, because thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee by the way. (4) And the people having heard this grievous saying, mourned in mourning apparel. (5) For the Lord said to the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people; take heed lest I bring on you another plague, and destroy you: now then put off your glorious apparel, and your ornaments, and I will shew thee what I will do to thee. (6) So the sons of Israel took off their ornaments and their array at the mount of Choreb. (7) And Moses took his tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, at a distance from the camp; and it was called the Tabernacle of Testimony: and it came to pass that every one that sought the Lord went forth to the tabernacle which was without the camp. (8) And whenever Moses went into the tabernacle without the camp, all the people stood every one watching by the doors of his tent; and when Moses departed, they took notice until he entered into the tabernacle. (9) And when Moses entered into the tabernacle, the pillar of the cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and God talked to Moses. (10) And all the people saw the pillar of the cloud standing by the door of the tabernacle, and all the people stood and worshipped every one at the door of his tent. (11) And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as if one should speak to his friend; and he retired into the camp: but his servant Joshua the son of Naue, a young man, departed not forth from the tabernacle. (12) And Moses said to the Lord, Lo! thou sayest to me, Lead on this people; but thou hast not shewed me whom thou wilt send with me, but thou hast said to me, I know thee above all, and thou hast favour with me. (13) If then I have found favour in thy sight, reveal thyself to me, that I may evidently see thee; that I may find favour in thy sight, and that I may know that this great nation is thy people. (14) And he says, I myself will go before thee, and give thee rest. (15) And he says to him, If thou go not up with us thyself, bring me not up hence. (16) And how shall it be surely known, that both I and this people have found favour with thee, except only if thou go with us? So both I and thy people shall be glorified beyond all the nations, as many as are upon the earth. (17) And the Lord said to Moses, I will also do for thee this thing, which thou hast spoken; for thou hast found grace before me, and I know thee above all. (18) And Moses says, Manifest thyself to me. (19) And God said, I will pass by before thee with my glory, and I will call by my name, the Lord, before thee; and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and will have pity on whom I will have pity. (20) And God said, Thou shalt not be able to see my face; for no man shall see my face, and live. (21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me: thou shalt stand upon the rock; (22) and when my glory shall pass by, then I will put thee into a hole of the rock; and I will cover thee over with my hand, until I shall have passed by. (23) And I will remove my hand, and then shalt thou see my back parts; but my face shall not appear to thee.

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(1) And the Lord said to Moses, Hew for thyself two tables of stone, as also the first were, and come up to me to the mountain; and I will write upon the tables the words, which were on the first tables, which thou brokest. (2) And be ready by the morning, and thou shalt go up to the mount Sina, and shalt stand there for me on the top of the mountain. (3) And let no one go up with thee, nor be seen in all the mountain; and let not the sheep and oxen feed near that mountain. (4) And Moses hewed two tables of stone, as also the first were; and Moses having arisen early, went up to the mount Sina, as the Lord appointed him; and Moses took the two tables of stone. (5) And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood near him there, and called by the name of the Lord. (6) And the Lord passed by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord God, pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate, and true, (7) and keeping justice and mercy for thousands, taking away iniquity, and unrighteousness, and sins; and he will not clear the guilty; bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and to the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation. (8) And Moses hasted, and bowed to the earth and worshipped; (9) and said, If I have found grace before thee, let my Lord go with us; for the people is stiff-necked: and thou shalt take away our sins and our iniquities, and we will be thine. (10) And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I establish a covenant for thee in the presence of all thy people; I will do glorious things, which have not been done in all the earth, or in any nation; and all the people among whom thou art shall see the works of the Lord, that they are wonderful, which I will do for thee. (11) Do thou take heed to all things whatsoever I command thee: behold, I cast out before your face the Amorite and the Chananite and the Pherezite, and the Chettite, and Evite, and Gergesite and Jebusite: (12) take heed to thyself, lest at any time thou make a covenant with the dwellers on the land, into which thou art entering, lest it be to thee a stumbling-block among you. (13) Ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and the graven images of their gods ye shall burn with fire. (14) For ye shall not worship strange gods, for the Lord God, a jealous name, is a jealous God; (15) lest at any time thou make a covenant with the dwellers on the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and they call thee, and thou shouldest eat of their feasts, (16) and thou shouldest take of their daughters to thy sons, and thou shouldest give of thy daughters to their sons; and thy daughters should go a whoring after their gods, and thy sons should go a whoring after their gods. (17) And thou shalt not make to thyself molten gods. (18) And thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I have charged thee, at the season in the month of new corn; for in the month of new corn thou camest out from Egypt. (19) The males are mine, everything that opens the womb; every first-born of oxen, and every first-born of sheep. (20) And the first-born of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep, and if thou wilt not redeem it thou shalt pay a price: every first-born of thy sons shalt thou redeem: thou shalt not appear before me empty. (21) Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: there shall be rest in seed-time and harvest. (22) And thou shalt keep to me the feast of weeks, the beginning of wheat-harvest; and the feast of ingathering in the middle of the year. (23) Three times in the year shall every male of thine appear before the Lord the God of Israel. (24) For when I shall have cast out the nations before thy face, and shall have enlarged thy coasts, no one shall desire thy land, whenever thou mayest go up to appear before the Lord thy God, three times in the year. (25) Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifices with leaven, neither shall the sacrifices of the feast of the passover remain till the morning. (26) The first-fruits of thy land shalt thou put into the house of the Lord thy God: thou shalt not boil a lamb in his mother’s milk. (27) And the Lord said to Moses, Write these words for thyself, for on these words I have established a covenant with thee and with Israel. (28) And Moses was there before the Lord forty days, and forty nights; he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water; and he wrote upon the tables these words of the covenant, the ten sayings. (29) And when Moses went down from the mountain, there were the two tables in the hands of Moses, —as then he went down from the mountain, Moses knew not that the appearance of the skin of his face was glorified, when God spoke to him. (30) And Aaron and all the elders of Israel saw Moses, and the appearance of the skin of his face was made glorious, and they feared to approach him. (31) And Moses called them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the synagogue turned towards him, and Moses spoke to them. (32) And afterwards all the children of Israel came to him, and he commanded them all things, whatsoever the Lord had commanded him in the mount of Sina. (33) And when he ceased speaking to them, he put a veil on his face. (34) And whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak to him, he took off the veil till he went out, and he went forth and spoke to all the children of Israel whatsoever the Lord commanded him. (35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that it was glorified; and Moses put the veil over his face, till he went in to speak with him.

35

(1) And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said, These are the words which the Lord has spoken for you to do them. (2) Six days shalt thou perform works, but on the seventh day shall be rest—a holy sabbath—a rest for the Lord: every one that does work on it, let him die. (3) Ye shall not burn a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath-day; I am the Lord. (4) And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord has appointed you, saying, (5) Take of yourselves an offering for the Lord: every one that engages in his heart shall bring the first-fruits to the Lord; gold, silver, brass, (6) blue, purple, double scarlet spun, and fine linen spun, and goats’ hair, (7) and rams’ skins dyed red, and skins dyed blue, and incorruptible wood, (8) and sardine stones, and stones for engraving for the shoulder-piece and full-length robe. (9) And every man that is wise in heart among you, let him come and work all things whatsoever the Lord has commanded. (10) The tabernacle, and the cords, and the coverings, and the rings, and the bars, and the posts, (11) and the ark of the testimony, and its staves, and its propitiatory, and the veil, (12) and the curtains of the court, and its posts, (13) and the emerald stones, (15) and the table and all its furniture, (16) and the candle-stick for the light and all its furniture, (14) and the incense, and the anointing oil, (17) and the altar and all its furniture; (18) and the holy garments of Aaron the priest, and the garments in which they shall do service; (19) and the garments of priesthood for the sons of Aaron and the anointing oil, and the compound incense. (20) And all the congregation of the children of Israel went out from Moses. And they brought, they whose heart prompted them, and they to whomsoever it seemed good in their mind, each and offering: (21) and they brought an offering to the Lord for all the works of the tabernacle of witness, and all its services, and for all the robes of the sanctuary. (22) And the men, even every one to whom it seemed good in his heart, brought from the women, even brought seals and ear-rings, and finger-rings, and necklaces, and bracelets, every article of gold. (23) And all as many as brought ornaments of gold to the Lord, and with whomsoever fine linen was found; and they brought skins dyed blue, and rams’ skins dyed red. (24) And every one that offered an offering brought silver and brass, the offerings to the Lord; and they with whom was found incorruptible wood; and they brought offerings for all the works of the preparation. (25) And every woman skilled in her heart to spin with her hands, brought spun articles, the blue, and purple, and scarlet and fine linen. (26) And all the women to whom it seemed good in their heart in their wisdom, spun the goats’ hair. (27) And the rulers brought the emerald stones, and the stones for setting in the ephod, and the oracle, (28) and the compounds both for the anointing oil, and the composition of the incense. (29) And every man and woman whose mind inclined them to come in and do all the works as many as the Lord appointed them to do by Moses—they the children of Israel brought an offering to the Lord. (30) And Moses said to the children of Israel, Behold, God has called by name Beseleel the son of Urias the son of Or, of the tribe of Juda, (31) and has filled him with a divine spirit of wisdom and understanding, and knowledge of all things, (32) to labour skillfully in all works of cunning workmanship, to form the gold and the silver and the brass, (33) and to work in stone, and to fashion the wood, and to work in every work of wisdom. (34) And God gave improvement in understanding both to him, and to Eliab the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan. (35) And God filled them with wisdom, understanding and perception, to understand to work all the works of the sanctuary, and to weave the woven and embroidered work with scarlet and fine linen, to do all work of curious workmanship and embroidery.

36

(1) And Beseleel wrought, and Eliab and every one wise in understanding, to whom was given wisdom and knowledge, to understand to do all the works according to the holy offices, according to all things which the Lord appointed. (2) And Moses called Beseleel and Eliab, and all that had wisdom, to whom God gave knowledge in their heart, and all who were freely willing to come forward to the works, to perform them. (3) And they received from Moses all the offerings, which the children of Israel brought for all the works of the sanctuary to do them; and they continued to receive the gifts brought, from those who brought them in the morning. (4) And there came all the wise men who wrought the works of the sanctuary, each according to his own work, which they wrought. (5) And one said to Moses, The people bring an abundance too great in proportion to all the works which the Lord has appointed them to do. (6) And Moses commanded, and proclaimed in the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman any longer labour for the offerings of the sanctuary; and the people were restrained from bringing any more. (7) And they had materials sufficient for making the furniture, and they left some besides. (8) And every wise one among those that wrought made the robes of the holy places, which belong to Aaron the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. (9) And he made the ephod of gold, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined. (10) And the plates were divided, the threads of gold, so as to interweave with the blue and purple, and with the spun scarlet, and the fine linen twined, they made it a woven work; (11) shoulder-pieces joined from both sides, a work woven by mutual twisting of the parts into one another. (12) They made it of the same material according to the making of it, of gold, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined, as the Lord commanded Moses; (13) and they made the two emerald stones clasped together and set in gold, graven and cut after the cutting of a seal with the names of the children of Israel; (14) and he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial of the children of Israel, as the Lord appointed Moses. (15) And they made the oracle, a work woven with embroidery, according to the work of the ephod, of gold, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined. (16) They made the oracle square and double, the length of a span, and the breadth of a span, —double. (17) And there was interwoven with it a woven work of four rows of stones, a series of stones, the first row, a sardius and topaz and emerald; (18) and the second row, a carbuncle and sapphire and jasper; (19) and the third row, a ligure and agate and amethyst; (20) and the fourth row a chrysolite and beryl and onyx set round about with gold, and fastened with gold. (21) And the stones were twelve according to the names of the children of Israel, graven according to their names like seals, each according to his own name for the twelve tribes. (22) And they made on the oracle turned wreaths, wreathen work, of pure gold, (23) and they made two golden circlets and two golden rings. (24) And they put the two golden rings on both the upper corners of the oracle; (25) and they put the golden wreaths on the rings on both sides of the oracle, and the two wreaths into the two couplings. (26) And they put them on the two circlets, and they put them on the shoulders of the ephod opposite each other in front. (27) And they made two golden rings, and put them on the two projections on the top of the oracle, and on the top of the hinder part of the ephod within. (28) And they made two golden rings, and put them on both the shoulders of the ephod under it, in front by the coupling above the connexion of the ephod. (29) And he fastened the oracle by the rings that were on it to the rings of the ephod, which were fastened with a string of blue, joined together with the woven work of the ephod; that the oracle should not be loosed from the ephod, as the Lord commanded Moses. (30) And they made the tunic under the ephod, woven work, all of blue. (31) And the opening of the tunic in the midst woven closely together, the opening having a fringe round about, that it might not be rent. (32) And they made on the border of the tunic below pomegranates as of a flowering pomegranate tree, of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined. (33) And they made golden bells, and put the bells on the border of the tunic round about between the pomegranates: (34) a golden bell and a pomegranate on the border of the tunic round about, for the ministration, as the Lord commanded Moses. (35) And they made vestments of fine linen, a woven work, for Aaron and his sons, (36) and the tires of fine linen, and the mitre of fine linen, and the drawers of fine linen twined; (37) and their girdles of fine linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet spun, the work of an embroiderer, according as the Lord commanded Moses. (38) And they made the golden plate, a dedicated thing of the sanctuary, of pure gold; (39) and he wrote upon it graven letters as of a seal, Holiness to the Lord. (40) And they put it on the border of blue, so that it should be on the mitre above, as the Lord commanded Moses.

37

(1) And they made ten curtains for the tabernacle; (2) of eight and twenty cubits the length of one curtain: the same measure was to all, and the breadth of one curtain was of four cubits. (3) And they made the veil of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined, the woven work with cherubs. (4) And they put it on four posts of incorruptible wood overlaid with gold; and their chapiters were gold, and their four sockets were silver. (5) And they made the veil of the door of the tabernacle of witness of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined, woven work with cherubs, (6) and their posts five, and the rings; and they gilded their chapiters and their clasps with gold, and they had five sockets of brass. (7) And they made the court toward the south; the curtains of the court of fine linen twined, a hundred cubits every way, (8) and their posts twenty, and their sockets twenty; (9) and on the north side a hundred every way, and on the south side a hundred every way, and their posts twenty and their sockets twenty. (10) And on the west side curtains of fifty cubits, their posts ten and their sockets ten. (11) And on the east side curtains of fifty cubits of fifteen cubits behind, (12) and their pillars three, and their sockets three. (13) And at the second back on this side and on that by the gate of the court, curtains of fifteen cubits, their pillars three and their sockets three; (14) all the curtains of the tabernacle of fine linen twined. (15) And the sockets of their pillars of brass, and their hooks of silver, and their chapiters overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the court overlaid with silver: (16) and the veil of the gate of the court, the work of an embroiderer of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen twined; the length of twenty cubits, and the height and the breadth of five cubits, made equal to the curtains of the court; (17) and their pillars four, and their sockets four of brass, and their hooks of silver, and their chapiters overlaid with silver. (18) And all the pins of the court round about of brass, and they were overlaid with silver. (19) And this was the construction of the tabernacle of witness, accordingly as it was appointed to Moses; so that the public service should belong to the Levites, through Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. (20) And Beseleel the son of Urias of the tribe of Juda, did as the Lord commanded Moses. (21) And Eliab the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan was there, who was chief artificer in the woven works and needle-works and embroideries, in weaving with the scarlet and fine linen.

38

(1) And Beseleel made the ark, (2) and overlaid it with pure gold within and without; (3) and he cast for it four golden rings, two on the one side, and two on the other, (4) wide enough for the staves, so that men should bear the ark with them. (5) And he made the propitiatory over the ark of pure gold, (6) and the two cherubs of gold; (7) one cherub on the one end of the propitiatory, and another cherub on the other end of the propitiatory, (8) overshadowing the propitiatory with their wings. (9) And he made the set table of pure gold, (10) and cast for it four rings: two on the one side and two on the other side, broad, so that men should lift it with the staves in them. (11) And he made the staves of the ark and of the table, and gilded them with gold. (12) And he made the furniture of the table, both the dishes, and the censers, and the cups, and the bowls with which he should offer drink-offerings, of gold. (13) And he made the candlestick which gives light, of gold; (14) the stem solid, and the branches from both its sides; (15) and blossoms proceeding from its branches, three on this side, and three on the other, made equal to each other. (16) And as to their lamps, which are on the ends, knops proceeded from them; and sockets proceeding from them, that the lamps might be upon them; and the seventh socket, on the top of the candlestick, on the summit above, entirely of solid gold. (17) And on the candlestick seven golden lamps, and its snuffers gold, and its funnels gold. (18) He overlaid the posts with silver, and cast for each post golden rings, and gilded the bars with gold; and he gilded the posts of the veil with gold, and made the hooks of gold. (19) He made also the rings of the tabernacle of gold; and the rings of the court, and the rings for drawing out the veil above of brass. (20) He cast the silver chapiters of the tabernacle, and the brazen chapiters of the door of the tabernacle, and the gate of the court; and he made silver hooks for the posts, he overlaid them with silver on the posts. (21) He made the pins of the tabernacle and the pins of the court of brass. (22) He made the brazen altar of the brazen censers, which belonged to the men engaged in sedition with the gathering of Core. (23) He made all the vessels of the altar and its grate, and its base, and its bowls, and the brazen flesh-hooks. (24) He made an appendage for the altar of network under the grate, beneath it as far as the middle of it; and he fastened to it four brazen rings on the four parts of the appendage of the altar, wide enough for the bars, so as to bear the altar with them. (25) He made the holy anointing oil and the composition of the incense, the pure work of the perfumer. (26) He made the brazen laver, and the brazen base of it of the mirrors of the women that fasted, who fasted by the doors of the tabernacle of witness, in the day in which he set it up. (27) And he made the laver, that at it Moses and Aaron and his sons might wash their hands and their feet: when they went into the tabernacle of witness, or whensoever they should advance to the altar to do service, they washed at it, as the Lord commanded Moses.

39

(1) All the gold that was employed for the works according to all the fabrication of the holy things, was of the gold of the offerings, twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and twenty shekels according to the holy shekel. (2) And the offering of silver from the men that were numbered of the congregation a hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, one drachm apiece, even the half shekel, according to the holy shekel. (3) Every one that passed the survey from twenty years old and upwards to the number of six hundred thousand, and three thousand five hundred and fifty. (4) And the hundred talents of silver went to the casting of the hundred chapiters of the tabernacle, and to the chapiters of the veil; (5) a hundred chapiters to the hundred talents, a talent to a chapiter. (6) And the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he formed into hooks for the pillars, and he gilt their chapiters and adorned them. (7) And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and a thousand five hundred shekels; (8) and they made of it the bases of the door of the tabernacle of witness, (9) and the bases of the court round about, and the bases of the gate of the court, and the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court round about; (10) and the brazen appendage of the altar, and all the vessels of the altar, and all the instruments of the tabernacle of witness. (11) And the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses, so did they. (12) And of the gold that remained of the offering they made vessels to minister with before the Lord. (13) And the blue that was left, and the purple, and the scarlet they made into garments of ministry for Aaron, so that he should minister with them in the sanctuary; (14) and they brought the garments to Moses, and the tabernacle, and its furniture, its bases and its bars and the posts; (15) and the ark of the covenant, and its bearers, and the altar and all its furniture. (16) And they made the anointing oil, and the incense of composition, and the pure candlestick, (17) and its lamps, lamps for burning, and oil for the light, (18) and the table of shewbread, and all its furniture, and the shewbread upon it, (19) and the garments of the sanctuary which belong to Aaron, and the garments of his sons, for the priestly ministry; (20) and the curtains of the court, and the posts, and the veil of the door of the tabernacle, and the gate of the court, (21) and all the vessels of the tabernacle and all its instruments: and the skins, even rams’ skins dyed red, and the blue coverings, and the coverings of the other things, and the pins, and all the instruments for the works of the tabernacle of witness. (22) Whatsoever things the Lord appointed Moses, so did the children of Israel make all the furniture. (23) And Moses saw all the works; and they had done them all as the Lord commanded Moses, so had they made them; and Moses blessed them.

40

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) On the first day of the first month, at the new moon, thou shalt set up the tabernacle of witness, (3) and thou shalt place in it the ark of the testimony, and shalt cover the ark with the veil, (4) and thou shalt bring in the table and shalt set forth that which is to be set forth on it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick and place its lamps on it. (5) And thou shalt place the golden altar, to burn incense before the ark; and thou shalt put a covering of a veil on the door of the tabernacle of witness. (6) And thou shalt put the altar of burnt-offerings by the doors of the tabernacle of witness, and thou shalt set up the tabernacle round about, and thou shalt hallow all that belongs to it round about. (9) And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and shalt anoint the tabernacle, and all things in it; and shalt sanctify it, and all its furniture, and it shall be holy. (10) And thou shalt anoint the altar of burnt-offerings, and all its furniture; and thou shalt hallow the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. (12) And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the doors of the tabernacle of witness, and thou shalt wash them with water. (13) And thou shalt put on Aaron the holy garments, and thou shalt anoint him, and thou shalt sanctify him, and he shall minister to me as priest. (14) And thou shalt bring up his sons, and shalt put garments on them. (15) And thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, and they shall minister to me as priests; and it shall be that they shall have an everlasting anointing of priesthood, throughout their generations. (16) And Moses did all things whatsoever the Lord commanded him, so did he. (17) And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year after their going forth out of Egypt, at the new moon, that the tabernacle was set up. (18) And Moses set up the tabernacle, and put on the chapiters, and put the bars into their places, and set up the posts. (19) And he stretched out the curtains over the tabernacle, and put the veil of the tabernacle on it above as the Lord commanded Moses. (20) And he took the testimonies, and put them into the ark; and he put the staves by the sides of the ark. (21) And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and put on it the covering of the veil, and covered the ark of the testimony, as the Lord commanded Moses. (22) And he put the table in the tabernacle of witness, on the north side without the veil of the tabernacle. (23) And he put on it the shewbread before the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. (24) And he put the candlestick into the tabernacle of witness, on the side of the tabernacle toward the south. (25) And he put on it its lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. (26) And he put the golden altar in the tabernacle of witness before the veil; (27) and he burnt on it incense of composition, as the Lord commanded Moses. (29) And he put the altar of the burnt-offerings by the doors of the tabernacle. (30) And he made the laver, that at it Moses and Aaron and his sons might wash their hands and their feet: when they went into the tabernacle of witness, or whensoever they should advance to the altar to do service, they washed at it, as the Lord commanded Moses. (33) And he set up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar; and Moses accomplished all the works. (34) And the cloud covered the tabernacle of witness, and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord. (35) And Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle of testimony, because the cloud overshadowed it, and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord. (36) And when the cloud went up from the tabernacle, the children of Israel prepared to depart with their baggage. (37) And if the cloud went not up, they did not prepare to depart, till the day when the cloud went up. (38) For a cloud was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night before all Israel, in all their journeyings.

Leviticus

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

1

(1) And the Lord called Moses again and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of witness, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, (2) If any man of you shall bring gifts to the Lord, ye shall bring your gifts of the cattle and of the oxen and of the sheep. (3) If his gift be a whole-burnt-offering, he shall bring an unblemished male of the herd to the door of the tabernacle of witness, he shall bring it as acceptable before the Lord. (4) And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering as a thing acceptable for him, to make atonement for him. (5) And they shall slay the calf before the Lord; and the sons of Aaron the priests shall bring the blood, and they shall pour the blood round about on the altar, which is at the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (6) And having flayed the whole burnt-offering, they shall divide it by its limbs. (7) And the sons of Aaron the priests shall put fire on the altar, and shall pile wood on the fire. (8) And the sons of Aaron the priests shall pile up the divided parts, and the head, and the fat on the wood on the fire, the wood which is on the altar. (9) And the entrails and the feet they shall wash in water, and the priests shall put all on the altar: it is a burnt-offering, a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (10) And if his gift be of the sheep to the Lord, or of the lambs, or of the kids for whole-burnt-offerings, he shall bring it a male without blemish. (11) And he shall lay his hand on its head; and they shall kill it by the side of the altar, toward the north before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the priests shall pour its blood on the altar round about. (12) And they shall divide it by its limbs, and its head and its fat, and the priests shall pile them up on the wood which is on the fire, on the altar. (13) And they shall wash the entrails and the feet with water, and the priest shall bring all the parts and put them on the altar: it is a burnt-offering, a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (14) And if he bring his gift, a burnt-offering to the Lord, of birds, then shall he bring his gift of doves or pigeons. (15) And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and shall wring off its head; and the priest shall put it on the altar, and shall wring out the blood at the bottom of the altar. (16) And he shall take away the crop with the feathers, and shall cast it forth by the altar toward the east to the place of the ashes. (17) And he shall break it off from the wings and shall not separate it, and the priest shall put it on the altar on the wood which is on the fire: it is a burnt-offering, a sacrifice, a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord.

2

(1) And if a soul bring a gift, a sacrifice to the Lord, his gift shall be fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and shall put frankincense on it: it is a sacrifice. (2) And he shall bring it to the priests the sons of Aaron: and having taken from it a handful of the fine flour with the oil, and all its frankincense, then the priest shall put the memorial of it on the altar: it is a sacrifice, an odour of sweet savour to the Lord. (3) And the remainder of the sacrifice shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from the sacrifices of the Lord. (4) And if he bring as a gift a sacrifice baked from the oven, a gift to the Lord of fine flour, he shall bring unleavened bread kneaded with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil. (5) And if thy gift be a sacrifice from a pan, it is fine flour mingled with oil, unleavened offerings. (6) And thou shalt break them into fragments and pour oil upon them: it is a sacrifice to the Lord. (7) And if thy gift be a sacrifice from the hearth, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. (8) And he shall offer the sacrifice which he shall make of these to the Lord, and shall bring it to the priest. (9) And the priest shall approach the altar, and shall take away from the sacrifice a memorial of it, and the priest shall place it on the altar: a burnt offering, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (10) And that which is left of the sacrifice shall be for Aaron and his sons, most holy from the burnt-offerings of the Lord. (11) Ye shall not leaven any sacrifice which ye shall bring to the Lord; for as to any leaven, or any honey, ye shall not bring of it to offer a gift to the Lord. (12) Ye shall bring them in the way of fruits to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord. (13) And every gift of your sacrifice shall be seasoned with salt; omit not the salt of the covenant of the Lord from your sacrifices: on every gift of yours ye shall offer salt to the Lord your God. (14) And if thou wouldest offer a sacrifice of first-fruits to the Lord, it shall be new grains ground and roasted for the Lord; so shalt thou bring the sacrifice of the first-fruits. (15) And thou shalt pour oil upon it, and shalt put frankincense on it: it is a sacrifice. (16) And the priest shall offer the memorial of it taken from the grains with the oil, and all its frankincense: it is a burnt-offering to the Lord.

3

(1) And if his gift to the Lord be a peace-offering, if he should bring it of the oxen, whether it be male or whether it be female, he shall bring it unblemished before the Lord. (2) And he shall lay his hands on the head of the gift, and shall slay it before the Lord, by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. And the priests the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood on the altar of burnt-offerings round about. (3) And they shall bring of the peace-offering a burnt-sacrifice to the Lord, the fat covering the belly, and all the fat on the belly. (4) And the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them; he shall take away that which is on the thighs, and the caul above the liver together with the kidneys. (5) And the priests the sons of Aaron shall offer them on the altar on the burnt-offering, on the wood which is on the fire upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (6) And if his gift be of the sheep, a peace-offering to the Lord, male or female, he shall bring it unblemished. (7) If he bring a lamb for his gift, he shall bring it before the Lord. (8) And he shall lay his hands on the head of his offering, and shall slay it by the doors of the tabernacle of witness; and the priests the sons of Aaron shall pour out the blood on the altar round about. (9) And he shall bring of the peace-offering a burnt-sacrifice to the Lord: the fat and the hinder part unblemished he shall take away with the loins, and having taken away all the fat that covers the belly, and all the fat that is on the belly, (10) and both the kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and that which is on the thighs, and the caul which is on the liver with the kidneys, (11) the priest shall offer these on the altar: it is a sacrifice of sweet savour, a burnt-offering to the Lord. (12) And if his offering be of the goats, then shall he bring it before the Lord. (13) And he shall lay his hands on its head; and they shall slay it before the Lord by the doors of the tabernacle of witness; and the priests the sons of Aaron shall pour out the blood on the altar round about. (14) And he shall offer of it a burnt-offering to the Lord, even the fat that covers the belly, and all the fat that is on the belly. (15) And both the kidneys, and all the fat that is upon them, that which is upon the thighs, and the caul of the liver with the kidneys, shall he take away. (16) And the priest shall offer it upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord. (17) It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your habitations; ye shall eat no fat and no blood.

4

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin unwillingly before the Lord, in any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which he ought not to do, and shall do some of them; (3) if the anointed priest sin so as to cause the people to sin, then shall he bring for his sin, which he has sinned, an unblemished calf of the herd to the Lord for his sin. (4) And he shall bring the calf to the door of the tabernacle of witness before the Lord, and he shall put his hand on the head of the calf before the Lord, and shall slay the calf in the presence of the Lord. (5) And the anointed priest who has been consecrated having received of the blood of the calf, shall then bring it into the tabernacle of witness. (6) And the priest shall dip his finger into the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, over against the holy veil. (7) And the priest shall put of the blood of the calf on the horns of the altar of the compound incense which is before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of witness; and all the blood of the calf shall he pour out by the foot of the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, which is by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (8) and all the fat of the calf of the sin-offering shall he take off from it; the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, (9) and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is on the thighs, and the caul that is on the liver with the kidneys, them shall he take away, (10) as he takes it away from the calf of the sacrifice of peace-offering, so shall the priest offer it on the altar of burnt-offering. (11) And they shall take the skin of the calf, and all his flesh with the head and the extremities and the belly and the dung, (12) and they shall carry out the whole calf out of the camp into a clean place, where they pour out the ashes, and they shall consume it there on wood with fire: it shall be burnt on the ashes poured out. (13) And if the whole congregation of Israel trespass ignorantly, and a thing should escape the notice of the congregation, and they should do one thing forbidden of any of the commands of the Lord, which ought not to be done, and should transgress: (14) and the sin wherein they have sinned should become known to them, then shall the congregation bring an unblemished calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and they shall bring it to the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (15) And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the calf before the Lord, and they shall slay the calf before the Lord. (16) And the anointed priest shall bring in of the blood of the calf into the tabernacle of witness. (17) And the priest shall dip his finger into some of the blood of the calf, and shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. (18) And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of the incense of composition, which is before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of witness; and he shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, which is by the door of the tabernacle of witness. (19) And he shall take away all the fat from it, and shall offer it up on the altar. (20) And he shall do to the calf as he did to the calf of the sin-offering, so shall it be done; and the priest shall make atonement for them, and the trespass shall be forgiven them. (21) And they shall carry forth the calf whole without the camp, and they shall burn the calf as they burnt the former calf: it is the sin-offering of the congregation. (22) And if a ruler sin, and break one of all the commands of the Lord his God, doing the thing which ought not to be done, unwillingly, and shall sin and trespass, (23) and his trespass wherein he has sinned, be known to him, then shall he offer for his gift a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. (24) And he shall lay his hand on the head of the kid, and they shall kill it in the place where they kill the victims for whole-burnt-offerings before the Lord; it is a sin-offering. (25) And the priest shall put some of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger on the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offering; and he shall pour out all its blood by the bottom of the altar of whole-burnt-offerings. (26) And he shall offer up all his fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. (27) And if a soul of the people of the land should sin unwillingly, in doing a thing contrary to any of the commandments of the Lord, which ought not to be done, and shall transgress, (28) and his sin should be known to him, wherein he has sinned, then shall he bring a kid of the goats, a female without blemish shall he bring for his sin, which he has sinned. (29) And he shall lay his hand on the head of his sin-offering, and they shall slay the kid of the sin-offering in the place where they slay the victims for whole-burnt-offerings. (30) And the priest shall take of its blood with his finger, and shall put it on the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offerings; and all its blood he shall pour forth by the foot of the altar. (31) And he shall take away all the fat, as the fat is taken away from the sacrifice of peace-offering, and the priest shall offer it on the altar for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and his sin shall be forgiven him. (32) And if he should offer a lamb for his sin-offering, he shall offer it a female without blemish. (33) And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offerings, and they shall kill it in the place where they kill the victims for whole-burnt-offerings. (34) And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and shall put it on the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, and he shall pour out all its blood by the bottom of the altar of whole-burnt-offering. (35) And he shall take away all his fat, as the fat of the lamb of the sacrifice of peace-offering is taken away, and the priest shall put it on the altar for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord; and the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.

5

(1) And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and he is a witness or has seen or been conscious, if he do not report it, he shall bear his iniquity. (2) That soul which shall touch any unclean thing, or carcase, or that which is unclean being taken of beasts, or the dead bodies of abominable reptiles which are unclean, or carcases of unclean cattle, (3) or should touch the uncleanness of a man, or whatever kind, which he may touch and be defiled by, and it should have escaped him, but afterwards he should know, —then he shall have transgressed. (4) That unrighteous soul, which determines with his lips to do evil or to do good according to whatsoever a man may determine with an oath, and it shall have escaped his notice, and he shall afterwards know it, and so he should sin in some one of these things: (5) —then shall he declare his sin in the tings wherein he has sinned by that sin. (6) And he shall bring for his transgressions against the Lord, for his sin which he has sinned, a ewe lamb of the flock, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he has sinned, and his sin shall be forgiven him. (7) And if he cannot afford a sheep, he shall bring for his sin which he has sinned, two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to the Lord; one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering. (8) And he shall bring them to the priest, and the priest shall bring the sin-offering first; and the priest shall pinch off the head from the neck, and shall not divide the body. (9) And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering on the side of the altar, but the rest of the blood he shall drop at the foot of the altar, for it is a sin-offering. (10) And he shall make the second a whole-burnt-offering, as it is fit; and the priest shall make atonement for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. (11) And if he cannot afford a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, then shall he bring as his gift for his sin, the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin-offering; he shall not pour oil upon it, nor shall he put frankincense upon it, because it is a sin-offering. (12) And he shall bring it to the priest; and the priest having taken a handful of it, shall lay the memorial of it on the altar of whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord; it is a sin-offering. (13) And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, which he has sinned in one of these things, and it shall be forgiven him; and that which is left shall be the priest’s, as an offering of fine flour. (14) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (15) The soul which shall be really unconscious, and shall sin unwillingly in any of the holy things of the Lord, shall even bring to the Lord for his transgression, a ram of the flock without blemish, valued according to shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for his transgression wherein he transgressed. (16) And he shall make compensation for that wherein he has sinned in the holy things; and he shall add the fifth part to it, and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of transgression, and his sin shall be forgiven him. (17) And the soul which shall sin, and do one thing against any of the commandments of the Lord, which it is not right to do, and has not known it, and shall have transgressed, and shall have contracted guilt, (18) he shall even bring a ram without blemish from the flock, valued at a price of silver for his transgression to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for his trespass of ignorance, wherein he ignorantly trespassed, and he knew it not; and it shall be forgiven him. (19) For he has surely been guilty of transgression before the Lord. (6:1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (6:2) The soul which shall have sinned, and willfully overlooked the commandments of the Lord, and shall have dealt falsely in the affairs of his neighbour in the matter of a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning plunder, or has in anything wronged his neighbour, (6:3) or has found that which was lost, and shall have lied concerning it, and shall have sworn unjustly concerning any one of all the things, whatsoever a man may do, so as to sin hereby; (6:4) it shall come to pass, whensoever he shall have sinned, and transgressed, that he shall restore the plunder which he has seized, or redress the injury which he has committed, or restore the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost article which he has found of any kind, about which he swore unjustly, he shall even restore it in full; and he shall add to it a fifth part besides; he shall restore it to him whose it is in the day in which he happens to be convicted. (6:5) And he shall bring to the Lord for his trespass, a ram of the flock, without blemish, of value to the amount of the thing in which he trespassed. (6:6) And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any one of all the things which he did and trespassed in it.

6

(7) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (8) Charge Aaron and his sons, saying, (9) This is the law of whole-burnt-offering; this is the whole-burnt-offering in its burning on the altar all the night till the morning; and the fire of the altar shall burn on it, it shall not be put out. (10) And the priest shall put on the linen tunic, and he shall put the linen drawers on his body; and shall take away that which has been thoroughly burnt, which the fire shall have consumed, even the whole-burnt-offering from the altar, and he shall put it near the altar. (11) And he shall put off his robe, and put on another robe, and he shall take forth the offering that has been burnt without the camp into a clean place. (12) And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, and shall not be extinguished; and the priest shall burn on it wood every morning, and shall heap on it the whole-burnt-offering, and shall lay on it the fat of the peace-offering. (13) And the fire shall always burn on the altar; it shall not be extinguished. (14) This is the law of the sacrifice, which the sons of Aaron shall bring near before the Lord, before the altar. (15) And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the sacrifice with its oil, and with all its frankincense, which are upon the sacrifice; and he shall offer up on the altar a burnt-offering as a sweet-smelling savour, a memorial of it to the Lord. (16) And Aaron and his sons shall eat that which is left of it: it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place, they shall eat it in the court of the tabernacle of witness. (17) It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as a portion to them of the burnt-offerings of the Lord: it is most holy, as the offering for sin, and as the offering for trespass. (18) Every male of the priests shall eat it: it is a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations of the burnt-offerings of the Lord; whosoever shall touch them shall be hallowed. (19) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (20) This is the gift of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord in the day in which thou shalt anoint him; the tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sacrifice continually, the half of it in the morning, and the half of it in the evening. (21) It shall be made with oil in a frying-pan; he shall offer it kneaded and in rolls, an offering of fragments, an offering of a sweet savour unto the Lord. (22) The anointed priest who is in his place, one of his sons, shall offer it: it is a perpetual statute, it shall all be consumed. (23) And every sacrifice of a priest shall be thoroughly burnt, and shall not be eaten. (24) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (25) Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin-offering; —in the place where they slay the whole-burnt-offering, they shall slay the sin-offerings before the Lord: they are most holy. (26) The priest that offers it shall eat it: in a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of witness. (27) Every one that touches the flesh of it shall be holy, and on whosesoever garment any of its blood shall have been sprinkled, whosoever shall have it sprinkled, shall be washed in the holy place. (28) And the earthen vessel, in whichsoever it shall have been sodden, shall be broken; and if it shall have been sodden in a brazen vessel, he shall scour it and wash it with water. (29) Every male among the priests shall eat it: it is most holy to the Lord. (30) And no offerings for sin, of whose blood there shall be brought any into the tabernacle of witness to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten: they shall be burned with fire.

7

(6:31) And this is the law of the ram for the trespass-offering; it is most holy. (6:32) In the place where they slay the whole-burnt-offering, they shall slay the ram of the trespass-offering before the Lord, and he shall pour out the blood at the bottom of the altar round about. (6:33) And he shall offer all the fat from it; and the loins, and all the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, (6:34) and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, that which is upon the thighs, and the caul upon the liver with the kidney, he shall take them away. (6:35) And the priest shall offer them on the altar a burnt-offering to the Lord; it is for trespass. (6:36) Every male of the priest shall eat them, in the holy place they shall eat them: they are most holy. (6:37) As the sin-offering, so also is the trespass-offering. There is one law of them; the priest who shall make atonement with it, his it shall be. (6:38) And as for the priest who offers a man’s whole-burnt-offering, the skin of the whole-burnt-offering which he offers, shall be his. (6:39) And every sacrifice which shall be prepared in the oven, and every one which shall be prepared on the hearth, or on a frying-pan, it is the property of the priest that offers it; it shall be his. (6:40) And every sacrifice made up with oil, or not made up with oil, shall belong to the sons of Aaron, an equal portion to each. (1) This is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offering, which they shall bring to the Lord. (2) If a man should offer it for praise, then shall he bring, for the sacrifice of praise, loaves of fine flour made up with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and fine flour kneaded with oil. (3) With leavened bread he shall offer his gifts, with the peace-offering of praise. (4) And he shall bring one of all his gifts, a separate offering to the Lord: it shall belong to the priest who pours forth the blood of the peace-offering. (5) And the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offering of praise shall be his, and it shall be eaten in the day in which it is offered: they shall not leave of it till the morning. (6) And if it be a vow, or he offer his gift of his own will, on whatsoever day he shall offer his sacrifice, it shall be eaten, and on the morrow. (7) And that which is left of the flesh of the sacrifice till the third day, shall be consumed with fire. (8) And if he do at all eat of the flesh on the third day, it shall not be accepted for him that offers: it shall not be reckoned to him, it is pollution; and whatsoever soul shall eat of it, shall bear his iniquity. (9) And whatsoever flesh shall have touched any unclean thing, it shall not be eaten, it shall be consumed with fire; every one that is clean shall eat the flesh. (10) And whatsoever soul shall eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offering which is the Lord’s, and his uncleanness be upon him, that soul shall perish from his people. (11) And whatsoever soul shall touch any unclean thing, either of the uncleanness of a man, or of unclean quadrupeds, or any unclean abominable thing, and shall eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offering, which is the Lord’s, that soul shall perish from his people. (12) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (13) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no fat of oxen or sheep or goats. (14) And the fat of such animals as have died of themselves, or have been seized of beasts, may be employed for any work; but it shall not be eaten for food. (15) Every one that eats fat off the beasts, from which he will bring a burnt-offering to the Lord—that soul shall perish from his people. (16) Ye shall eat no blood in all your habitations, either of beasts or of birds. (17) Every soul that shall eat blood, that soul shall perish from his people. (18) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (19) Thou shalt also speak to the children of Israel, saying, He that offers a sacrifice of peace-offering, shall bring his gift to the Lord also from the sacrifice of peace-offering. (20) His hands shall bring the burnt-offerings to the Lord; the fat which is on the breast and the lobe of the liver, he shall bring them, so as to set them for a gift before the Lord. (21) And the priest shall offer the fat upon the altar, and the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons, (22) and ye shall give the right shoulder for a choice piece to the priest of your sacrifices of peace-offering. (23) He that offers the blood of the peace-offering, and the fat, of the sons of Aaron, his shall be the right shoulder for a portion. (24) For I have taken the wave-breast and shoulder of separation from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of your peace-offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons, a perpetual ordinance due from the children of Israel. (25) This is the anointing of Aaron, and the anointing of his sons, their portion of the burnt-offerings of the Lord, in the day in which he brought them forward to minister as priests to the Lord; (26) as the Lord commanded to give to them in the day in which he anointed them of the sons of Israel, a perpetual statute through their generations. (27) This is the law of the whole-burnt-offerings, and of sacrifice, and of sin-offering, and of offering for transgression, and of the sacrifice of consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace-offering; (28) as the Lord commanded Moses in the mount Sina, in the day in which he commanded the children of Israel to offer their gifts before the Lord in the wilderness of Sina.

8

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Take Aaron and his sons, and his robes and the anointing oil, and the calf for the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, (3) and assemble the whole congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness. (4) And Moses did as the Lord appointed him, and he assembled the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness. (5) And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do. (6) And Moses brought nigh Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water, (7) and put on him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the tunic, and put on him the ephod; (8) and girded him with a girdle according to the make of the ephod, and clasped him closely with it: and put upon it the oracle, and put upon the oracle the Manifestation and the Truth. (9) And he put the mitre on his head, and put upon the mitre in front the golden plate, the most holy thing, as the Lord commanded Moses. (10) And Moses took of the anointing oil, (11) and sprinkled of it seven times on the altar; and anointed the altar, and hallowed it, and all things on it, and the laver, and its foot, and sanctified them; and anointed the tabernacle and all its furniture, and hallowed it. (12) And Moses poured of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron; and he anointed him and sanctified him. (13) And Moses brought the sons of Aaron near, and put on them coast and girded them with girdles, and put on them bonnets, as the Lord commanded Moses. (14) And Moses brought near the calf for the sin-offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the calf of the sin-offering. (15) And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar round about with his finger; and he purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement upon it. (16) And Moses took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the lobe on the liver, and both the kidneys, and the fat that was upon them, and Moses offered them on the altar. (17) But the calf, and his hide, and his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses. (18) And Moses brought near the ram for a whole-burnt-offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. And Moses slew the ram: and Moses poured the blood on the altar round about. (19) And he divided the ram by its limbs, and Moses offered the head, and the limbs, and the fat; and he washed the belly and the feet with water.(20) And Moses offered up the whole ram on the altar: it is a whole-burnt-offering for a sweet-smelling savour; it is a burnt-offering to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. (21) And Moses brought the second ram, the ram of consecration, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, and he slew him; (22) and Moses took of his blood, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. (23) And Moses brought near the sons of Aaron; and Moses put of the blood on the tips of their right ears, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the great toes of their right feet, and Moses poured out the blood on the altar round about. (24) And he took the fat, and the rump, and the fat on the belly, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder. (25) And from the basket of consecration, which was before the Lord, he also took one unleavened loaf, and one loaf made with oil, and one cake; and put them upon the fat, and the right shoulder: (26) and put them all on the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and offered them up for a wave-offering before the Lord. (27) And Moses took them at their hands, and Moses offered them on the altar, on the whole-burnt-offering of consecration, which is a smell of sweet savour: it is a burnt-offering to the Lord. (28) And Moses took the breast, and separated it for a heave-offering before the Lord, from the ram of consecration; and it became Moses’ portion, as the Lord commanded Moses. (29) And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood that was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, and on his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. (30) And he sanctified Aaron and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. (31) And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh in the tent of the tabernacle of witness in the holy place; and there ye shall eat it and the loaves in the basket of consecration, as it has been appointed me, the Lord saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat them. (32) And that which is left of the flesh and of the loaves burn ye with fire. (33) And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of witness for seven days, until the day be fulfilled, the day of your consecration; for in seven days shall he consecrate you, (34) as he did in this day on which the Lord commanded me to do so, to make an atonement for you. (35) And ye shall remain seven days at the door of the tabernacle of witness, day and night; ye shall observe the ordinances of the Lord, that ye die not; for so has the Lord God commanded me. (36) And Aaron and his sons performed all these commands which the Lord commanded Moses.

9

(1) And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel, (2) and Moses said to Aaron, Take to thyself a young calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and a ram for a whole-burnt-offering, unblemished, and offer them before the Lord. (3) And speak to the elders of Israel, saying, Take one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and a young calf, and a lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, spotless, (4) and a calf and a ram for a peace offering before the Lord, and fine flour mingled with oil, for to-day the Lord will appear among you. (5) And they took as Moses commanded them before the tabernacle of witness, and all the congregation drew nigh, and they stood before the Lord. (6) And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord has spoken; do it, and the glory of the Lord shall appear among you. (7) And Moses said to Aaron, Draw nigh to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy whole-burnt-offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for thy house; and offer the gifts of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded Moses. (8) And Aaron drew nigh to the altar, and slew the calf of his sin-offering. (9) And the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar, and he poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar. (10) And he offered up on the altar the fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the sin-offering, according as the Lord commanded Moses. (11) And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire outside of the camp. (12) And he slew the whole-burnt-offering; and the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he poured it on the altar round about. (13) And they brought the whole-burnt-offering, according to its pieces; them and the head he put upon the altar. (14) And he washed the belly and the feet with water, and he put them on the whole-burnt-offering on the altar. (15) And he brought the gift of the people, and took the goat of the sin-offering of the people, and slew it, and purified it as also the first. (16) And he brought the whole-burnt-offering, and offered it in due form. (17) And he brought the sacrifice and filled his hands with it, and laid it on the altar, besides the morning whole-burnt-offering. (18) And he slew the calf, and the ram of the sacrifice of peace-offering of the people; and the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he poured it out on the altar round about. (19) And he took the fat of the calf, and the hind quarters of the ram, and the fat covering the belly, and the two kidneys, and the fat upon them, and the caul on the liver. (20) And he put the fat on the breasts, and offered the fat on the altar. (21) And Aaron separated the breast and the right shoulder as a choice-offering before the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. (22) And Aaron lifted up his hands on the people and blessed them; and after he had offered the sin-offering, and the whole-burnt-offerings, and the peace-offerings, he came down. (23) And Moses and Aaron entered into the tabernacle of witness. And they came out and blessed all the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. (24) And fire came forth from the Lord, and devoured the offerings on the altar, both the whole-burnt-offerings and the fat; and all the people saw, and were amazed, and fell upon their faces.

10

(1) And the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abiud, took each his censer, and put fire therein, and threw incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which the Lord did not command them, (2) and fire came forth from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. (3) And Moses said to Aaron, This is the thing which the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctified among them that draw night to me, and I will be glorified in the whole congregation; and Aaron was pricked in his heart. (4) And Moses called Misadae, and Elisaphan, sons of Oziel, sons of the brother of Aaron’s father, and said to them, Draw near and take your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. (5) And they came near and took them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses said. (6) And Moses said to Aaron, and Eleazar and Ithamar his sons that were left, Ye shall not make bare your heads, and ye shall not tear your garments; that ye die not, and so there should be wrath on all the congregation: but your brethren, even all the house of Israel, shall lament for the burning, with which they were burnt by the Lord. (7) And ye shall not go forth from the door of the tabernacle of witness, that ye die not; for the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you: and they did according to the word of Moses. (8) And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, (9) Ye shall not drink wine nor strong drink, thou and thy sons with thee, whensoever ye enter into the tabernacle of witness, or when ye approach the altar, so shall ye not die; it is a perpetual statute for your generations, (10) to distinguish between sacred and profane, and between clean and unclean, (11) and to teach the children of Israel all the statutes, which the Lord spoke to them by Moses. (12) And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who survived, Take the sacrifice that is left of the burnt-offerings of the Lord, and ye shall eat unleavened bread by the altar: it is most holy. (13) And ye shall eat it in the holy place; for this is a statute for thee and a statute for thy sons, of the burnt-offerings to the Lord; for so it has been commanded me. (14) And ye shall eat the breast of separation, and the shoulder of the choice-offering in the holy place, thou and thy sons and thy house with thee; for it has been given as an ordinance for thee and an ordinance for thy sons, of the sacrifices of peace-offering of the children of Israel. (15) They shall bring the shoulder of the choice-offering, and the breast of the separation upon the burnt-offerings of the fat, to separate for a separation before the Lord; and it shall be a perpetual ordinance for thee and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, as the Lord commanded Moses. (16) And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin-offering, but it had been consumed by fire; and Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar the sons of Aaron that were left, saying, (17) Why did ye not eat the sin-offering in the holy place? for because it is most holy he has given you this to eat, that ye might take away the sin of the congregation, and make atonement for them before the Lord. (18) For the blood of it was not brought into the holy place: ye shall eat it within, before the Lord, as the Lord commanded me. (19) And Aaron spoke to Moses, saying, If they have brought nigh to-day their sin-offerings, and their whole-burnt-offerings before the Lord, and these events have happened to me, and yet I should eat to-day of the sin-offerings, would it be pleasing to the Lord? (20) And Moses heard it, and it pleased him.

11

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) Speak ye to the sons of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat of all beasts that are upon the earth. (3) Every beast parting the hoof and making divisions of two claws, and chewing the cud among beasts, these ye shall eat. (4) But of these ye shall not eat, of those that chew the cud, and of those that part the hoofs, and divide claws; the camel, because it chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof, this is unclean to you. (5) And the rabbit, because it chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof, this is unclean to you. (6) And the hare, because it does not chew the cud, and does not divide the hoof, this is unclean to you. (7) And the swine, because this animal divides the hoof, and makes claws of the hoof, and it does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. (8) Ye shall not eat of their flesh, and ye shall not touch their carcases; these are unclean to you. (9) And these are what ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all things that have fins and scales in the waters, and in the seas, and in the brooks, these ye shall eat. (10) And all things which have not fins or scales in the water, or in the seas, and in the brooks, of all which the waters produce, and of every soul living in the water, are an abomination; and they shall be abominations to you. (11) Ye shall not eat of their flesh, and ye shall abhor their carcases. (12) And all things that have not fins or scales of those that are in the waters, these are an abomination to you. (13) And these are the things which ye shall abhor of birds, and they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle. (14) And the vulture, and the kite, and the like to it; (15) and the sparrow, and the owl, and the sea-mew, and the like to it: (16) and every raven, and the birds like it, and the hawk and his like, (17) and the night-raven and the cormorant and the stork, (18) and the red-bill, and the pelican, and swan, (19) and the heron, and the lapwing, and the like to it, and the hoopoe and the bat. (20) And all winged creatures that creep, which go upon four feet, are abominations to you. (21) But these ye shall eat of the creeping winged animals, which go upon four feet, which have legs above their feet, to leap with on the earth. (22) And these of them ye shall eat: the caterpillar and his like, and the attacus and his like, and the cantharus and his like, and the locust and his like. (23) Every creeping thing from among the birds, which has four feet, is an abomination to you. (24) And by these ye shall be defiled; every one that touches their carcases shall be unclean till the evening. (25) And every one that takes of their dead bodies shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean till the evening. (26) And whichever among the beasts divides the hoof and makes claws, and does not chew the cud, shall be unclean to you; every one that touches their dead bodies shall be unclean till evening. (27) And every one among all the wild beasts that moves upon its fore feet, which goes on all four, is unclean to you; every one that touches their dead bodies shall be unclean till evening. (28) And he that takes of their dead bodies shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean till evening: these are unclean to you. (29) And these are unclean to you of reptiles upon the earth, the weasel, and the mouse, and the lizard, (30) the ferret, and the chameleon, and the evet, and the newt, and the mole. (31) These are unclean to you of all the reptiles which are on the earth; every one who touches their carcases shall be unclean till evening. (32) And on whatsoever one of their dead bodies shall fall it shall be unclean; whatever wooden vessel, or garment, or skin, or sack it may be, every vessel in which work should be done, shall be dipped in water, and shall be unclean till evening; and then it shall be clean. (33) And every earthen vessel into which one of these things shall fall, whatsoever is inside it, shall be unclean, and it shall be broken. (34) And all food that is eaten, on which water shall come from such a vessel, shall be unclean; and every beverage which is drunk in any such vessel, shall be unclean. (35) And every thing on which there shall fall of their dead bodies shall be unclean; ovens and stands for jars shall be broken down: these are unclean, and they shall be unclean to you. (36) Only if the water be of fountains of water, or a pool, or confluence of water, it shall be clean; but he that touches their carcases shall be unclean. (37) And if one of their carcases should fall upon any sowing seed which shall be sown, it shall be clean. (38) But if water be poured on any seed, and one of their dead bodies fall upon it, it is unclean to you. (39) And if one of the cattle die, which it is lawful for you to eat, he that touches their carcases shall be unclean till evening. (40) And he that eats of their carcases shall wash his garments, and be unclean till evening; and he that carries any of their carcases shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean till evening. (41) And every reptile that creeps on the earth, this shall be an abomination to you; it shall not be eaten. (42) And every animal that creeps on its belly, and every one that goes on four feet continually, which abounds with feet among all the reptiles creeping upon the earth—ye shall not eat it, for it is an abomination to you. (43) And ye shall not defile your souls with any of the reptiles that creep upon the earth, and ye shall not be polluted with them, and ye shall not be unclean by them. (44) For I am the Lord your God; and ye shall be sanctified, and ye shall be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy; and ye shall not defile your souls with any of the reptiles creeping upon the earth. (45) For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; and ye shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy. (46) This is the law concerning beasts and birds and every living creature moving in the water, and every living creature creeping on the earth; (47) to distinguish between the unclean and the clean; and between those that bring forth alive, such as should be eaten, and those that bring forth alive, such as should not be eaten.

12

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whatsoever woman shall have conceived and born a male child shall be unclean seven days, she shall be unclean according to the days of separation for her monthly courses. (3) And on the eighth day she shall circumcise the flesh of his foreskin. (4) And for thirty-three days she shall continue in her unclean blood; she shall touch nothing holy, and shall not enter the sanctuary, until the days of her purification be fulfilled. (5) But if she should have born a female child, then she shall be unclean twice seven days, according to the time of her monthly courses; and for sixty-six days shall she remain in her unclean blood. (6) And when the days of her purification shall have been fulfilled for a son or a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of a year old without blemish for a whole-burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or turtle-dove for a sin-offering to the door of the tabernacle of witness, to the priest. (7) And he shall present it before the Lord, and the priest shall make atonement for her, and shall purge her from the fountain of her blood; this is the law of her who bears a male or a female. (8) And if she cannot afford a lamb, then shall she take two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, one for a whole-burnt-offering, and one for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be purified.

13

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) If any man should have in the skin of his flesh a bright clear spot, and there should be in the skin of his flesh a plague of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. (3) And the priest shall view the spot in the skin of his flesh; and if the hair in the spot be changed to white, and the appearance of the spot be below the skin of the flesh, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look upon it, and pronounce him unclean. (4) But if the spot be clear and white in the skin of his flesh, yet the appearance of it be not deep below the skin, and its hair have not changed itself for white hair, but it is dark, then the priest shall separate him that has the spot seven days; (5) and the priest shall look on the spot the seventh day; and, behold, if the spot remains before him, if the spot has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall separate him the second time seven days. (6) And the priest shall look upon him the second time on the seventh day; and, behold, if the spot be dark, and the spot have not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is a mere mark, and the man shall wash his garments and be clean. (7) But if the bright spot should have changed and spread in the skin, after the priest has seen him for the purpose of purifying him, then shall he appear the second time to the priest, (8) and the priest shall look upon him; and, behold, if the mark have spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy. (9) And if a man have a plague of leprosy, then he shall come to the priest; (10) and the priest shall look, and, behold, if it is a white spot in the skin, and it has changed the hair to white, and there be some of the sound part of the quick flesh in the sore— (11) it is a leprosy waxing old in the skin of the flesh; and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall separate him, because he is unclean. (12) And if the leprosy should have come out very evidently in the skin, and the leprosy should cover all the skin of the patient from the head to the feet, wheresoever the priest shall look; (13) then the priest shall look, and, behold, the leprosy has covered all the skin of the flesh; and the priest shall pronounce him clean of the plague, because it has changed all to white, it is clean. (14) But on whatsoever day the quick flesh shall appear on him, he shall be pronounced unclean. (15) And the priest shall look upon the sound flesh, and the sound flesh shall prove him to be unclean; for it is unclean, it is a leprosy. (16) But if the sound flesh be restored and changed to white, then shall he come to the priest; (17) and the priest shall see him, and, behold, if the plague is turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the patient clean: he is clean. (18) And if the flesh should have become an ulcer in his skin, and should be healed, (19) and there should be in the place of the ulcer a white sore, or one looking white and bright, or fiery, and it shall be seen by the priest; (20) then the priest shall look, and, behold, if the appearance be beneath the skin, and its hair has changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; because it is a leprosy, it has broken out in the ulcer. (21) But if the priest look, and behold there is no white hair on it, and it be not below the skin of the flesh, and it be dark-coloured; then the priest shall separate him seven days. (22) But if it manifestly spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy; it has broken out in the ulcer. (23) But if the bright spot should remain in its place and not spread, it is the scar of the ulcer; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. (24) And if the flesh be in his skin in a state of fiery inflammation, and there should be in his skin the part which is healed of the inflammation, bright, clear, and white, suffused with red or very white; (25) then the priest shall look upon him, and, behold, if the hair being white is changed to a bright colour, and its appearance is lower than the skin, it is a leprosy; it has broken out in the inflammation, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy. (26) But if the priest should look, and, behold, there is not in the bright spot any white hair, and it should not be lower than the skin, and it should be dark, then the priest shall separate him seven days. (27) And the priest shall look upon him on the seventh day; and if the spot be much spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy, it has broken out in the ulcer. (28) But if the bright spot remain stationary, and be not spread in the skin, but the sore should be dark, it is a scar of inflammation; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the mark of the inflammation. (29) And if a man or a woman have in them a plague of leprosy in the head or the beard; (30) then the priest shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the appearance of it be beneath the skin, and in it there be thin yellowish hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a scurf, it is a leprosy of the head or a leprosy of the beard. (31) And if the priest should see the plague of the scurf, and, behold, the appearance of it be not beneath the skin, and there is no yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall set apart him that has the plague of the scurf seven days. (32) And the priest shall look at the plague on the seventh day; and, behold, if the scurf be not spread, and there be no yellowish hair on it, and the appearance of the scurf is not hollow under the skin; (33) then the skin shall be shaven, but the scurf shall not be shaven; and the priest shall set aside the person having the scurf the second time for seven days. (34) And the priest shall see the scurf on the seventh day; and, behold, if the scurf is not spread in the skin after the man’s being shaved, and the appearance of the scurf is not hollow beneath the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his garments, and be clean. (35) But if the scurf be indeed spread in the skin after he has been purified, (36) then the priest shall look, and, behold, if the scurf be spread in the skin, the priest shall not examine concerning the yellow hair, for he is unclean. (37) But if the scurf remain before him in its place, and a dark hair should have arisen in it, the scurf is healed: he is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean. (38) And if a man or woman should have in the skin of their flesh spots of a bright whiteness, (39) then the priest shall look; and, behold, there being bright spots of a bright whiteness in the skin of their flesh, it is a tetter; it burst forth in the skin of his flesh; he is clean. (40) And if any one’s head should lose the hair, he is only bald, he is clean. (41) And if his head should lose the hair in front, he is forehead bald: he is clean. (42) And if there should be in his baldness of head, or his baldness of forehead, a white or fiery plague, it is leprosy in his baldness of head, or baldness of forehead. (43) And the priest shall look upon him, and, behold, if the appearance of the plague be white or inflamed in his baldness of head or baldness in front, as the appearance of leprosy in the skin of his flesh, (44) he is a leprous man: the priest shall surely pronounce him unclean, his plague is in his head. (45) And the leper in whom the plague is, let his garments be ungirt, and his head uncovered; and let him have a covering put upon his mouth, and he shall be called unclean. (46) All the days in which the plague shall be upon him, being unclean, he shall be esteemed unclean; he shall dwell apart, his place of sojourn shall be without the camp. (47) And if a garment have in it the plague of leprosy, a garment of wool, or a garment of flax, (48) either in the warp or in the woof, or in the linen, or in the woollen threads, or in a skin, or in any workmanship of skin, (49) and the plague be greenish or reddish in the skin, or in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any utensil of skin, it is a plague of leprosy, and he shall show it to the priest. (50) And the priest shall look upon the plague, and the priest shall set apart that which has the plague seven days. (51) And the priest shall look upon the plague on the seventh day; and if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in the skin, in whatsoever things skins may be used in their workmanship, the plague is a confirmed leprosy; it is unclean. (52) He shall burn the garment, either the warp or woof in woollen garments or in flaxen, or in any utensil of skin, in which there may be the plague; because it is a confirmed leprosy; it shall be burnt with fire. (53) And if the priest should see, and the plague be not spread in the garments, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any utensil of skin, (54) then the priest shall give directions, and one shall wash that on which there may have been the plague, and the priest shall set it aside a second time for seven days. (55) And the priest shall look upon it after the plague has been washed; and if this, even the plague, has not changed its appearance, and the plague does not spread, it is unclean; it shall be burnt with fire: it is fixed in the garment, in the warp, or in the woof. (56) And if the priest should look, and the spot be dark after it has been washed, he shall tear it off from the garment, either from the warp or from the woof, or from the skin. (57) And if it should still appear in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is a leprosy bursting forth: that wherein is the plague shall be burnt with fire. (58) And the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or any article of skin, which shall be washed, and the plague depart from it, shall also be washed again, and shall be clean. (59) This is the law of the plague of leprosy of a woollen or linen garment, either of the warp, or woof, or any leathern article, to pronounce it clean or unclean.

14

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) This is the law of the leper: in whatsoever day he shall have been cleansed, then shall he be brought to the priest. (3) And the priest shall come forth out of the camp, and the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague of the leprosy is removed from the leper. (4) And the priest shall give directions, and they shall take for him that is cleansed two clean live birds, and cedar wood, and spun scarlet, and hyssop. (5) And the priest shall give direction, and they shall kill one bird over an earthen vessel over running water. (6) And as for the living bird he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the spun scarlet, and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird into the blood of the bird that was slain over running water. (7) And he shall sprinkle seven times upon him that was cleansed of his leprosy, and he shall be clean; and he shall let go the living bird into the field. (8) and the man that has been cleansed shall wash his garments, and shall shave off all his hair, and shall wash himself in water, and shall be clean; and after that he shall go into the camp, and shall remain out of his house seven days. (9) And it shall come to pass on the seventh day, he shall shave off all his hair, his head and his beard, and his eye-brows, even all his hair shall he shave; and he shall wash his garments, and wash his body with water, and shall be clean. (10) And on the eighth day he shall take two lambs without spot of a year old, and one ewe lamp without spot of a year old, and three-tenths of fine flour for sacrifice kneaded with oil, and one small cup of oil. (11) And the priest that cleanses shall present the man under purification, and these offerings before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of witness. (12) And the priest shall take one lamb, and offer him for a trespass-offering, and the cup of oil, and set them apart for a special offering before the Lord. (13) and they shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the whole-burnt-offerings, and the sin-offerings, in the holy places; for it is a sin-offering: as the trespass-offering, it belongs to the priest, it is most holy. (14) And the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of the person under cleansing, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. (15) And the priest shall take of the cup of oil, and shall pour it upon his own left hand. (16) And he shall dip with the finger of his right hand into some of the oil that is in his left hand, and he shall sprinkle with his finger seven times before the Lord. (17) And the remaining oil that is in his hand, the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of him that is under cleansing, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass-offering. (18) And the remaining oil that is on the hand of the priest, the priest shall put on the head of the cleansed leper, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. (19) And the priest shall sacrifice the sin-offering, and the priest shall make atonement for the person under purification to cleanse him from his sin, and afterwards the priest shall slay the whole-burnt-offering. (20) And the priest shall offer the whole-burnt-offering, and the sacrifice upon the altar before the Lord; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be cleansed. (21) And if he should be poor, and cannot afford so much, he shall take one lamb for his transgression for a separate-offering, so as to make propitiation for him, and a tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a sacrifice, and one cup of oil, (22) and two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, as he can afford; and the one shall be for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole-burnt-offering. (23) And he shall bring them on the eighth day, to purify him, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of witness before the Lord. (24) And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass-offering, and the cup of oil, and place them for a set-offering before the Lord. (25) And he shall slay the lamb of the trespass-offering; and the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is under purification, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. (26) And the priest shall pour of the oil on his own left hand. (27) And the priest shall sprinkle with the finger of his right hand some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. (28) And the priest shall put of the oil that is on his hand on the tip of the right ear of him that is under purification, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass-offering. (29) And that which is left of the oil which is on the hand of the priest he shall put on the head of him that is purged, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. (30) And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves or of the young pigeons, as he can afford it, (31) the one for a sin-offering, the other for a whole-burnt-offering with the meat-offering, and the priest shall make an atonement before the Lord for him that is under purification. (32) This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, and who cannot afford the offerings for his purification. (33) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (34) Whensoever ye shall enter into the land of the Chananites, which I give you for a possession, and I shall put the plague of leprosy in the houses of the land of your possession; (35) then the owner of the house shall come and report to the priest, saying, I have seen as it were a plague in the house. (36) And the priest shall give orders to remove the furniture of the house, before the priest comes in to see the plague, and thus none of the things in the house shall become unclean; and afterwards the priest shall go in to examine the house. (37) And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house, he will see greenish or reddish cavities, and the appearance of them will be beneath the surface of the walls. (38) And the priest shall come out of the house to the door of the house, and the priest shall separate the house seven days. (39) And the priest shall return on the seventh day and view the house; and, behold, if the plague is spread in the walls of the house, (40) then the priest shall give orders, and they shall take away the stones in which the plague is, and shall cast them out of the city into an unclean place. (41) And they shall scrape the house within round about, and shall pour out the dust scraped off outside the city into an unclean place. (42) And they shall take other scraped stones, and put them in the place of the former stones, and they shall take other plaster and plaster the house. (43) And if the plague should return again, and break out in the house after they have taken away the stones and after the house is scraped, and after it has been plastered, (44) then the priest shall go in and see if the plague is spread in the house: it is a confirmed leprosy in the house, it is unclean. (45) And they shall take down the house, and its timbers and its stones, and they shall carry out all the mortar without the city into an unclean place. (46) And he that goes into the house at any time, during its separation, shall be unclean until evening. (47) And he that sleeps in the house shall wash his garments, and be unclean until evening; and he that eats in the house shall wash his garments, and be unclean until evening. (48) and if the priest shall arrive and enter and see, and behold the plague be not at all spread in the house after the house has been plastered, then the priest shall declare the house clean, because the plague is healed. (49) And he shall take to purify the house two clean living birds, and cedar wood, and spun scarlet, and hyssop. (50) And he shall slay one bird in an earthen vessel over running water. (51) And he shall take the cedar wood, and the spun scarlet, and the hyssop, and the living bird; and shall dip it into the blood of the bird slain over running water, and with them he shall sprinkle the house seven times. (52) and he shall purify the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the spun scarlet. (53) And he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the field, and shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean. (54) This is the law concerning every plague of leprosy and scurf, (55) and of the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, (56) and of a sore, and of a clear spot, and of a shining one, (57) and of declaring in what day it is unclean, and in what day it shall be purged: this is the law of the leprosy.

15

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whatever man shall have an issue out of his body, his issue is unclean. (3) And this is the law of his uncleanness; whoever has a gonorrhoea out of his body, this is his uncleanness in him by reason of the issue, by which, his body is affected through the issue: all the days of the issue of his body, by which his body is affected through the issue, there is his uncleanness. (4) Every bed on which he that has the issue shall happen to lie, is unclean; and every seat on which he that has the issue may happen to sit, shall be unclean. (5) And the man who shall touch his bed, shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean till evening. (6) And whosoever sits on the seat on which he that has the issue may have sat, shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (7) And he that touches the skin of him that has the issue, shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean till evening. (8) And if he that has the issue should spit upon one that is clean, that person shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening. (9) And every ass’s saddle, on which the man with the issue shall have mounted, shall be unclean till evening. (10) And every one that touches whatsoever shall have been under him shall be unclean until evening; and he that takes them up shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (11) And whomsoever he that has the issue shall touch, if he have not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (12) And the earthen vessel which he that has the issue shall happen to touch, shall be broken; and a wooden vessel shall be washed with water, and shall be clean. (13) and if he that has the issue should be cleansed of his issue, then shall he number to himself seven days for his purification; and he shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and shall be clean. (14) And on the eighth day he shall take to himself two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, and he shall bring them before the Lord to the doors of the tabernacle of witness, and shall give them to the priest. (15) And the priest shall offer them one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole-burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord for his issue. (16) And the man whose seed of copulation shall happen to go forth from him, shall then wash his whole body, and shall be unclean until evening. (17) And every garment, and every skin on which there shall be the seed of copulation shall both be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. (18) And a woman, if a man shall lie with her with seed of copulation—they shall both bathe themselves in water and shall be unclean until evening. (19) And the woman whosoever shall have an issue of blood, when her issue shall be in her body, shall be seven days in her separation; every one that touches her shall be unclean until evening. (20) And every thing whereon she shall lie in her separation, shall be unclean; and whatever she shall sit upon, shall be unclean. (21) And whosoever shall touch her bed shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (22) and every one that touches any vessel on which she shall sit, shall wash his garments and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (23) And whether it be while she is on her bed, or on a seat which she may happen to sit upon when he touches her, he shall be unclean till evening. (24) And if any one shall lie with her, and her uncleanness be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he shall have lain shall be unclean. (25) And if a woman have an issue of blood many days, not in the time of her separation; if the blood should also flow after her separation, all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. (26) And every bed on which she shall lie all the days of her flux shall be to her as the bed of her separation, and every seat whereon she shall sit shall be unclean according to the uncleanness of her separation. (27) Every one that touches it shall be unclean; and he shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean till evening. (28) But if she shall be cleansed from her flux, then she shall number to herself seven days, and afterwards she shall be esteemed clean. (29) And on the eighth day she shall take two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and shall bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of witness. (30) And the priest shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole-burnt-offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean flux. (31) And ye shall cause the children of Israel to beware of their uncleannesses; so they shall not die for their uncleanness, in polluting my tabernacle that is among them. (32) This is the law of the man who has an issue, and if one discharge seed of copulation, so that he should be polluted by it. (33) And this is the law for her that has the issue of blood in her separation, and as to the person who has an issue of seed, in his issue: it is a law for the male and the female, and for the man who shall have lain with her that is set apart.

16

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses after the two sons of Aaron died in bringing strange fire before the Lord, so they died. (2) And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory. (3) Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place; with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and having a ram for a whole-burnt-offering. (4) And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on. (5) And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one lamb for a whole-burnt-offering. (6) And Aaron shall bring the calf for his own sin-offering, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. (7) And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of witness. (8) and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scape-goat. (9) And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and shall offer him for a sin-offering. (10) and the goat upon which the lot of the scape-goat came, he shall present alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon him, so as to send him away as a scape-goat, and he shall send him into the wilderness. (11) And Aaron shall bring the calf for his sin, and he shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and he shall kill the calf for his sin-offering. (12) And he shall take his censer full of coals of fire off the altar, which is before the Lord; and he shall fill his hands with fine compound incense, and shall bring it within the veil. (13) And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat over the tables of testimony, and he shall not die. (14) And he shall take of the blood of the calf, and sprinkle with his finger on the mercy-seat eastward: before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger. (15) And he shall kill the goat for the sin-offering that is for the people, before the Lord; and he shall bring in of its blood within the veil, and shall do with its blood as he did with the blood of the calf, and shall sprinkle its blood on the mercy-seat, in front of the mercy-seat. (16) and he shall make atonement for the sanctuary on account of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and for their trespasses in the matter of all their sins; and thus shall he do to the tabernacle of witness established among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (17) and there shall be no man in the tabernacle of witness, when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, until he shall have come out; and he shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the congregation of the children of Israel. (18) And he shall come forth to the altar that is before the Lord, and he shall make atonement upon it; and he shall take of the blood of the calf, and of the blood of the goat, and shall put it on the horns of the altar round about. (19) And he shall sprinkle some of the blood upon it seven times with his finger, and shall purge it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. (20) And he shall finish making atonement for the sanctuary and for the tabernacle of witness, and for the altar; and he shall make a cleansing for the priests, and he shall bring the living goat; (21) and Aaron shall lay his hands on the head of the live goat, and he shall declare over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their unrighteousness, and all their sins; and he shall lay them upon the head of the live goat, and shall send him by the hand of a ready man into the wilderness. (22) And the goat shall bear their unrighteousnesses upon him into a desert land; and Aaron shall send away the goat into the wilderness. (23) And Aaron shall enter into the tabernacle of witness, and shall put off the linen garment, which he had put on, as he entered into the holy place, and shall lay it by there. (24) And he shall bathe his body in water in the holy place, and shall put on his raiment, and shall go out and offer the whole-burnt-offering for himself and the whole-burnt-offering for the people: and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and for the people, as for the priests. (25) And he shall offer the fat for the sin-offering on the altar. (26) And he that sends forth the goat that has been set apart to be let go, shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterwards shall enter into the camp. (27) And the calf for the sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, they shall carry forth out of the camp, and burn them with fire, even their skins and their flesh and their dung. (28) And he that burns them shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall enter into the camp. (29) And this shall be a perpetual statute for you; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall humble your souls, and shall do no work, the native and the stranger who abides among you. (30) For in this day he shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and ye shall be purged. (31) This shall be to you a most holy sabbath, a rest, and ye shall humble your souls; it is a perpetual ordinance. (32) The priest whomsoever they shall anoint shall make atonement, and whomsoever they shall consecrate to exercise the priestly office after his father; and he shall put on the linen robe, the holy garment. (33) And he shall make atonement for the most holy place, and the tabernacle of witness; and he shall make atonement for the altar, and for the priests; and he shall make atonement for all the congregation. (34) And this shall be to you a perpetual statute to make atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins: it shall be done once in the year, as the Lord commanded Moses.

17

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, This is the word which the Lord has commanded, saying, (3) Every man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers abiding among you, who shall kill a calf, or a sheep, or a goat in the camp, or who shall kill it out of the camp, (4) and shall not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of witness, so as to sacrifice it for a whole-burnt-offering or peace-offering to the Lord to be acceptable for a sweet-smelling savour: and whosoever shall slay it without, and shall not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of witness, so as to offer it as a gift to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed to that man, he has shed blood; that soul shall be cut off from his people. (5) That the children of Israel may offer their sacrifices, all that they shall slay in the fields, and bring them to the Lord unto the doors of the tabernacle of witness to the priest, and they shall sacrifice them as a peace-offering to the Lord. (6) And the priest shall pour the blood on the altar round about before the Lord by the doors of the tabernacle of witness, and shall offer the fat for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord. (7) And they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to vain gods after which they go a whoring; it shall be a perpetual statute to you for your generations. (8) And thou shalt say to them, Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the sons of the proselytes abiding among you, shall offer a whole-burnt-offering or a sacrifice, (9) and shall not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of witness to sacrifice it to the Lord, that man shall be destroyed from among his people. (10) And whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers abiding among you, shall eat any blood, I will even set my face against that soul that eats blood, and will destroy it from its people. (11) For the life of flesh is its blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for its blood shall make atonement for the soul. (12) Therefore I said to the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, and the stranger that abides among you shall not eat blood. (13) And whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers abiding among you shall take any animal in hunting, beast, or bird, which is eaten, then shall he pour out the blood, and cover it in the dust. (14) For the blood of all flesh is its life; and I said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood: every one that eats it shall be destroyed. (15) And every soul which eats that which has died of itself, or is taken of beasts, either among the natives or among the strangers, shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening: then shall he be clean. (16) But if he do not wash his garments, and do not bathe his body in water, then shall he bear his iniquity.

18

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, I am the Lord your God. (3) Ye shall not do according to the devices of Egypt, in which ye dwelt: and according to the devices of the land of Chanaan, into which I bring you, ye shall not do; and ye shall not walk in their ordinances. (4) Ye shall observe my judgments, and shall keep my ordinances, and shall walk in them: I am the Lord your God. (5) So ye shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments, and do them; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord your God. (6) No man shall draw nigh to any of his near kindred to uncover their nakedness; I am the Lord. (7) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, for she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (8) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife; it is thy father’s nakedness. (9) The nakedness of thy sister by thy father or by thy mother, born at home or abroad, their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. (10) The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or thy daughter’s daughter, their nakedness thou shalt not uncover; because it is thy nakedness. (11) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of thy father’s wife; she is thy sister by the same father: thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (12) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister, for she is near akin to thy father. (13) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, for she is near akin to thy mother. (14) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, and thou shalt not go in to his wife; for she is thy relation. (15) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law, for she is thy son’s wife, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. (16) Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness. (17) The nakedness of a woman and her daughter shalt thou not uncover; her son’s daughter, and her daughter’s daughter, shalt thou not take, to uncover their nakedness, for they are thy kinswomen: it is impiety. (18) Thou shalt not take a wife in addition to her sister, as a rival, to uncover her nakedness in opposition to her, while she is yet living. (19) And thou shalt not go in to a woman under separation for her uncleanness, to uncover her nakedness. (20) And thou shalt not lie with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her. (21) And thou shalt not give of thy seed to serve a ruler; and thou shalt not profane my holy name; I am the Lord. (22) And thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman, for it is an abomination. (23) Neither shalt thou lie with any quadruped for copulation, to be polluted with it: neither shall a woman present herself before any quadruped to have connexion with it; for it is an abomination. (24) Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for in all these things the nations are defiled, which I drive out before you, (25) and the land is polluted; and I have recompensed their iniquity to them because of it, and the land is aggrieved with them that dwell upon it. (26) And ye shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and ye shall do none of these abominations; neither the native, nor the stranger that joins himself with you: (27) (for all these abominations the men of the land did who were before you, and the land was defiled,) (28) and lest the land be aggrieved with you in your polluting it, as it was aggrieved with the nations before you. (29) For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, the souls that do them shall be destroyed from among their people. (30) And ye shall keep mine ordinances, that ye may not do any of the abominable practices, which have taken place before your time: and ye shall not be polluted in them; for I am the Lord your God.

19

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the congregation of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. (3) Let every one of you reverence his father and his mother; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. (4) Ye shall not follow idols, and ye shall not make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God. (5) And if ye will sacrifice a peace-offering to the Lord, ye shall offer it acceptable from yourselves. (6) In what day soever ye shall sacrifice it, it shall be eaten; and on the following day, and if any of it should be left till the third day, it shall be thoroughly burnt with fire. (7) And if it should be at all eaten on the third day, it is unfit for sacrifice: it shall not be accepted. (8) And he that eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy things of the Lord; and the souls that eat it shall be destroyed from among their people. (9) And when ye reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not complete the reaping of your field with exactness, and thou shalt not gather that which falls from thy reaping. (10) And thou shalt not go over the gathering of thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the remaining grapes of thy vineyard: thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (11) Ye shall not steal, ye shall not lie, neither shall one bear false witness as an informer against his neighbour. (12) And ye shall not swear unjustly by my name, and ye shall not profane the holy name of your God: I am the Lord your God. (13) Thou shalt not injure thy neighbour, neither do thou rob him, neither shall the wages of thy hireling remain with thee until the morning. (14) Thou shalt not revile the deaf, neither shalt thou put a stumbling-block in the way of the blind; and thou shalt fear the Lord thy God: I am the Lord your God. (15) Thou shalt not act unjustly in judgment: thou shalt not accept the person of the poor, nor admire the person of the mighty; with justice shalt thou judge thy neighbour. (16) Thou shalt not walk deceitfully among thy people; thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord your God. (17) Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, so thou shalt not bear sin on his account. (18) And thy hand shall not avenge thee; and thou shalt not be angry with the children of thy people; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord. (19) Ye shall observe my law: thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with one of a different kind, and thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with diverse seed; and thou shalt not put upon thyself a mingled garment woven of two materials. (20) And if any one lie carnally with a woman, and she should be a home-servant kept for a man, and she has not been ransomed, and her freedom has not been given to her, they shall be visited with punishment; but they shall not die, because she was not set at liberty. (21) And he shall bring for his trespass to the Lord to the door of the tabernacle of witness, a ram for a trespass-offering. (22) And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, before the Lord, for the sin which he sinned; and the sin which he sinned shall be forgiven him. (23) And whenever ye shall enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, and shall plant any fruit-tree, then shall ye purge away its uncleanness; its fruit shall be three years uncleansed to you, it shall not be eaten. (24) And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a subject of praise to the Lord. (25) And in the fifth year ye shall eat the fruit, its produce is an increase to you. I am the Lord your God. (26) Eat not on the mountains, nor shall ye employ auguries, nor divine by inspection of birds. (27) Ye shall not make a round cutting of the hair of your head, nor disfigure your beard. (28) And ye shall not make cuttings in your body for a dead body, and ye shall not inscribe on yourselves any marks. I am the Lord your God. (29) Thou shalt not profane thy daughter to prostitute her; so the land shall not go a whoring, and the land be filled with iniquity. (30) Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuaries: I am the Lord. (31) Ye shall not attend to those who have in them divining spirits, nor attach yourselves to enchanters, to pollute yourselves with them: I am the Lord your God. (32) Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord your God. (33) And if there should come to you a stranger in your land, ye shall not afflict him. (34) The stranger that comes to you shall be among you as the native, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (35) Ye shall not act unrighteously in judgment, in measures and weights and scales. (36) There shall be among you just balances and just weights and just liquid measure. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (37) And ye shall keep all my law and all my ordinances, and ye shall do them: I am the Lord your God.

20

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Thou shalt also say to the children of Israel, If there shall be any of the children of Israel, or of those who have become proselytes in Israel, who shall give of his seed to Moloch, let him be surely put to death; the nation upon the land shall stone him with stones. (3) And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given of his seed to Moloch, to defile my sanctuary, and profane the name of them that are consecrated to me. (4) And if the natives of the land should in anywise overlook that man in giving of his seed to Moloch, so as not to put him to death; (5) then will I set my face against that man and his family, and I will destroy him, and all who have been of one mind with him, so that he should go a whoring to the princes, from their people. (6) And the soul that shall follow those who have in them divining spirits, or enchanters, so as to go a whoring after them; I will set my face against that soul, and will destroy it from among its people. (7) And ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. (8) And ye shall observe my ordinances, and do them: I am the Lord that sanctifies you. (9) Every man who shall speak evil of his father or of his mother, let him die the death; has he spoken evil of his father or his mother? he shall be guilty. (10) Whatever man shall commit adultery with the wife of a man, or whoever shall commit adultery with the wife of his neighbour, let them die the death, the adulterer and the adulteress. (11) And if any one should lie with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness: let them both die the death, they are guilty. (12) And if any one should lie with his daughter-in-law, let them both be put to death; for they have wrought impiety, they are guilty. (13) And whoever shall lie with a male as with a woman, they have both wrought abomination; let them die the death, they are guilty. (14) Whosoever shall take a woman and her mother, it is iniquity: they shall burn him and them with fire; so there shall not be iniquity among you. (15) And whosoever shall lie with a beast, let him die the death; and ye shall kill the beast. (16) And whatever woman shall approach any beast, so as to have connexion with it, ye shall kill the woman and the beast: let them die the death, they are guilty. (17) Whosoever shall take his sister by his father or by his mother, and shall see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a reproach: they shall be destroyed before the children of their family; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, they shall bear their sin. (18) And whatever man shall lie with a woman that is set apart for a flux, and shall uncover her nakedness, he has uncovered her fountain, and she has uncovered the flux of her blood: they shall both be destroyed from among their generation. (19) And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister, or of the sister of thy mother; for that man has uncovered the nakedness of one near akin: they shall bear their iniquity. (20) Whosoever shall lie with his near kinswoman, has uncovered the nakedness of one near akin to him: they shall die childless. (21) Whoever shall take his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall die childless. (22) And keep ye all my ordinances, and my judgments; and ye shall do them, and the land shall not be aggrieved with you, into which I bring you to dwell upon it. (23) And walk ye not in the customs of the nations which I drive out from before you; for they have done all these things, and I have abhorred them: (24) and I said to you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you for a possession, even a land flowing with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from all people. (25) And ye shall make a distinction between the clean and the unclean cattle, and between clean and unclean birds; and ye shall not defile your souls with cattle, or with birds, or with any creeping things of the earth, which I have separated for you by reason of uncleanness. (26) And ye shall be holy to me; because I the Lord your God am holy, who separated you from all nations, to be mine. (27) And as for a man or woman whosoever of them shall have in them a divining spirit, or be an enchanter, let them both die the death: ye shall stone them with stones, they are guilty.

21

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt tell them that they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead, (2) but they may mourn for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother, (3) and for a virgin sister that is near to one, that is not espoused to a man; for these one shall defile himself. (4) He shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself. (5) And ye shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh. (6) They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy. (7) They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and profaned, or a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy to the Lord his God. (8) And thou shalt hallow him; he offers the gifts of the Lord your God: he shall be holy, for I the Lord that sanctify them am holy. (9) And if the daughter of a priest should be profaned to go a whoring, she profanes the name of her father: she shall be burnt with fire. (10) And the priest that is chief among his brethren, the oil having been poured upon the head of the anointed one, and he having been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not take the mitre off his head, and shall not rend his garments: (11) neither shall he go in to any dead body, neither shall he defile himself for his father or his mother. (12) And he shall not go forth out of the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the holy anointing oil of God is upon him: I am the Lord. (13) He shall take for a wife a virgin of his own tribe. (14) But a widow, or one that is put away, or profaned, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people. (15) And he shall not profane his seed among his people: I am the Lord that sanctifies him. (16) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (17) Say to Aaron, A man of thy tribe throughout your generations, who shall have a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of his God. (18) No man who has a blemish on him shall draw nigh; a man blind, lame, with his nose disfigured, or his ears cut, (19) a man who has a broken hand or a broken foot, (20) or hump-backed, or blear-eyed, or that has lost his eye-lashes, or a man who has a malignant ulcer, or tetter, or one that has lost a testicle. (21) Whoever of the seed of Aaron the priest has a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer sacrifices to thy God, because he has a blemish on him; he shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of God. (22) The gifts of God are most holy, and he shall eat of the holy things. (23) Only he shall not approach the veil, and he shall not draw nigh to the altar, because he has a blemish; and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, for I am the Lord that sanctifies them. (24) And Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

22

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and let them take heed concerning the holy things of the children of Israel, so they shall not profane my holy name in any of the things which they consecrate to me: I am the Lord. (3) Say to them, Every man throughout your generations, whoever of all your seed shall approach to the holy things, whatsoever the children of Israel shall consecrate to the Lord, while his uncleanness is upon him, that soul shall be cut off from me: I am the Lord your God. (4) And the man of the seed of Aaron the priest, if he should have leprosy or issue of the reins, shall not eat of the holy things, until he be cleansed; and he that touches any uncleanness of a dead body, or the man whose seed of copulation shall have gone out from him, (5) or whosoever shall touch any unclean reptile, which will defile him, or who shall touch a man, whereby he shall defile him according to all his uncleanness: (6) whatsoever soul shall touch them shall be unclean until evening; he shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water, (7) and the sun go down, and then he shall be clean; and then shall he eat of all the holy things, for they are his bread. (8) He shall not eat that which dies of itself, or is taken of beasts, so that he should be polluted by them: I am the Lord. (9) And they shall keep my ordinances, that they do not bear iniquity because of them, and die because of them, if they shall profane them: I am the Lord God that sanctifies them. (10) And no stranger shall eat the holy things: one that sojourns with a priest, or a hireling, shall not eat the holy things. (11) But if a priest should have a soul purchased for money, he shall eat of his bread; and they that are born in his house, they also shall eat of his bread. (12) And if the daughter of a priest should marry a stranger, she shall not eat of the offerings of the sanctuary. (13) And if the daughter of priest should be a widow, or put away, and have no seed, she shall return to her father’s house, as in her youth: she shall eat of her father’s bread, but no stranger shall eat of it. (14) And the man who shall ignorantly eat holy things, shall add the fifth part to it, and give the holy thing to the priest. (15) And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord. (16) So should they bring upon themselves the iniquity of trespass in their eating their holy things: for I am the Lord that sanctifies them. (17) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (18) Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the congregation of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Any man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that abide among them in Israel, who shall offer his gifts according to all their confession and according to all their choice, whatsoever they may bring to the Lord for whole-burnt-offerings— (19) your free-will-offerings shall be males without blemish of the herds, or of the sheep, or of the goats. (20) They shall not bring to the Lord anything that has a blemish in it, for it shall not be acceptable for you. (21) And whatsoever man shall offer a peace-offering to the Lord, discharging a vow, or in the way of free-will-offering, or an offering in your feasts, of the herds or of the sheep, it shall be without blemish for acceptance: there shall be no blemish in it. (22) One that is blind, or broken, or has its tongue cut out, or is troubled with warts, or has a malignant ulcer, or tetters, they shall not offer these to the Lord; neither shall ye offer any of them for a burnt-offering on the altar of the Lord. (23) And a calf or a sheep with the ears cut off, or that has lost its tail, thou shalt slay them for thyself; but they shall not be accepted for thy vow. (24) That which has broken testicles, or is crushed or gelt or mutilated, —thou shalt not offer them to the Lord, neither shall ye sacrifice them upon your land. (25) Neither shall ye offer the gifts of your God of all these things by the hand of a stranger, because there is corruption in them, a blemish in them: these shall not be accepted for you. (26) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (27) As for a calf, or a sheep, or a goat, whenever it is born, then shall it be seven days under its mother; and on the eighth day and after they shall be accepted for sacrifices, a burnt-offering to the Lord. (28) And a bullock and a ewe, it and its young, thou shalt not kill in one day. (29) And if thou shouldest offer a sacrifice, a vow of rejoicing to the Lord, ye shall offer it so as to be accepted for you. (30) In that same day it shall be eaten; ye shall not leave of the flesh till the morrow: I am the Lord. (31) And ye shall keep my commandments and do them. (32) And ye shall not profane the name of the Holy One, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I am the Lord that sanctifies you, (33) who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.

23

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them, The feasts of the Lord which ye shall call holy assemblies, these are my feasts. (3) Six days shalt thou do works, but on the seventh day is the sabbath; a rest, a holy convocation to the Lord: thou shalt not do any work, it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings. (4) These are the feasts to the Lord, holy convocations, which ye shall call in their seasons. (5) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evening times is the Lord’s passover. (6) And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread. (7) And the first day shall be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work. (8) And ye shall offer whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord seven days; and the seventh day shall be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work. (9) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (10) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye shall enter into the land which I give you, and reap the harvest of it, then shall ye bring a sheaf, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest; (11) and he shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the morrow of the first day the priest shall lift it up. (12) And ye shall offer on the day on which ye bring the sheaf, a lamb without blemish of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. (13) And its meat-offering two tenth portions of fine flour mingled with oil: it is a sacrifice to the Lord, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord, and its drink-offering the fourth part of a hin of wine. (14) And ye shall not eat bread, or the new parched corn, until this same day, until ye offer the sacrifices to your God: it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (15) And ye shall number to yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which ye shall offer the sheaf of the heave-offering, seven full weeks: (16) until the morrow after the last week ye shall number fifty days, and shall bring a new meat-offering to the Lord. (17) Ye shall bring from your dwelling loaves, as a heave-offering, two loaves: they shall be of two tenth portions of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven of the first-fruits to the Lord. (18) And ye shall bring with the loaves seven unblemished lambs of a year old, and one calf of the herd, and two rams without blemish, and they shall be a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord: and their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings shall be a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (19) And they shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and two lambs of a year old for a peace-offering, with the loaves of the first-fruits. (20) And the priest shall place them with the loaves of the first-fruits an offering before the Lord with the two lambs, they shall be holy to the Lord; they shall belong to the priest that brings them. (21) And ye shall call this day a convocation: it shall be holy to you; ye shall do no servile work on it: it is a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations in all your habitations. (22) And when ye shall reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not fully reap the remainder of the harvest of your field when thou reapest, and thou shalt not gather that which falls from thy reaping; thou shalt leave it for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (23) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (24) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a rest, a memorial of trumpets: it shall be to you a holy convocation. (25) Ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall offer a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. (26) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (27) Also on the tenth day of this seventh month is a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you; and ye shall humble your souls, and offer a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. (28) Ye shall do no work on this self-same day: for this is a day of atonement for you, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. (29) Every soul that shall not be humbled in that day, shall be cut off from among its people. (30) And every soul which shall do work on that day, that soul shall be destroyed from among its people. (31) Ye shall do no manner of work: it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your habitations. (32) It shall be a holy sabbath to you; and ye shall humble your souls, from the ninth day of the month: from evening to evening ye shall keep your sabbaths. (33) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (34) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a feast of tabernacles seven days to the Lord. (35) And on the first day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. (36) Seven days shall ye offer whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord, and the eighth-day shall be a holy convocation to you; and ye shall offer whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord: it is a time of release, ye shall do no servile work. (37) These are the feasts to the Lord, which ye shall call holy convocations, to offer burnt-offerings to the Lord, whole-burnt-offerings and their meat-offerings, and their drink-offerings, that for each day on its day: (38) besides the sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides your free-will-offerings, which ye shall give to the Lord. (39) And on the fifteenth day of this seventh month, when ye shall have completely gathered in the fruits of the earth, ye shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days; on the first day there shall be a rest, and on the eighth day a rest. (40) And on the first day ye shall take goodly fruit of trees, and branches of palm trees, and thick boughs of trees, and willows, and branches of osiers from the brook, to rejoice before the Lord your God seven days in the year. (41) It is a perpetual statute for your generations: in the seventh month ye shall keep it. (42) Seven days ye shall dwell in tabernacles: every native in Israel shall dwell in tents, (43) that your posterity may see, that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tents, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (44) And Moses recounted the feasts of the Lord to the children of Israel.

24

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Charge the children of Israel, and let them take for thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to burn a lamp continually, (3) outside the veil in the tabernacle of witness; and Aaron and his sons shall burn it from evening until morning before the Lord continually, a perpetual statute throughout your generations. (4) Ye shall burn the lamps on the pure lamp-stand before the Lord till the morrow. (5) And ye shall take fine flour, and make of it twelve loaves; each loaf shall be of two tenth parts. (6) And ye shall put them in two rows, each row containing six loaves, on the pure table before the Lord. (7) And ye shall put on each row pure frankincense and salt; and these things shall be for loaves for a memorial, set forth before the Lord. (8) On the sabbath-day they shall be set forth before the Lord continually before the children of Israel, for an everlasting covenant. (9) And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat them in the holy place: for this is their most holy portion of the offerings made to the Lord, a perpetual statute. (10) And there went forth a son of an Israelitish woman, and he was son of an Egyptian man among the sons of Israel; and they fought in the camp, the son of the Israelitish woman, and a man who was an Israelite. (11) And the son of the Israelitish woman named THE NAME and curse; and they brought him to Moses: and his mother’s name was Salomith, daughter of Dabri of the tribe of Dan. (12) And they put him in ward, to judge him by the command of the Lord. (13) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (14) Bring forth him that cursed outside the camp, and all who heard shall lay their hands upon his head, and all the congregation shall stone him. (15) And speak to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whosoever shall curse God shall bear his sin. (16) And he that names the name of the Lord, let him die the death: let all the congregation of Israel stone him with stones; whether he be a stranger or a native, let him die for naming the name of the Lord. (17) And whosoever shall smite a man and he die, let him die the death. (18) And whosoever shall smite a beast, and it shall die, let him render life for life. (19) And whosoever shall inflict a blemish on his neighbour, as he has done to him, so shall it be done to himself in return; (20) bruise for bruise, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as any one may inflict a blemish on a man, so shall it be rendered to him. (21) Whosoever shall smite a man, and he shall die, let him die the death. (22) There shall be one judgment for the stranger and the native, for I am the Lord your God. (23) And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and they brought him that had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones: and the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

25

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses in the mount Sina, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whensoever ye shall have entered into the land, which I give to you, then the land shall rest which I give to you, for its sabbaths to the Lord. (3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shall prune thy vine, and gather in its fruit. (4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath, it shall be a rest to the land, a sabbath to the Lord: thou shalt not sow thy field, and thou shalt not prune thy vine. (5) And thou shalt not gather the spontaneous produce of thy field, and thou shalt not gather fully the grapes of thy dedication: it shall be a year of rest to the land. (6) And the sabbaths of the land shall be food for thee, and for thy man-servant, and for thy maid-servant, and thy hireling, and the stranger that abides with thee. (7) And for thy cattle, and for the wild beats that are in thy land, shall every fruit of it be for food. (8) And thou shalt reckon to thyself seven sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and they shall be to thee seven weeks of years, nine and forty years. (9) In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall make a proclamation with the sound of a trumpet in all your land; on the day of atonement ye shall make a proclamation with a trumpet in all your land. (10) And ye shall sanctify the year, the fiftieth year, and ye shall proclaim a release upon the land to all that inhabit it; it shall be given a year of release, a jubilee for you; and each one shall depart to his possession, and ye shall go each to his family. (11) This is a jubilee of release, the year shall be to you the fiftieth year: ye shall not sow, nor reap the produce that comes of itself from the land, neither shall ye gather its dedicated fruits. (12) For it is a jubilee of release; it shall be holy to you, ye shall eat its fruits off the fields. (13) In the year of the release even the jubilee of it, shall each one return to his possession. (14) And if thou shouldest sell a possession to thy neighbour, or if thou shouldest buy of thy neighbour, let not a man oppress his neighbour. (15) According to the number of years after the jubilee shalt thou buy of thy neighbour, according to the number of years of the fruits shall he sell to thee. (16) According as there may be a greater number of years he shall increase the value of his possession, and according as there may be a less number of years he shall lessen the value of his possession; for according to the number of his crops, so shall he sell to thee. (17) Let not a man oppress his neighbour, and thou shalt fear the Lord thy God: I am the Lord thy God. (18) And ye shall keep all my ordinances, and all my judgments; and do ye observe them, and ye shall keep them, and dwell securely in the land. (19) And the land shall yield her increase, and ye shall eat to fullness, and shall dwell securely in it. (20) And if ye should say, What shall we eat in this seventh year, if we do not sow nor gather in our fruits? (21) Then will I send my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and the land shall produce its fruits for three years. (22) And ye shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old fruits till the ninth year: until its fruit come, ye shall eat old fruits of the old. (23) And the land shall not be sold for a permanence; for the land is mine, because ye are strangers and sojourners before me. (24) And in every land of your possession, ye shall allow ransoms for the land. (25) And if thy brother who is with thee be poor, and should have sold part of his possession, and his kinsman who is nigh to him come, then he shall redeem the possession which his brother has sold. (26) And if one have no near kinsman, and he prosper with his hand, and he find sufficient money, even his ransom; (27) then shall he calculate the years of his sale, and he shall give what is due to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his possession. (28) But if his hand have not prospered sufficiently, so as that he should restore the money to him, then he that bought the possessions shall have them till the sixth year of the release; and it shall go out in the release, and the owner shall return to his possession. (29) And if any one should sell an inhabited house in a walled city, then there shall be the ransom of it, until the time is fulfilled: its time of ransom shall be a full year. (30) And if it be not ransomed until there be completed of its time a full year, the house which is in the walled city shall be surely confirmed to him that bought it, throughout his generations; and it shall not go out in the release. (31) But the houses in the villages which have not a wall round about them, shall be reckoned as the fields of the country: they shall always be redeemable, and they shall go out in the release. (32) And the cities of the Levites, the houses of the cities in their possession, shall be always redeemable to the Levites. (33) And if any one shall redeem a house of the Levites, then shall their sale of the houses of their possession go out in the release; because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession in the midst of the children of Israel. (34) And the lands set apart for their cities shall not be sold, because this is their perpetual possession. (35) And if thy brother who is with thee become poor, and he fail in resources with thee, thou shalt help him as a stranger and a sojourner, and thy brother shall live with thee. (36) Thou shalt not receive from him interest, nor increase: and thou shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord: and thy brother shall live with thee. (37) Thou shalt not lend thy money to him at interest, and thou shalt not lend thy meat to him to be returned with increase. (38) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Chanaan, so as to be your God. (39) And if thy brother by thee be lowered, and be sold to thee, he shall not serve thee with the servitude of a slave. (40) He shall be with thee as a hireling or a sojourner, he shall work for thee till the year of release: (41) and he shall go out in the release, and his children with him; and he shall go to his family, he shall hasten back to his patrimony. (42) Because these are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; such an one shall not be sold as a common servant. (43) Thou shalt not oppress him with labour, and shalt fear the Lord thy God. (44) And whatever number of men-servants and maid-servants thou shalt have, thou shalt purchase male and female servants from the nations that are round about thee. (45) And of the sons of the sojourners that are among you, of these ye shall buy and of their relations, all that shall be in your lands; let them be to you for a possession. (46) And ye shall distribute them to your children after you, and they shall be to you permanent possessions for ever: but of your brethren the children of Israel, one shall not oppress his brother in labours. (47) And if a stranger or sojourner with thee wax rich, and thy brother in distress be sold to the stranger or the sojourner that is with thee, or to a proselyte by extraction; (48) after he is sold to him there shall be redemption for him, one of his brethren shall redeem him. (49) A brother of his father, or a son of his father’s brother shall redeem him; or let one of his near kin of his tribe redeem him, and if he should be rich and redeem himself, (50) then shall he calculate with his purchaser from the year that he sold himself to him until the year of release: and the money of his purchase shall be as that of a hireling, he shall be with him from year to year. (51) And if any have a greater number of years than enough, according to these he shall pay his ransom out of his purchase-money. (52) And if but a little time be left of the years to the year of release, then shall he reckon to him according to his years, and shall pay his ransom (53) as a hireling; he shall be with him from year to year; thou shalt not oppress him with labour before thee. (54) And if he do not pay his ransom accordingly, he shall go out in the year of his release, he and his children with him. (55) For the children of Israel are my servants: they are my attendants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.

26

(1) I am the Lord your God: ye shall not make to yourselves gods made with hands, or graven; neither shall ye rear up a pillar for yourselves, neither shall ye set up a stone for an object in your land to worship it: I am the Lord your God. (2) Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuaries: I am the Lord. (3) If ye will walk in my ordinances, and keep my commandments, and do them, (4) then will I give you the rain in its season, and the land shall produce its fruits, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (5) And your threshing time shall overtake the vintage, and your vintage shall overtake your seed time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full; and ye shall dwell safely upon your land, and war shall not go through your land. (6) And I will give peace in your land, and ye shall sleep, and none shall make you afraid; and I will destroy the evil beasts out of your land, (7) and ye shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you with slaughter. (8) And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase tens of thousands; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. (9) And I will look upon you, and increase you, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. (10) And ye shall eat that which is old and very old, and bring forth the old to make way for the new. (11) And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you; (12) and I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people. (13) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where ye were slaves; and I broke the band of your yoke, and brought you forth openly. (14) But if ye will not hearken to me, nor obey these my ordinances, (15) but disobey them, and your soul should loathe my judgments, so that ye should not keep all my commands, so as to break my covenant, (16) then will I do thus to you: I will even bring upon you perplexity and the itch, and the fever that causes your eyes to waste away, and disease that consumes your life; and ye shall sow your seeds in vain, and your enemies shall eat them. (17) And I will set my face against you, and ye shall fall before your enemies, and they that hate you shall pursue you; and ye shall flee, no one pursuing you. (18) And if ye still refuse to hearken to me, then will I chasten you yet more even seven times for your sins. (19) And I will break down the haughtiness of your pride; and I will make your heaven iron, and your earth as it were brass. (20) And your strength shall be in vain; and your land shall not yield its seed, and the tree of your field shall not yield its fruit. (21) And if after this ye should walk perversely, and not be willing to obey me, I will further bring upon you seven plagues according to your sins. (22) And I will send upon you the wild beasts of the land, and they shall devour you, and shall consume your cattle: and I will make you few in number, and your ways shall be desolate. (23) And if hereupon ye are not corrected, but walk perversely towards me, (24) I also will walk with you with a perverse spirit, and I also will smite you seven times for your sins. (25) And I will bring upon you a sword avenging the cause of my covenant, and ye shall flee for refuge to your cities; and I will send out death against you, and ye shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies. (26) When I afflict you with famine of bread, then ten women shall bake your loaves in one oven, and they shall render your loaves by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. (27) And if hereupon ye will not obey me, but walk perversely towards me, (28) then will I walk with you with a froward mind, and I will chasten you seven-fold according to your sins. (29) And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. (30) And I will render your pillars desolate, and will utterly destroy your wooden images made with hands; and I will lay your carcases on the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall loathe you. (31) And I will lay your cities waste, and I will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell the savour of your sacrifices. (32) And I will lay your land desolate, and your enemies who dwell in it shall wonder at it. (33) And I will scatter you among the nations, and the sword shall come upon you and consume you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities shall be desolate. (34) Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation. (35) And ye shall be in the land of your enemies; then the land shall keep its sabbaths, and the land shall enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation: it shall keep sabbaths which it kept not among your sabbaths, when ye dwelt in it. (36) And to those who are left of you I will bring bondage into their heart in the land of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from war, and shall fall when none pursues them. (37) And brother shall disregard brother as in war, when none pursues; and ye shall not be able to withstand your enemies. (38) And ye shall perish among the Gentiles, and the land of your enemies shall devour you. (39) And those who are left of you shall perish, because of their sins, and because of the sins of their fathers: in the land of their enemies shall they consume away. (40) And they shall confess their sins, and the sins of their fathers, that they have transgressed and neglected me, and that they have walked perversely before me, (41) and I walked with them with a perverse mind; and I will destroy them in the land of their enemies: then shall their uncircumcised heart be ashamed, and then shall they acquiesce in the punishment of their sins. (42) And I will remember the covenant of Jacob, and the covenant of Isaac, and the covenant of Abraam will I remember. (43) And I will remember the land, and the land shall be left of them; then the land shall enjoy her sabbaths, when it is deserted through them: and they shall accept the punishment of their iniquities, because they neglected my judgments, and in their soul loathed my ordinances. (44) And yet not even thus, while they were in the land of their enemies, did I overlook them, nor did I loathe them so as to consume them, to break my covenant made with them; for I am the Lord their God. (45) And I will remember their former covenant, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage before the nation, to be their God; I am the Lord. (46) These are my judgments and my ordinances, and the law which the Lord gave between himself and the children of Israel, in the mount Sina, by the hand of Moses.

27

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whosoever shall vow a vow as the valuation of his soul for the Lord, (3) the valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be his valuation shall be fifty didrachms of silver by the standard of the sanctuary. (4) And the valuation of a female shall be thirty didrachms. (5) And if it be from five years old to twenty, the valuation of a male shall be twenty didrachms, and of a female ten didrachms. (6) And from a month old to five years old, the valuation of a male shall be five didrachms, and of a female, three didrachms of silver. (7) And if from sixty year old and upward, if it be a male, his valuation shall be fifteen didrachms of silver, and if a female, ten didrachms. (8) And if the man be too poor for the valuation, he shall stand before the priest; and the priest shall value him: according to what the man who has vowed can afford, the priest shall value him. (9) And if it be from the cattle that are offered as a gift to the Lord, whoever shall offer one of these to the Lord, it shall be holy. (10) He shall not change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he do at all change it, a beast for a beast, it and the substitute shall be holy. (11) And if it be any unclean beast, of which none are offered as a gift to the Lord, he shall set the beast before the priest. (12) And the priest shall make a valuation between the good and the bad, and accordingly as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. (13) And if the worshipper will at all redeem it, he shall add the fifth part to its value. (14) And whatsoever man shall consecrate his house as holy to the Lord, the priest shall make a valuation of it between the good and the bad: as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand. (15) And if he that has sanctified it should redeem his house, he shall add to it the fifth part of the money of the valuation, and it shall be his. (16) And if a man should hallow to the Lord a part of the field of his possession, then the valuation shall be according to its seed, fifty didrachms of silver for a homer of barley. (17) And if he should sanctify his field from the year of release, it shall stand according to his valuation. (18) And if he should sanctify his field in the latter time after the release, the priest shall reckon to him the money for the remaining years, until the next year of release, and it shall be deducted as an equivalent from his full valuation. (19) And if he that sanctified the field would redeem it, he shall add to its value the fifth part of the money, and it shall be his. (20) And if he do not redeem the field, but should sell the field to another man, he shall not after redeem it. (21) But the field shall be holy to the Lord after the release, as separated land; the priest shall have possession of it. (22) And if he should consecrate to the Lord of a field which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession, (23) the priest shall reckon to him the full valuation from the year of release, and he shall pay the valuation in that day as holy to the Lord. (24) And in the year of release the land shall be restored to the man of whom the other bought it, whose the possession of the land was. (25) And every valuation shall be by holy weights: the didrachm shall be twenty oboli. (26) And every first-born which shall be produced among thy cattle shall be the Lord’s, and no man shall sanctify it: whether calf or sheep, it is the Lord’s. (27) But if he should redeem an unclean beast, according to its valuation, then he shall add the fifth part to it, and it shall be his; and if he redeem it not, it shall be sold according to its valuation. (28) And every dedicated thing which a man shall dedicate to the Lord of all that he has, whether man or beast, or of the field of his possession, he shall not sell it, nor redeem it: every devoted thing shall be most holy to the Lord. (29) And whatever shall be dedicated of men, shall not be ransomed, but shall be surely put to death. (30) Every tithe of the land, both of the seed of the land, and of the fruit of trees, is the Lord’s, holy to the Lord. (31) And if a man should at all redeem his tithe, he shall add the fifth part to it, and it shall be his. (32) And every tithe of oxen, and of sheep, and whatsoever may come in numbering under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord. (33) Thou shalt not change a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if thou shouldest at all change it, its equivalent also shall be holy, it shall not be redeemed. (34) These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel in mount Sina.

Numbers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

1

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sina, in the tabernacle of witness, on the first day of the second month, in the second year of their departure from the land of Egypt, saying, (2) Take the sum of all the congregation of Israel according to their kindreds, according to the houses of their fathers’ families, according to their number by their names, according to their heads: every male (3) from twenty years old and upwards, every one that goes forth in the forces of Israel, take account of them with their strength; thou and Aaron take account of them. (4) And with you there shall be each one of the rulers according to the tribe of each: they shall be according to the houses of their families. (5) And these are the names of the men who shall be present with you; of the tribe of Ruben, Elisur the son of Sediur. (6) Of Symeon, Salamiel the son of Surisadai. (7) Of Juda, Naasson the son of Aminadab. (8) Of Issachar, Nathanael the son of Sogar. (9) Of Zabulon, Eliab the son of Chaelon. (10) Of the sons of Joseph, of Ephraim, Elisama the son of Emiud: of Manasses, Gamaliel the son of Phadasur. (11) Of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gadeoni. (12) Of Dan, Achiezer the son of Amisadai. (13) Of Aser, Phagaiel the son of Echran. (14) Of Gad, Elisaph the son of Raguel. (15) Of Nephthali, Achire the son of Ænan. (16) These were famous men of the congregation, heads of the tribes according to their families: these are heads of thousands in Israel. (17) And Moses and Aaron took these men who were called by name. (18) And they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the month in the second year; and they registered them after their lineage, after their families, after the number of their names, from twenty years old and upwards, every male according to their number: (19) as the Lord commanded Moses, so they were numbered in the wilderness of Sina. (20) And the sons of Ruben the first-born of Israel according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their heads, were—all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that went out with the host— (21) the numbering of them of the tribe of Ruben, was forty-six thousand and four hundred. (22) For the children of Symeon according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes out with the host, (23) the numbering of them of the tribe of Symeon, was fifty-nine thousand and three hundred. (24) For the sons of Juda according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (25) the numbering of them of the tribe of Juda, was seventy-four thousand and six hundred. (26) For the sons of Issachar according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (27) the numbering of them of the tribe of Issachar, was fifty-four thousand and four hundred. (28) For the sons of Zabulon according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes out with the host, (29) the numbering of them of the tribe of Zabulon, was fifty-seven thousand and four hundred. (30) For the sons of Joseph, the sons of Ephraim, according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes out with the host, (31) the numbering of them of the tribe of Ephraim, was forty thousand and five hundred. (32) For the sons of Manasse according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes out with the host, (33) the numbering of them of the tribe of Manasse, was thirty-two thousand and two hundred. (34) For the sons of Benjamin according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (35) the numbering of them of the tribe of Benjamin, was thirty-five thousand and four hundred. (36) For the sons of Gad according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (37) the numbering of them of the tribe of Gad, was forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty. (38) For the sons of Dan according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, all males from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (39) the numbering of them of the tribe of Dan, was sixty and two thousand and seven hundred. (40) For the sons of Aser according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes forth with the host, (41) the numbering of them of the tribe of Aser, was forty and one thousand and five hundred. (42) For the sons of Nephthali according to their kindreds, according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, every one who goes forth with the host, (43) the numbering of them of the tribe of Nephthali, was fifty-three thousand and four hundred. (44) This is the numbering which Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel, being twelve men, conducted: there was a man for each tribe, they were according to the tribe of the houses of their family. (45) And the whole numbering of the children of Israel with their host from twenty years old and upward, every one that goes out to set himself in battle array in Israel, came to (46) six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. (47) But the Levites of the tribe of their family were not counted among the children of Israel. (48) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (49) See, thou shalt not muster the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt not take their numbers, in the midst of the children of Israel. (50) And do thou set the Levites over the tabernacle of witness, and over all its furniture, and over all things that are in it; and they shall do service in it, and they shall encamp round about the tabernacle. (51) And in removing the tabernacle, the Levites shall take it down, and in pitching the tabernacle they shall set it up: and let the stranger that advances to touch it die. (52) And the children of Israel shall encamp, every man in his own order, and every man according to his company, with their host. (53) But let the Levites encamp round about the tabernacle of witness fronting it, and so there shall be no sin among the children of Israel; and the Levites themselves shall keep the guard of the tabernacle of witness. (54) And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

2

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) Let the children of Israel encamp fronting each other, every man keeping his own rank, according to their standards, according to the houses of their families; the children of Israel shall encamp round about the tabernacle of witness. (3) And they that encamp first toward the east shall be the order of the camp of Juda with their host, and the prince of the sons of Juda, Naasson the son of Aminadab. (4) His forces that were numbered, were seventy-four thousand and six hundred. (5) And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Issachar, and the prince of the sons of Issachar shall be Nathanael the son of Sogar. (6) His forces that were numbered, were fifty-four thousand and four hundred. (7) And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Zabulon, and the prince of the sons of Zabulon shall be Eliab the son of Chaelon. (8) His forces that were numbered, were fifty-seven thousand and four hundred. (9) All that were numbered of the camp of Juda were a hundred and eighty thousand and six thousand and four hundred: they shall move first with their forces. (10) This is the order of the camp of Ruben; their forces shall be toward the south, and the prince of the children of Ruben shall be Elisur the son of Sediur. (11) His forces that were numbered, were forty-six thousand and five hundred. (12) And they that encamp next to him shall be of the tribe of Symeon, and the prince of the sons of Symeon shall be Salamiel the son of Surisadai. (13) His forces that were numbered, were fifty-nine thousand and three hundred. (14) And they that encamp next to them shall be the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad, Elisaph the son of Raguel. (15) His forces that were numbered, were forty-five thousand and six hundred and fifty. (16) All who were numbered of the camp of Ruben, were a hundred and fifty-one thousand and four hundred and fifty: they with their forces shall proceed in the second place. (17) And then the tabernacle of witness shall be set forward, and the camp of the Levites shall be between the camps; as they shall encamp, so also shall they commence their march, each one next in order to his fellow according to their companies. (18) The station of the camp of Ephraim shall be westward with their forces, and the head of the children of Ephraim shall be Elisama the son of Emiud. (19) His forces that were numbered, are forty thousand and five hundred. (20) And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Manasse, and the prince of the sons of Manasse, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. (21) His forces that were numbered, were thirty-two thousand and two hundred. (22) And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Benjamin, and the prince of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gadeoni. (23) His forces that were numbered, were thirty-five thousand and four hundred. (24) All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim, were one hundred and eight thousand and one hundred: they with their forces shall set out third. (25) The order of the camp of Dan shall be northward with their forces; and the prince of the sons of Dan, Achiezer the son of Amisadai. (26) His forces that were numbered, were sixty-two thousand and seven hundred. (27) And they that encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Aser; and the prince of the sons of Aser, Phagiel the son of Echran. (28) His forces that were numbered, were forty-one thousand and five hundred. (29) And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Nephthali; and the prince of the children of Nephthali, Achire son Ænan. (30) His forces that were numbered were fifty-three thousand and four hundred. (31) All that were numbered of the camp of Dan, were a hundred and fifty-seven thousand and six hundred: they shall set out last according to their order. (32) This is the numbering of the children of Israel according to the houses of their families: all the numbering of the camps with their forces, was six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. (33) But the Levites were not numbered with them, as the Lord commanded Moses. (34) And the children of Israel did all things that the Lord commanded Moses; thus they encamped in their order, and thus they began their march in succession each according to their divisions, according to the houses of their families.

3

(1) And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sina. (2) And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the first-born; and Abiud, Eleazar and Ithamar. (3) These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests whom they consecrated to the priesthood. (4) And Nadab and Abiud died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sina; and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priests’ office with Aaron their father. (5) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (6) Take the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to him, (7) and shall keep his charges, and the charges of the children of Israel, before the tabernacle of witness, to do the works of the tabernacle. (8) And they shall keep all the furniture of the tabernacle of witness, and the charges of the children of Israel as to all the works of the tabernacle. (9) And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron, and to his sons the priests; they are given for a gift to me of the children of Israel. (10) And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the tabernacle of witness; and they shall keep their charge of priesthood, and all things belonging to the altar, and within the veil; and the stranger that touches them shall die. (11) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (12) Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every male that opens the womb from among the children of Israel: they shall be their ransom, and the Levites shall be mine. (13) For every first-born is mine; in the day in which I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself every first-born in Israel: both of man and beast, they shall be mine: I am the Lord. (14) And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sina, saying, (15) Take the number of the sons of Levi, according to the houses of their families, according to their divisions; number ye them every male from a month old and upwards. (16) And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them. (17) And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gedson, Caath, and Merari. (18) And these are the names of the sons of Gedson according to their families; Lobeni and Semei: (19) and the sons of Caath according to their families; Amram and Issaar, Chebron and Oziel: (20) and the sons of Merari according to their families, Mooli and Musi; these are the families of the Levites according to the houses of their families. (21) To Gedson belongs the family of Lobeni, and the family of Semei: these are the families of Gedson. (22) The numbering of them according to the number of every male from a month old and upwards, their numbering was seven thousand and five hundred. (23) And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle. (24) And the ruler of the household of the family of Gedson was Elisaph the son of Dael. (25) And the charge of the sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness was the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness, (26) and the curtains of the court, and the veil of the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and the remainder of all its works. (27) To Caath belonged one division, that of Amram, and another division, that of Issaar, and another division, that of Chebron, and another division, that of Oziel: these are the divisions of Caath, according to number. (28) Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things. (29) The families of the sons of Caath, shall encamp beside the tabernacle toward the south. (30) And the chief of the house of the families of the divisions of Caath, was Elisaphan the son of Oziel. (31) And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and all the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they do holy service, and the veil, and all their works. (32) And the chief over the chief of the Levites, was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, appointed to keep the charges of the holy things. (33) To Merari belonged the family of Mooli, and the family of Musi: these are the families of Merari. (34) The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upwards, was six thousand and fifty. (35) And the head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Suriel the son of Abichail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northwards. (36) The oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari included the chapiters of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all their furniture, and their works, (37) and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pins, and their cords. (38) They that encamp before the tabernacle of witness on the east shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charges of the sanctuary according to the charges of the children of Israel; and the stranger that touches them, shall die. (39) All the numbering of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upwards, were two and twenty thousand. (40) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Count every first-born male of the children of Israel from a month old and upwards, and take the number by name. (41) And thou shalt take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the first-born of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the first-born among the cattle of the children of Israel. (42) And Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, every first-born among the children of Israel. (43) And all the male first-born in number by name, from a month old and upwards, were according to their numbering twenty-two thousand and two hundred and seventy-three. (44) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (45) Take the Levites instead of all the first-born of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine; I am the Lord. (46) And for the ransoms of the two hundred and seventy-three which exceed the Levites in number of the first-born of the sons of Israel; (47) thou shalt even take five shekels a head; thou shalt take them according to the holy didrachm, twenty oboli to the shekel. (48) And thou shalt give the money to Aaron and to his sons, the ransom of those who exceed in number among them. (49) And Moses took the silver, the ransom of those that exceeded in number the redemption of the Levites. (50) He took the silver from the first-born of the sons of Israel, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the holy shekel. (51) And Moses gave the ransom of them that were over to Aaron and his sons, by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

4

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) Take the sum of the children of Caath from the midst of the sons of Levi, after their families, according to the houses of their fathers’ households; (3) from twenty-five years old and upward until fifty years, every one that goes in to minister, to do all the works in the tabernacle of witness. (4) And these are the works of the sons of Caath in the tabernacle of witness; it is most holy. (5) And Aaron and his sons shall go in, when the camp is about to move, and shall take down the shadowing veil, and shall cover with it the ark of the testimony. (6) And they shall put on it a cover, even a blue skin, and put on it above a garment all of blue, and shall put the staves through the rings. (7) And they shall put on the table set forth for shew-bred a cloth all of purple, and the dishes, and the censers, and the cups, and the vessels with which one offers drink-offerings; and the continual loaves shall be upon it. (8) And they shall put upon it a scarlet cloth, and they shall cover it with a blue covering of skin, and they shall put the staves into it. (9) And they shall take a blue covering, and cover the candlestick that gives light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its funnels, and all the vessels of oil with which they minister. (10) And they shall put it, and all its vessels, into a blue skin cover; and they shall put it on bearers. (11) And they shall put a blue cloth for a cover on the golden altar, and shall cover it with a blue skin cover, and put in its staves. (12) And they shall take all the instruments of service, with which they minister in the sanctuary: and shall place them in a cloth of blue, and shall cover them with blue skin covering, and put them upon staves. (13) And he shall put the covering on the altar, and they shall cover it with a cloth all of purple. (14) And they shall put upon it all the vessels with which they minister upon it, and the fire-pans, and the flesh-hooks, and the cups, and the cover, and all the vessels of the altar; and they shall put on it a blue cover of skins, and shall put in its staves; and they shall take a purple cloth, and cover the laver and its foot, and they shall put it into a blue cover of skin, and put it on bars. (15) And Aaron and his sons shall finish covering the holy things, and all the holy vessels, when the camp begins to move; and afterwards the sons of Caath shall go in to take up the furniture; but shall not touch the holy things, lest they die: these shall the sons of Caath bear in the tabernacle of witness. (16) Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is overseer—the oil of the light, and the incense of composition, and the daily meat-offering and the anointing oil, are his charge; even the oversight of the whole tabernacle, and all things that are in it in the holy place, in all the works. (17) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (18) Ye shall not destroy the family of Caath from the tribe out of the midst of the Levites. (19) This do ye to them, and they shall live and not die, when they approach the holy of holies: Let Aaron and his sons advance, and they shall place them each in his post for bearing. (20) And so they shall by no means go in to look suddenly upon the holy things, and die. (21) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (22) Take the sum of the children of Gedson, and these according to the houses of their lineage, according to their families. (23) Take the number of them from five and twenty years old and upwards until the age of fifty, every one that goes in to minister, to do his business in the tabernacle of witness. (24) This is the public service of the family of Gedson, to minister and to bear. (25) And they shall bear the skins of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of witness, and its veil, and the blue cover that was on it above, and the cover of the door of the tabernacle of witness. (26) And all the curtains of the court which were upon the tabernacle of witness, and the appendages, and all the vessels of service that they minister with they shall attend to. (27) According to the direction of Aaron and his sons shall be the ministry of the sons of Gedson, in all their ministries, and in all their works; and thou shalt take account of them by name in all things borne by them. (28) This is the service of the sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness, and their charge by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. (29) The sons of Merari according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, take ye the number of them. (30) Take the number of them from five and twenty years old and upwards until fifty years old, every one that goes in to perform the services of the tabernacle of witness. (31) And these are the charges of the things borne by them according to all their works in the tabernacle of witness: they shall bear the chapiters of the tabernacle, and the bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and the veil, and there shall be their sockets, and their pillars, and the curtain of the door of the tabernacle. (32) And they shall bear the pillars of the court round about, and there shall be their sockets, and they shall bear the pillars of the veil of the door of the court, and their sockets and their pins, and their cords, and all their furniture, and all their instruments of service: take ye their number by name, and all the articles of the charge of the things borne by them. (33) This is the ministration of the family of the sons of Merari in all their works in the tabernacle of witness, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. (34) And Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel took the number of the sons of Caath according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage; (35) from five and twenty years old and upwards to the age of fifty years, every one that goes in to minister and do service in the tabernacle of witness. (36) And the numbering of them according to their families was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. (37) This is the numbering of the family of Caath, every one that ministers in the tabernacle of witness, as Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses. (38) And the sons of Gedson were numbered according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, (39) from five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to minister and to do the services in the tabernacle of witness. (40) And the numbering of them according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, was two thousand six hundred and thirty. (41) This is the numbering of the family of the sons of Gedson, every one who ministers in the tabernacle of witness; whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses. (42) And also the family of the sons of Merari were numbered according to their divisions, according to the house of their fathers; (43) from five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to minister in the services of the tabernacle of witness. (44) And the numbering of them according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, was three thousand and two hundred. (45) This is the numbering of the family of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses. (46) All that were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel numbered, namely, the Levites, according to their families and according to the houses of their lineage, (47) from five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to the service of the works, and the charge of the things that are carried in the tabernacle of witness. (48) And they that were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. (49) He reviewed them by the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses, appointing each man severally over their respective work, and over their burdens; and they were numbered, as the Lord commanded Moses.

5

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Charge the children of Israel, and let them send forth out of the camp every leper, and every one who has in issue of the reins, and every one who is unclean from a dead body. (3) Whether male or female, send them forth out of the camp; and they shall not defile their camps in which I dwell among them. (4) And the children of Israel did so, and sent them out of the camp: as the Lord said to Moses, so did the children of Israel. (5) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (6) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Every man or woman who shall commit any sin that is common to man, or if that soul shall in anywise have neglected the commandment and transgressed; (7) that person shall confess the sin which he has committed, and shall make satisfaction for his trespass: he shall pay the principal, and shall add to it the fifth part, and shall make restoration to him against whom he has trespassed. (8) But if a man have no near kinsman, so as to make satisfaction for his trespass to him, the trespass-offering paid to the Lord shall be for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which he shall make atonement with it for him. (9) And every first-fruits in all the sanctified things among the children of Israel, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord, shall be for the priest himself. (10) And the hallowed things of every man shall be his; and whatever man shall give any thing to the priest, the gift shall be his. (11) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (12) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whosesoever wife shall transgress against him, and slight and despise him, (13) and supposing any one shall lie with her carnally, and the thing shall be hid from the eyes of her husband, and she should conceal it and be herself defiled, and there be no witness with her, and she should not be taken; (14) and there should come upon him a spirit of jealousy, and he should be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled; or there should come upon him a spirit of jealousy, and he should be jealous of his wife, and she should not be defiled; (15) then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring his gift for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal: he shall not pour oil upon it, neither shall he put frankincense upon it; for it is a sacrifice of jealousy, a sacrifice of memorial, recalling sin to remembrance. (16) And the priest shall bring her, and cause her to stand before the Lord. (17) And the priest shall take pure running water in an earthen vessel, and he shall take of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle of witness, and the priest having taken it shall cast it into the water. (18) And the priest shall cause the woman to stand before the Lord, and shall uncover the head of the woman, and shall put into her hands the sacrifice of memorial, the sacrifice of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest shall be the water of this conviction that brings the curse. (19) And the priest shall adjure her, and shall say to the woman, If no one has lain with thee, and if thou hast not transgressed so as to be polluted, being under the power of thy husband, be free from this water of the conviction that causes the curse. (20) But if being a married woman thou hast transgressed, or been polluted, and any one has lain with thee, beside thy husband: (21) then the priest shall adjure the woman by the oaths of this curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, The Lord bring thee into a curse and under an oath in the midst of thy people, in that the Lord should cause thy thigh to rot and thy belly to swell; (22) and this water bringing the curse shall enter into thy womb to cause thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot. And the woman shall say, So be it, So be it. (23) And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall blot them out with the water of the conviction that brings the curse. (24) And he shall cause the woman to drink the water of the conviction that brings the curse; and the water of the conviction that brings the curse shall enter into her. (25) And the priest shall take from the hand of the woman the sacrifice of jealousy, and shall present the sacrifice before the Lord, and shall bring it to the altar. (26) And the priest shall take a handful of the sacrifice as a memorial of it, and shall offer it up upon the altar; and afterwards he shall cause the woman to drink the water. (27) And it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have altogether escaped the notice of her husband, then the water of the conviction that brings the curse shall enter into her; and she shall swell in her belly, and her thigh shall rot, and the woman shall be for a curse in the midst of her people. (28) But if the woman have not been polluted, and be clean, then shall she be guiltless and shall conceive seed. (29) This is the law of jealousy, wherein a married woman should happen to transgress, and be defiled; (30) or in the case of a man on whomsoever the spirit of jealousy should come, and he should be jealous of his wife, and he should place his wife before the Lord, and the priest shall execute towards her all this law. (31) Then the man shall be clear from sin, and that woman shall bear her sin.

6

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whatsoever man or woman shall specially vow a vow to separate oneself with purity to the Lord, (3) he shall purely abstain from wine and strong drink; and he shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink; and whatever is made of the grape he shall not drink; neither shall he eat fresh grapes or raisins, (4) all the days of his vow: he shall eat no one of all the things that come from the vine, wine from the grape-stones to the husk, (5) all the days of his separation:—a razor shall not come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled which he vowed to the Lord: he shall be holy, cherishing the long hair of the head, (6) all the days of his vow to the Lord: he shall not come nigh to any dead body, (7) to his father or his mother, or to his brother or his sister; he shall not defile himself for them, when they have died, because the vow of God is upon him on his head. (8) All the days of his vow he shall be holy to the Lord. (9) And if any one should die suddenly by him, immediately the head of his vow shall be defiled; and he shall shave his head in whatever day he shall be purified: on the seventh day he shall be shaved. (10) And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (11) And the priest shall offer one for a sin-offering; and the other for a whole-burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him in the things wherein he sinned respecting the dead body, and he shall sanctify his head in that day, (12) in which he was consecrated to the Lord, all the days of his vow; and he shall bring a lamb of a year old for a trespass-offering; and the former days shall not be reckoned, because the head of his vow was polluted. (13) And this is the law of him that has vowed: in whatever day he shall have fulfilled the days of his vow, he shall himself bring his gift to the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (14) And he shall bring his gift to the Lord; one he-lamb of a year old without blemish for a whole-burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb of a year old without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for a peace-offering; (15) and a basket of unleavened bread of fine flour, even loaves kneaded with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offering. (16) And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his whole-burnt-offering. (17) And he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace-offering to the Lord with the basket of unleavened bread; and the priest shall offer its meat-offering and its drink-offering. (18) And he that has vowed shall shave the head of his consecration by the doors of the tabernacle of witness, and shall put the hairs on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offering. (19) And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened loaf from the basket, and one unleavened cake, and shall put them on the hands of the votary after he has shaved off his holy hair. (20) And the priest shall present them as an offering before the Lord; it shall be the holy portion for the priest beside the breast of the heave-offering and beside the shoulder of the wave-offering: and afterwards the votary shall drink wine. (21) This is the law of the votary who shall have vowed to the Lord his gift to the Lord, concerning his vow, besides what he may be able to afford according to the value of his vow, which he may have vowed according to the law of separation. (22) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (23) Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, Thus ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them, (24) The Lord bless thee and keep thee; (25) the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and have mercy upon thee; (26) the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (27) And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I the Lord will bless them.

7

(1) And it came to pass in the day in which Moses finished the setting-up of the tabernacle, that he anointed it, and consecrated it, and all its furniture, and the altar and all its furniture, he even anointed them, and consecrated them. (2) And the princes of Israel brought gifts, twelve princes of their fathers’ houses: these were the heads of tribes, these are they that presided over the numbering. (3) And they brought their gift before the Lord, six covered waggons, and twelve oxen; a waggon from two princes, and a calf from each: and they brought them before the tabernacle. (4) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (5) Take of them, and they shall be for the works of the services of the tabernacle of witness: and thou shalt give them to the Levites, to each one according to his ministration. (6) And Moses took the waggons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. (7) And he gave two waggons and four oxen to the sons of Gedson, according to their ministrations. (8) And four waggons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari according to their ministrations, by Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. (9) But to the sons of Caath he gave them not, because they have the ministrations of the sacred things: they shall bear them on their shoulders. (10) And the rulers brought gifts for the dedication of the altar, in the day in which he anointed it, and the rulers brought their gifts before the altar. (11) And the Lord said to Moses, One chief each day, they shall offer their gifts a chief each day for the dedication of the altar. (12) And he that offered his gift on the first day, was Naasson the son of Aminadab, prince of the tribe of Juda. (13) And he brought his gift, one silver charger of a hundred and thirty shekels was its weight, one silver bowl, of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (14) One golden censer of ten shekels full of incense. (15) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering; (16) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (17) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Naasson the son of Aminadab. (18) On the second day Nathanael son of Sogar, the prince of the tribe of Issachar, brought his offering. (19) And he brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (20) One censer of ten golden shekels, full of incense. (21) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (22) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (23) And for a sacrifice, a peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Nathanael the son of Sogar. (24) On the third day the prince of the sons of Zabulon, Eliab the son of Chaelon. (25) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (26) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (27) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (28) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (29) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Eliab the son of Chaelon. (30) On the fourth day Elisur the son of Sediur, the prince of the children of Ruben. (31) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (32) One golden censer of ten shekels full of incense. (33) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (34) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (35) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Elisur the son of Sediur. (36) On the fifth day the prince of the children of Symeon, Salamiel the son of Surisadai. (37) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (38) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (39) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (40) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (41) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Salamiel the son of Surisadai. (42) On the sixth day the prince of the sons of Gad, Elisaph the son of Raguel. (43) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat offering. (44) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (45) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (46) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (47) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Elisaph the son of Raguel. (48) On the seventh day the prince of the sons of Ephraim, Elisama the son of Emiud. (49) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (50) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (51) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (52) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (53) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Elisama the son of Emiud. (54) On the eighth day the prince of the sons of Manasse, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. (55) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering. (56) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (57) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (58) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (59) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. (60) On the ninth day the prince of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gadeoni. (61) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering. (62) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (63) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (64) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (65) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Abidan the son of Gadeoni. (66) On the tenth day the prince of the sons of Dan, Achiezer the son of Amisadai. (67) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour kneaded with oil for a meat-offering. (68) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (69) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (70) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (71) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old. This was the gift of Achiezer the son of Amisadai. (72) On the eleventh day the prince of the sons of Aser, Phageel the son of Echran. (73) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering. (74) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (75) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (76) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (77) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Phageel the son of Echran. (78) On the twelfth day the prince of the sons of Nephthali, Achire the son of Ænan. (79) He brought his gift, one silver charger, its weight a hundred and thirty shekels; one silver bowl of seventy shekels according to the holy shekel; both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering. (80) One golden censer of ten shekels, full of incense. (81) One calf of the herd, one ram, one he-lamb of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering, (82) and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (83) And for a sacrifice of peace-offering, two heifers, five rams, five he-goats, five ewe-lambs of a year old: this was the gift of Achire the son of Ænan. (84) This was the dedication of the altar in the day in which Moses anointed it, by the princes of the sons of Israel; twelve silver chargers, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden censers: (85) each charger of a hundred and thirty shekels, and each bowl of seventy shekels: all the silver of the vessels was two thousand four hundred shekels, the shekels according to the holy shekel. (86) Twelve golden censers full of incense: all the gold of the shekels, a hundred and twenty shekels. (87) All the cattle for whole-burnt-offerings, twelve calves, twelve rams, twelve he-lambs of a year old, and their meat-offerings, and their drink-offerings: and twelve kids of the goats for sin-offering. (88) All the cattle for a sacrifice of peace-offering, twenty-four heifers, sixty rams, sixty he-goats of a year old, sixty ewe-lambs of a year old without blemish: this is the dedication of the altar, after that Moses consecrated Aaron, and after he anointed him. (89) When Moses went into the tabernacle of witness to speak to God, then he heard the voice of the Lord speaking to him from off the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark of the testimony, between the two cherubs; and he spoke to him.

8

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him, Whenever thou shalt set the lamps in order, the seven lamps shall give light opposite the candlestick. (3) And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed Moses. (4) And this is the construction of the candlestick: it is solid, golden—its stem, and its lilies—all solid: according to the pattern which the Lord shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick. (5) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (6) Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt purify them. (7) And thus shalt thou perform their purification: thou shalt sprinkle them with water of purification, and a razor shall come upon the whole of their body, and they shall wash their garments, and shall be clean. (8) And they shall take one calf of the herd, and its meat-offering, fine flour mingled with oil: and thou shalt take a calf of a year old of the herd for a sin-offering. (9) And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and thou shalt assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel. (10) And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites. (11) And Aaron shall separate the Levites for a gift before the Lord from the children of Israel: and they shall be prepared to perform the works of the Lord. (12) And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the calves; and thou shalt offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, to make atonement for them. (13) And thou shalt set the Levites before the Lord, and before Aaron, and before his sons; and thou shalt give them as a gift before the Lord. (14) And thou shalt separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine. (15) And afterwards the Levites shall go in to perform the works of the tabernacle of witness; and thou shalt purify them, and present them before the Lord. (16) For these are given to me for a present out of the midst of the children of Israel: I have taken them to myself instead of all the first-born of the sons of Israel that open every womb. (17) For every first-born among the children of Israel is mine, whether of man or beast: in the day in which I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to myself. (18) And I took the Levites in the place of every first-born among the children of Israel. (19) And I gave the Levites presented as a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of witness, and to make atonement for the children of Israel: thus there shall be none among the sons of Israel to draw nigh to the holy things. (20) And Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. (21) So the Levites purified themselves and washed their garments; and Aaron presented them as a gift before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them. (22) And afterwards the Levites went in to minister in their service in the tabernacle of witness before Aaron, and before his sons; as the Lord appointed Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. (23) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (24) This is the ordinance for the Levites; From five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of witness. (25) And from fifty years old the Levites shall cease from the ministry, and shall not work any longer. (26) And his brother shall serve in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shalt thou do to the Levites in their charges.

9

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sina in the second year after they had gone forth from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying, (2) Speak, and let the children of Israel keep the passover in its season. (3) On the fourteenth day of the first month at even, thou shalt keep it in its season; thou shalt keep it according to its law, and according to its ordinance. (4) And Moses ordered the children of Israel to sacrifice the passover, (5) on the fourteenth day of the first month in the wilderness of Sina, as the Lord appointed Moses, so the children of Israel did. (6) And there came men who were unclean by reason of a dead body, and they were not able to keep the passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. (7) And those men said to Moses, We are unclean by reason of the dead body of a man: shall we therefore fail to offer the gift to the Lord in its season in the midst of the children of Israel? (8) And Moses said to them, stand there, and I will hear what charge the Lord will give concerning you. (9) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (10) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Whatever man shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or on a journey far off, among you, or among your posterity; he shall then keep the passover to the Lord, (11) in the second month, on the fourteenth day; in the evening they shall offer it, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs shall they eat it. (12) They shall not leave of it until the morrow, and they shall not break a bone of it; they shall sacrifice it according to the ordinance of the passover. (13) And whatsoever man shall be clean, and is not far off on a journey, and shall fail to keep the passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people, because he has not offered the gift to the Lord in its season: that man shall bear his iniquity. (14) And if there should come to you a stranger in your land, and should keep the passover to the Lord, he shall keep it according to the law of the passover and according to its ordinance: there shall be one law for you, both for the stranger, and for the native of the land. (15) And in the day in which the tabernacle was pitched the cloud covered the tabernacle, the place of the testimony; and in the evening there was upon the tabernacle as the appearance of fire till the morning. (16) So it was continually: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. (17) And when the cloud went up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel departed; and in whatever place the cloud rested, there the children of Israel encamped. (18) The children of Israel shall encamp by the command of the Lord, and by the command of the Lord they shall remove: all the days in which the cloud overshadows the tabernacle, the children of Israel shall encamp. (19) And whenever the cloud shall be drawn over the tabernacle for many days, then the children of Israel shall keep the charge of God, and they shall not remove. (20) And it shall be, whenever the cloud overshadows the tabernacle a number of days, they shall encamp by the word of the Lord, and shall remove by the command of the Lord. (21) And it shall come to pass, whenever the cloud shall remain from the evening till the morning, and in the morning the cloud shall go up, then shall they remove by day or by night. (22) When the cloud continues a full month overshadowing the tabernacle, the children of Israel shall encamp, and shall not depart. (23) For they shall depart by the command of the Lord:—they kept the charge of the Lord by the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

10

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Make to thyself two silver trumpets: thou shalt make them of beaten work; and they shall be to thee for the purpose of calling the assembly, and of removing the camps. (3) And thou shalt sound with them, and all the congregation shall be gathered to the door of the tabernacle of witness. (4) And if they shall sound with one, all the rulers even the princes of Israel shall come to thee. (5) And ye shall sound an alarm, and the camps pitched eastward shall begin to move. (6) And ye shall sound a second alarm, and the camps pitched southward shall move; and ye shall sound a third alarm, and the camps pitched westward shall move forward; and ye shall sound a fourth alarm, and they that encamp toward the north shall move forward: they shall sound an alarm at their departure. (7) And whenever ye shall gather the assembly, ye shall sound, but not an alarm. (8) And the priests the sons of Aaron shall sound with the trumpets; and it shall be a perpetual ordinance for you throughout your generations. (9) And if ye shall go forth to war in your land against your enemies that are opposed to you, then shall ye sound with the trumpets; and ye shall be had in remembrance before the Lord, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. (10) And in the days of your gladness, and in your feasts, and in your new moons, ye shall sound with the trumpets at your whole-burnt-offerings, and at the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and there shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God. (11) And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud went up from the tabernacle of witness. (12) And the children of Israel set forward with their baggage in the wilderness of Sina; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan. (13) And the first rank departed by the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (14) And they first set in motion the order of the camp of the children of Juda with their host; and over their host was Naasson, son of Aminadab. (15) And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, was Nathanael son of Sogar. (16) And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Zabulon, was Eliab the son of Chaelon. (17) And they shall take down the tabernacle, and the sons of Gedson shall set forward, and the sons of Merari, who bear the tabernacle. (18) And the order of the camp of Ruben set forward with their host; and over their host was Elisur the son of Sediur. (19) And over the host of the tribe of the sons of Symeon, was Salamiel son of Surisadai. (20) And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad, was Elisaph the son of Raguel. (21) And the sons of Caath shall set forward bearing the holy things, and the others shall set up the tabernacle until they arrive. (22) And the order of the camp of Ephraim shall set forward with their forces; and over their forces was Elisama the son of Semiud. (23) And over the forces of the tribes of the sons of Manasse, was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur. (24) And over the forces of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, was Abidan the son of Gadeoni. (25) And the order of the camp of the sons of Dan shall set forward the last of all the camps, with their forces: and over their forces was Achiezer the son of Amisadai. (26) And over the forces of the tribe of the sons of Aser, was Phageel the son of Echran. (27) And over the forces of the tribe of the sons of Nephthali, was Achire the son of Ænan. (28) These are the armies of the children of Israel; and they set forward with their forces. (29) And Moses said to Obab the son of Raguel the Madianite, the father-in-law of Moses, We are going forward to the place concerning which the Lord said, This will I give to you: Come with us, and we will do thee good, for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel. (30) And he said to him, I will not go, but I will go to my land and to my kindred. (31) And he said, Leave us not, because thou hast been with us in the wilderness, and thou shalt be an elder among us. (32) And it shall come to pass if thou wilt go with us, it shall even come to pass that in whatsoever things the Lord shall do us good, we will also do thee good. (33) And they departed from the mount of the Lord a three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them a three days’ journey to provide rest for them. (34) And the cloud overshadowed them by day, when they departed from the camp. (35) And it came to pass when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered: let all that hate thee flee. (36) And in the resting he said, Turn again, O Lord, the thousands and tens of thousands in Israel.

11

(1) And the people murmured sinfully before the Lord; and the Lord heard them and was very angry; and fire was kindled among them from the Lord, and devoured a part of the camp. (2) And the people cried to Moses: and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was quenched. (3) And the name of that place was called Burning; for a fire was kindled among them from the Lord. (4) And the mixed multitude among them lusted exceedingly; and they and the children of Israel sat down and wept and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? (5) We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt freely; and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the garlic, and the onions. (6) But now our soul is dried up; our eyes turn to nothing but to the manna. (7) And the manna is as coriander seed, and the appearance of it the appearance of hoar-frost. (8) And the people went through the field, and gathered, and ground it in the mill, or pounded it in a mortar, and baked it in a pan, and made cakes of it; and the sweetness of it was as the taste of wafer made with oil. (9) And when the dew came upon the camp by night, the manna came down upon it. (10) And Moses heard them weeping by their families, every one in his door: and the Lord was very angry; and the thing was evil in the sight of Moses. (11) And Moses said to the Lord, Why hast thou afflicted thy servant, and why have I not found grace in thy sight, that thou shouldest lay the weight of this people upon me? (12) Have I conceived all this people, or have I born them? that thou sayest to me, Take them into thy bosom, as a nurse would take her suckling, into the land which thou swarest to their fathers? (13) Whence have I flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. (14) I shall not be able to bear this people alone, for this thing is too heavy for me. (15) And if thou doest thus to me, slay me utterly, if I have found favour with thee, that I may not see my affliction. (16) And the Lord said to Moses, Gather me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom thou thyself knowest that they are the elders of the people, and their scribes; and thou shalt bring them to the tabernacle of witness, and they shall stand there with thee. (17) And I will go down, and speak there with thee; and I will take of the spirit that is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear together with thee the burden of the people, and thou shalt not bear them alone. (18) And to the people thou shalt say, Purify yourselves for the morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye wept before the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: and the Lord shall allow you to eat flesh, and ye shall eat flesh. (19) Ye shall not eat one day, nor two, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days; (20) ye shall eat for a full month, until the flesh come out at your nostrils; and it shall be nausea to you, because ye disobeyed the Lord, who is among you, and wept before him, saying, What had we to do to come out of Egypt? (21) And Moses said, The people among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou saidst, I will give them flesh to eat, and they shall eat a whole month. (22) Shall sheep and oxen be slain for them, and shall it suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and shall it suffice them? (23) And the Lord said to Moses, Shall not the hand of the Lord be fully sufficient? now shalt thou know whether my word shall come to pass to thee or not. (24) And Moses went out, and spoke the words of the Lord to the people; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and he set them round about the tabernacle. (25) And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men that were elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and ceased. (26) And there were two men left in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Modad; and the spirit rested upon them, and these were of the number of them that were enrolled, but they did not come to the tabernacle; and they prophesied in the camp. (27) And a young man ran and told Moses, and spoke, saying, Eldad and Modad prophesy in the camp. (28) And Joshua the son of Naue, who attended on Moses, the chosen one, said, My lord Moses, forbid them. (29) And Moses said to him, Art thou jealous on my account? and would that all the Lord’s people were prophets; whenever the Lord shall put his spirit upon them. (30) And Moses departed into the camp, himself and the elders of Israel. (31) And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails over from the sea; and it brought them down upon the camp a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on that side, round about the camp, as it were two cubits from the earth. (32) And the people rose up all the day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered quails; he that gathered least, gathered ten measures; and they refreshed themselves round about the camp. (33) The flesh was yet between their teeth, before it failed, when the Lord was wroth with the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. (34) And the name of that place was called the Graves of Lust; for there they buried the people that lusted. (35) The people departed from the Graves of Lust to Aseroth; and the people halted at Aseroth.

12

(1) And Mariam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of the Ethiopian woman whom Moses took; for he had taken an Ethiopian woman. (2) And they said, Has the Lord spoken to Moses only? has he not also spoken to us? and the Lord heard it. (3) And the man Moses was very meek beyond all the men that were upon the earth. (4) And the Lord said immediately to Moses and Aaron and Mariam, Come forth all three of you to the tabernacle of witness. (5) And the three came forth to the tabernacle of witness; and the Lord descended in a pillar of a cloud, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of witness; and Aaron and Mariam were called; and both came forth. (6) And he said to them, Hear my words: If there should be of you a prophet to the Lord, I will be made known to him in a vision, and in sleep will I speak to him. (7) My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house. (8) I will speak to him mouth to mouth apparently, and not in dark speeches; and he has seen the glory of the Lord; and why were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (9) And the great anger of the Lord was upon them, and he departed. (10) And the cloud departed from the tabernacle; and, behold, Mariam was leprous, white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Mariam, and, behold, she was leprous. (11) And Aaron said to Moses, I beseech thee, my lord, do not lay sin upon us, for we were ignorant wherein we sinned. (12) Let her not be as it were like death, as an abortion coming out of his mother’s womb, when the disease devours the half of the flesh. (13) And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, O God, I beseech thee, heal her. (14) And the Lord said to Moses, If her father had only spit in her face, would she not be ashamed seven days? let her be set apart seven days without the camp, and afterwards she shall come in. (15) And Mariam was separated without the camp seven days; and the people moved not forward till Mariam was cleansed. (13:1) And afterwards the people set forth from Aseroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Pharan.

13

(2) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (3) Send for thee men, and let them spy the land of the Chananites, which I give to the sons of Israel for a possession; one man for a tribe, thou shalt send them away according to their families, every one of them a prince. (4) And Moses sent them out of the wilderness of Pharan by the word of the Lord; all these were the princes of the sons of Israel. (5) And these are their names: of the tribe of Ruben, Samuel the son of Zachur. (6) Of the tribe of Symeon, Saphat the son of Suri. (7) Of the tribe of Judah, Chaleb the son of Jephonne. (8) Of the tribe of Issachar, Ilaal the son of Joseph. (9) Of the tribe of Ephraim, Ause the son of Naue. (10) Of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti the son of Raphu. (11) Of the tribe of Zabulon, Gudiel the son of Sudi. (12) Of the tribe of Joseph of the sons of Manasse, Gaddi the son of Susi. (13) Of the tribe of Dan, Amiel the son of Gamali. (14) Of the tribe of Aser, Sathur the son of Michael. (15) Of the tribe of Nephthali, Nabi the son of Sabi. (16) Of the tribe of Gad, Gudiel the son of Macchi. (17) These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses called Ause the son of Naue, Joshua. (18) And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Chanaan, and said to them, Go up by this wilderness; and ye shall go up to the mountain, (19) and ye shall see the land, what it is, and the people that dwells on it, whether it is strong or weak, or whether they are few or many. (20) And what the land is on which they dwell, whether it is good or bad; and what the cities are wherein these dwell, whether they dwell in walled cities or unwalled. (21) And what the land is, whether rich or poor; whether there are trees in it or no: and ye shall persevere and take of the fruits of the land: and the days were the days of spring, the forerunners of the grape. (22) And they went up and surveyed the land from the wilderness of Sin to Rhoob, as men go in to Æmath. (23) And they went up by the wilderness, and departed as far as Chebron; and there was Achiman, and Sessi, and Thelami, the progeny of Enach. Now Chebron was built seven years before Tanin of Egypt. (24) And they came to the valley of the cluster and surveyed it; and they cut down thence a bough and one cluster of grapes upon it, and bore it on staves, and they took of the pomegranates and the figs. (25) And they called that place, The valley of the cluster, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from thence. (26) And they returned from thence, having surveyed the land, after forty days. (27) And they proceeded and came to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Pharan Cades; and they brought word to them and to all the congregation, and they shewed the fruit of the land: (28) and they reported to him, and said, We came into the land into which thou sentest us, a land flowing with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. (29) Only the nation that dwells upon it is bold, and they have very great and strong walled towns, and we saw there the children of Enach. (30) And Amalec dwells in the land toward the south: and the Chettite and the Evite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwells in the hill country: and the Chananite dwells by the sea, and by the river Jordan. (31) And Chaleb stayed the people from speaking before Moses, and said to him, Nay, but we will go up by all means, and will inherit it, for we shall surely prevail against them. (32) But the men that went up together with him said, We will not go up, for we shall not by any means be able to go up against the nation, for it is much stronger than we. (33) And they brought a horror of that land which they surveyed upon the children of Israel, saying, The land which we passed by to survey it, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of extraordinary stature. (34) And there we saw the giants; and we were before them as locusts, yea even so were we before them.

14

(1) And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept all that night. (2) And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; and all the congregation said to them, (3) Would we had died in the land of Egypt! or in this wilderness, would we had died! and why does the Lord bring us into this land to fall in war? our wives and our children shall be for a prey: now then it is better to return into Egypt. (4) And they said one to another, Let us make a ruler, and return into Egypt. (5) And Moses and Aaron fell upon their face before all the congregation of the children of Israel. (6) But Joshua the son of Naue, and Chaleb the son of Jephonne, of the number of them that spied out the land, rent their garments, (7) and spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we surveyed is indeed extremely good. (8) If the Lord choose us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which flows with milk and honey. (9) Only depart not from the Lord; and fear ye not the people of the land, for they are meat for us; for the season of prosperity is departed from them, but the Lord is among us: fear them not. (10) And all the congregation bade stone them with stones; and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud on the tabernacle of witness to all the children of Israel. (11) And the Lord said to Moses, How long does this people provoke me? and how long do they refuse to believe me for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with death, and destroy them; and I will make of thee and of thy father’s house a great nation, and much greater than this. (13) And Moses said to the Lord, So Egypt shall hear, for thou hast brought up this people from them by thy might. (14) Moreover all the dwellers upon this land have heard that thou art Lord in the midst of this people, who, O Lord, art seen by them face to face, and thy cloud rests upon them, and thou goest before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire. (15) And if thou shalt destroy this nation as one man; then all the nations that have heard thy name shall speak, saying, (16) Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which he sware to them, he has overthrown them in the wilderness. (17) And now, O Lord, let thy strength be exalted, as thou spakest, saying, (18) The Lord is long-suffering and merciful, and true, removing transgressions and iniquities and sins, and he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. (19) Forgive this people their sin according to thy great mercy, as thou wast favourable to them from Egypt until now. (20) And the Lord said to Moses, I am gracious to them according to thy word. (21) But as I live and my name is living, so the glory of the Lord shall fill all the earth. (22) For all the men who see my glory, and the signs which I wrought in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me this tenth time, and have not hearkened to my voice, (23) surely they shall not see the land, which I sware to their fathers; but their children which are with me here, as many as know not good or evil, every inexperienced youth, to them will I give the land; but none who have provoked me shall see it. (24) But my servant Chaleb, because there was another spirit in him, and he followed me, I will bring him into the land into which he entered, and his seed shall inherit it. (25) But Amalec and the Chananite dwell in the valley: to-morrow turn and depart for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. (26) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (27) How long shall I endure this wicked congregation? I have heard their murmurings against me, even the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they have murmured concerning you. (28) Say to them, As I live, saith the Lord: surely as ye spoke into my ears, so will I do to you. (29) Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all those of you that were reviewed, and those of you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, all that murmured against me, (30) ye shall not enter into the land for which I stretched out my hand to establish you upon it; except only Chaleb the son of Jephonne, and Joshua the son of Naue. (31) And your little ones, who ye said should be a prey, them will I bring into the land; and they shall inherit the land, which ye rejected. (32) And your carcases shall fall in this wilderness. (33) And your sons shall be fed in the wilderness forty years, and they shall bear your fornication, until your carcases be consumed in the wilderness. (34) According to the number of the days during which ye spied the land, forty days, a day for a year, ye shall bear your sins forty years, and ye shall know my fierce anger. (35) I the Lord have spoken, Surely will I do thus to this evil congregation that has risen up together against me: in this wilderness they shall be utterly consumed, and there they shall die. (36) And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who came and murmured against it to the assembly so as to bring out evil words concerning the land, — (37) the men that spoke evil reports against the land, even died of the plague before the Lord. (38) And Joshua the son of Naue and Chaleb the son of Jephonne still lived of those men that went to spy out the land. (39) And Moses spoke these words to all the children of Israel; and the people mourned exceedingly. (40) And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, Behold, we that are here will go up to the place of which the Lord has spoken, because we have sinned. (41) And Moses said, Why do ye transgress the word of the Lord? ye shall not prosper. (42) Go not up, for the Lord is not with you; so shall ye fall before the face of your enemies. (43) For Amalec and the Chananite are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword; because ye have disobeyed the Lord and turned aside, and the Lord will not be among you. (44) And having forced their passage, they went up to the top of the mountain; but the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses stirred not out of the camp. (45) And Amalec and the Chananite that dwelt in that mountain came down, and routed them, and destroyed them unto Herman; and they returned to the camp.

15

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye are come into the land of your habitation, which I give to you, (3) and thou wilt offer whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord, a whole-burnt-offering or a meat-offering to perform a vow, or a free-will offering, or to offer in your feasts a sacrifice of sweet savour to the Lord, whether of the herd or the flock: (4) then he that offers his gift to the Lord shall bring a meat-offering of fine flour, a tenth part of an ephah mingled with oil, even with the fourth part of a hin. (5) And for a drink-offering ye shall offer the fourth part of a hin on the whole-burnt-offering, or on the meat-offering: for every lamb thou shalt offer so much, as a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (6) And for a ram, when ye offer it as a whole-burnt-offering or as a sacrifice, thou shalt prepare as a meat-offering two tenths of fine flour mingled with oil, the third part of a hin. (7) And ye shall offer for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord wine for a drink-offering, the third part of a hin. (8) And if ye sacrifice a bullock from the herd for a whole-burnt-offering or for a sacrifice, to perform a vow or a peace-offering to the Lord, (9) then the worshipper shall offer upon the calf a meat-offering, three tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, even the half of a hin. (10) And wine for a drink-offering the half of a hin, a sacrifice for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (11) Thus shalt thou do to one calf or to one ram, or to one lamb of the sheep or kid of the goats. (12) According to the number of what ye shall offer, so shall ye do to each one, according to their number. (13) Every native of the country shall do thus to offer such things as sacrifices for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (14) And if there should be a stranger among you in your land, or one who should be born to you among your generations, and he will offer a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord—as ye do, so the whole congregation shall offer to the Lord. (15) There shall be one law for you and for the strangers abiding among you, a perpetual law for your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. (16) There shall be one law and one ordinance for you, and for the stranger that abides among you. (17) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (18) Speak to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye are entering into the land, into which I bring you, (19) then it shall come to pass, when ye shall eat of the bread of the land, ye shall separate a wave-offering, a special offering to the Lord, the first-fruits of your dough. (20) Ye shall offer your bread a heave-offering: as a heave-offering from the threshing-floor, so shall ye separate it, (21) even the first-fruits of your dough, and ye shall give the Lord a heave-offering throughout your generations. (22) But whensoever ye shall transgress, and not perform all these commands, which the Lord spoke to Moses; (23) as the Lord appointed you by the hand of Moses, from the day which the Lord appointed you and forward throughout your generations, (24) then it shall come to pass, if a trespass be committed unwillingly, unknown to the congregation, then shall all the congregation offer a calf of the herd without blemish for a whole-burnt-offering of sweet savour to the Lord, and its meat-offering and its drink-offering according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. (25) And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the trespass shall be forgiven them, because it is involuntary; and they have brought their gift, a burnt-offering to the Lord for their trespass before the Lord, even for their involuntary sins. (26) And it shall be forgiven as respects all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that is abiding among you, because it is involuntary to all the people. (27) And if one soul sin unwillingly, he shall bring one she-goat of a year old for a sin-offering. (28) And the priest shall make atonement for the soul that committed the trespass unwillingly, and that sinned unwillingly before the Lord, to make atonement for him. (29) There shall be one law for the native among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that abides among them, whosoever shall commit a trespass unwillingly. (30) And whatever soul either of the natives or of the strangers shall do any thing with a presumptuous hand, he will provoke God; that soul shall be cut off from his people, (31) for he has set at nought the word of the Lord and broken his commands: that soul shall be utterly destroyed, his sin is upon him. (32) And the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and they found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath-day. (33) And they who found him gathering sticks on the sabbath-day brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel. (34) And they placed him in custody, for they did not determine what they should do to him. (35) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Let the man be by all means put to death: do ye all the congregation, stone him with stones. (36) And all the congregation brought him forth out of the camp; and all the congregation stoned him with stones outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses. (37) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (38) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them; and let them make for themselves fringes upon the borders of their garments throughout their generations: and ye shall put upon the fringes of the borders a lace of blue. (39) And it shall be on your fringes, and ye shall look on them, and ye shall remember all the commands of the Lord, and do them: and ye shall not turn back after your imaginations, and after the sight of your eyes in the things after which ye go a whoring; (40) that ye may remember and perform all my commands, and ye shall be holy unto your God. (41) I am the Lord your God that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.

16

(1) And Core the son of Isaar the son of Caath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, sons of Eliab, and Aun the son of Phaleth the son of Ruben, spoke; (2) and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen councillors, and men of renown. (3) They rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them; and why do ye set up yourselves against the congregation of the Lord? (4) And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face. (5) And he spoke to Core and all his assembly, saying, God has visited and known those that are his and who are holy, and has brought them to himself; and whom he has chosen for himself, he has brought to himself. (6) This do ye: take to yourselves censers, Core and all his company; (7) and put fire on them, and put incense on them before the Lord to-morrow; and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord has chosen, he shall be holy: let it be enough for you, ye sons of Levi. (8) And Moses said to Core, Hearken to me, ye sons of Levi. (9) Is it a little thing for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, and brought you near to himself to minister in the services of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the tabernacle to minister for them? (10) And he has brought thee near and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee, and do ye seek to be priests also? (11) Thus it is with thee and all thy congregation which is gathered together against God: and who is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? (12) And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not go up. (13) Is it a little thing that thou hast brought us up to a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, and that thou altogether rulest over us? (14) Thou art a prince, and hast thou brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and hast thou given us an inheritance of land and vineyards? wouldest thou have put out the eyes of those men? we will not go up. (15) And Moses was exceeding indignant, and said to the Lord, Do thou take no heed to their sacrifice: I have not taken away the desire of any one of them, neither have I hurt any one of them. (16) And Moses said to Core, Sanctify thy company, and be ready before the Lord, thou and Aaron and they, to-morrow. (17) And take each man his censer, and ye shall put incense upon them, and shall bring each one his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers, and thou and Aaron shall bring each his censer. (18) And each man took his censer, and they put on them fire, and laid incense on them; and Moses and Aaron stood by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. (19) And Core raised up against them all his company by the door of the tabernacle of witness; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. (20) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (21) Separate your selves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once. (22) And they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of spirits and of all flesh, if one man has sinned, shall the wrath of the Lord be upon the whole congregation? (23) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (24) Speak to the congregation, saying, Depart from the company of Core round about. (25) And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiron, and all the elders of Israel went with him. (26) And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Separate yourselves from the tents of these stubborn men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest ye be consumed with them in all their sin. (27) And they stood aloof from the tent of Core round about; and Dathan and Abiron went forth and stood by the doors of their tents, and their wives and their children and their store. (28) And Moses said, Hereby shall ye know that the Lord has sent me to perform all these works, that I have not done them of myself. (29) If these men shall die according to the death of all men, if also their visitation shall be according to the visitation of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. (30) But if the Lord shall shew by a wonder, and the earth shall open her mouth and swallow them up, and their houses, and their tents, and all that belongs to them, and they shall go down alive into Hades, then ye shall know that these men have provoked the Lord. (31) And when he ceased speaking all these words, the ground clave asunder beneath them. (32) And the ground opened, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that were with Core, and their cattle. (33) And they went down and all that they had, alive into Hades; and the ground covered them, and they perished from the midst of the congregation. (34) And all Israel round about them fled from the sound of them, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. (35) And fire went forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

17

(16:36) And the Lord said to Moses, (16:37) and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers (16:38) of these sinners against their own souls, and do thou make them beaten plates a covering to the altar, because they were brought before the Lord and hallowed; and they became a sign to the children of Israel. (16:39) And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest took the brazen censers, which the men who had been burnt brought near, and they put them as a covering on the altar: (16:40) a memorial to the children of Israel that no stranger might draw nigh, who is not of the seed of Aaron, to offer incense before the Lord; so he shall not be as Core and as they that conspired with him, as the Lord spoke to him by the hand of Moses. (16:41) And the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord. (16:42) And it came to pass when the congregation combined against Moses and Aaron, that they ran impetuously to the tabernacle of witness; and the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. (16:43) And Moses and Aaron went in, in front of the tabernacle of witness. (16:44) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (16:45) Depart out of the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once: and they fell upon their faces. (16:46) And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put on it fire from the altar, and put incense on it, and carry it away quickly into the camp, and make atonement for them; for wrath is gone forth from the presence of the Lord, it has begun to destroy the people. (16:47) And Aaron took as Moses spoke to him, and ran among the congregation, for already the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. (16:48) And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague ceased. (16:49) And they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that died on account of Core. (16:50) And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and the plague ceased. (1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and take rods of them, according to the houses of their families, a rod from all their princes, according to the houses of their families, twelve rods, and write the name of each on his rod. (3) And write the name of Aaron on the rod of Levi; for it is one rod for each: they shall give them according to the tribe of the house of their families. (4) And thou shalt put them in the tabernacle of witness, before the testimony, where I will be made known to thee. (5) And it shall be, the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall blossom; and I will remove from me the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you. (6) And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him a rod each, for one chief a rod, according to the house of their families, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was in the midst of the rods. (7) And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. (8) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi blossomed, and put forth a bud, and bloomed blossoms and produced almonds. (9) And Moses brought forth all the rods from before the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each one took his rod. (10) And the Lord said to Moses, Lay up the rod of Aaron before the testimonies to be kept as a sign for the children of the disobedient; and let their murmuring cease from me, and they shall not die. (11) And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses, so did they. (12) And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, we are cut off, we are destroyed, we are consumed. (13) Every one that touches the tabernacle of the Lord, dies: shall we die utterly?

18

(1) And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house shall bear the sins of the holy things, and thou and thy sons shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. (2) And take to thyself thy brethren the tribe of Levi, the family of thy father, and let them be joined to thee, and let them minister to thee; and thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. (3) And they shall keep thy charges, and the charges of the tabernacle; only they shall not approach the holy vessels and the altar, so both they and you shall not die. (4) And they shall be joined to thee, and shall keep the charges of the tabernacle of witness, in all the services of the tabernacle; and a stranger shall not approach to thee. (5) And ye shall keep the charges of the holy things, and the charges of the altar, and so there shall not be anger among the children of Israel. (6) And I have taken your brethren the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, a present given to the Lord, to minister in the services of the tabernacle of witness. (7) And thou and thy sons after thee shall keep up your priestly ministration, according to the whole manner of the altar, and that which is within the veil; and ye shall minister in the services as the office of your priesthood; and the stranger that comes near shall die. (8) And the Lord said to Aaron, And, behold, I have given you the charge of the first-fruits of all things consecrated to me by the children of Israel; and I have given them to thee as an honour, and to thy sons after thee for a perpetual ordinance. (9) And let this be to you from all the holy things that are consecrated to me, even the burnt-offerings, from all their gifts, and from all their sacrifices, and from every trespass-offering of theirs, and from all their sin-offerings, whatever things they give to me of all their holy things, they shall be thine and thy sons’. (10) In the most holy place shall ye eat them; every male shall eat them, thou and thy sons: they shall be holy to thee. (11) And this shall be to you of the first-fruits of their gifts, of all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel; to thee have I given them and to thy sons and thy daughters with thee, a perpetual ordinance; every clean person in thy house shall eat them. (12) Every first-offering of oil, and every first-offering of wine, their first-fruits of corn, whatsoever they may give to the Lord, to thee have I given them. (13) All the first-fruits that are in their land, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord, shall be thine: every clean person in thy house shall eat them. (14) Every devoted thing among the children of Israel shall be thine. (15) And every thing that opens the womb of all flesh, whatsoever they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be thine: only the first-born of men shall be surely redeemed, and thou shalt redeem the first-born of unclean cattle. (16) And the redemption of them shall be from a month old; their valuation of five shekels—it is twenty oboli according to the holy shekel. (17) But thou shalt not redeem the first-born of calves and the first-born of sheep and the first-born of goats; they are holy: and thou shalt pour their blood upon the altar, and thou shalt offer the fat as a burnt-offering for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (18) And the flesh shall be thine, as also the breast of the wave-offering and as the right shoulder, it shall be thine. (19) Every special offering of the holy things, whatsoever the children of Israel shall specially offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, a perpetual ordinance: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, for thee and thy seed after thee. (20) And the Lord said to Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them; for I am thy portion and thine inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. (21) And, behold, I have given to the sons of Levi every tithe in Israel for an inheritance for their services, whereinsoever they perform ministry in the tabernacle of witness. (22) And the children of Israel shall no more draw nigh to the tabernacle of witness to incur fatal guilt. (23) And the Levite himself shall perform the service of the tabernacle of witness; and they shall bear their iniquities, it is a perpetual statute throughout their generations; and in the midst of the children of Israel they shall not receive an inheritance. (24) Because I have given as a distinct portion to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the children of Israel, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord; therefore I said to them, In the midst of the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. (25) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (26) Thou shalt also speak to the Levites, and shalt say to them, If ye take the tithe from the children of Israel, which I have given you from them for an inheritance, then shall ye separate from it a heave-offering to the Lord, a tenth of the tenth. (27) And your heave-offerings shall be reckoned to you as corn from the floor, and an offering from the wine-press. (28) So shall ye also separate them from all the offerings of the Lord out of all your tithes, whatsoever ye shall receive from the children of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering to the Lord to Aaron the priest. (29) Of all your gifts ye shall offer an offering to the Lord, and of every first-fruit the consecrated part from it. (30) And thou shalt say to them, When ye shall offer the first-fruits from it, then shall it be reckoned to the Levites as produce from the threshing-floor, and as produce from the wine-press. (31) And ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your families; for this is your reward for your services in the tabernacle of witness. (32) And ye shall not bear sin by reason of it, for ye shall have offered an offering of first-fruits from it, and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that ye die not.

19

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) This is the constitution of the law, as the Lord has commanded, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them take for thee a red heifer without spot, which has no spot on her, and on which no yoke has been put. (3) And thou shalt give her to Eleazar the priest; and they shall bring her out of the camp into a clean place, and shall kill her before his face. (4) And Eleazar shall take of her blood, and sprinkle of her blood seven times in front of the tabernacle of witness. (5) And they shall burn her to ashes before him; and her skin and her flesh and her blood, with her dung, shall be consumed. (6) And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet wool, and they shall cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer. (7) And the priest shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall go into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean till evening. (8) And he that burns her shall wash his garments, and bathe his body, and shall be unclean till evening. (9) And a clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up in a clean place outside the camp; and they shall be for the congregation of the children of Israel to keep: it is the water of sprinkling, a purification. (10) And he that gathers up the ashes of the heifer shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute for the children of Israel and for the strangers joined to them. (11) He that touches the dead body of any man, shall be unclean seven days. (12) He shall be purified on the third day and the seventh day, and shall be clean; but if he be not purged on the third day and the seventh day, he shall not be clean. (13) Every one that touches the carcase of the person of a man, if he should have died, and the other not have been purified, has defiled the tabernacle of the Lord: that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. (14) And this is the law; if a man die in a house, every one that goes into the house, and all things in the house, shall be unclean seven days. (15) And every open vessel which has not a covering bound upon it, shall be unclean. (16) And every one who shall touch a man slain by violence, or a corpse, or human bone, or sepulchre, shall be unclean seven days. (17) And they shall take for the unclean of the burnt ashes of purification, and they shall pour upon them running water into a vessel. (18) And a clean man shall take hyssop, and dip it into the water, and sprinkle it upon the house, and the furniture, and all the souls that are therein, and upon him that touched the human bone, or the slain man, or the corpse, or the tomb. (19) And the clean man shall sprinkle the water on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he shall purify himself; and the other shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (20) And whatever man shall be defiled and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation, because he has defiled the holy things of the Lord, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. (21) And it shall be to you a perpetual statute; and he that sprinkles the water of sprinkling shall wash his garments; and he that touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until evening. (22) And whatsoever the unclean man shall touch shall be unclean, and the soul that touches it shall be unclean till evening.

20

(1) And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Sin, in the first month, and the people abode in Cades; and Mariam died there, and was buried there. (2) And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. (3) And the people reviled Moses, saying, Would we had died in the destruction of our brethren before the Lord! (4) And wherefore have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, to kill us and our cattle? (5) And wherefore is this? Ye have brought us up out of Egypt, that we should come into this evil place; a place where there is no sowing, neither figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there water to drink. (6) And Moses and Aaron went from before the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and they fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. (7) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (8) Take thy rod, and call the assembly, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before them, and it shall give forth its waters; and ye shall bring forth for them water out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle. (9) And Moses took his rod which was before the Lord, as the Lord commanded. (10) And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation before the rock, and said to them, Hear me, ye disobedient ones; must we bring you water out of this rock? (11) And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and much water came forth, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. (12) And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because ye have not believed me to sanctify me before the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. (13) This is the water of Strife, because the children of Israel spoke insolently before the Lord, and he was sanctified in them. (14) And Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, saying, Thus says thy brother Israel; Thou knowest all the distress that has come upon us. (15) And how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we sojourned in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. (16) And we cried to the Lord, and the Lord heard our voice, and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt; and now we are in the city of Cades, at the extremity of thy coasts. (17) We will pass through thy land: we will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards, nor will we drink water out of thy cistern: we will go by the king’s highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, until we have passed thy borders. (18) And Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass through me, and if otherwise, I will go forth to meet thee in war. (19) And the children of Israel say to him, We will pass by the mountain; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, I will pay thee: but it is no matter of importance, we will go by the mountain. (20) And he said, Thou shalt not pass through me; and Edom went forth to meet him with a great host, and a mighty hand. (21) So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Israel turned away from him. (22) And they departed from Cades; and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Or. (23) And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in mount Or, on the borders of the land of Edom, saying, (24) Let Aaron be added to his people; for ye shall certainly not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because ye provoked me at the water of strife. (25) Take Aaron, and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to the mount Or before all the congregation; (26) and take Aaron’s apparel from off him, and put it on Eleazar his son: and let Aaron die there and be added to his people. (27) And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and took him up to mount Or, before all the congregation. (28) And he took Aaron’s garments off him, and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron died on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. (29) And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead: and they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

21

(1) And Arad the Chananitish king who dwelt by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharin; and he made war on Israel, and carried off some of them captives. (2) And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt deliver this people into my power, I will devote it and its cities to thee. (3) And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered the Chananite into his power; and Israel devoted him and his cities, and they called the name of that place Anathema. (4) And having departed from mount Or by the way leading to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way. (5) And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast thou brought us ought of Egypt to slay us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul loathes this light bread. (6) And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died. (7) And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee: pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us. (8) And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a signal-staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one so bitten that looks upon it shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived. (10) And the children of Israel departed, and encamped in Oboth. (11) And having departed from Oboth, they encamped in Achalgai, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is opposite Moab, toward the east. (12) And thence they departed, and encamped in the valley of Zared. (13) And they departed thence and encamped on the other side of Arnon in the wilderness, the country which extends from the coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the borders of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (14) Therefore it is said in a book, A war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon. (15) And he has appointed brooks to cause Er to dwell there; and it lies near to the coasts of Moab. (16) And thence they came to the well; this is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink. (17) Then Israel sang this song at the well, Begin to sing of the well; (18) the princes digged it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in the rock: and they went from the well to Manthanain, (19) and from Manthanain to Naaliel, and from Naaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to Janen, which is in the plain of Moab as seen from the top of the quarried rock that looks toward the wilderness. (20) And Moses sent ambassadors to Seon king of the Amorites, with peaceable words, saying, (21) We will pass through thy land, we will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard. (22) We will not drink water out of thy well; we will go by the king’s highway, until we have past thy boundaries. (23) And Seon did not allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Seon gathered all his people, and went out to set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jassa, and set the battle in array against Israel. (24) And Israel smote him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman, for Jazer is the borders of the children of Amman. (25) And Israel took all their cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Esebon, and in all cities belonging to it. (26) For Esebon is the city of Seon king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon. (27) Therefore say they who deal in dark speeches, Come to Esebon, that the city of Seon may be built and prepared. (28) For a fire has gone forth from Esebon, a flame from the city of Seon, and has consumed as far as Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon. (29) Woe to thee, Moab; thou art lost, thou people of Chamos: their sons are sold for preservation, and their daughters are captives to Seon king of the Amorites. (30) And their seed shall perish from Esebon to Daebon; and their women have yet farther kindled a fire against Moab. (31) And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites. (32) And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorite that dwelt there. (33) And having returned, they went up the road that leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain. (34) And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon. (35) And he smote him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.

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(1) And the children of Israel departed, and encamped on the west of Moab by Jordan toward Jericho. (2) And when Balac son of Sepphor saw all that Israel did to the Amorite, (3) then Moab feared the people exceedingly because they were many; and Moab was grieved before the face of the children of Israel. (4) And Moab said to the elders of Madiam, Now shall this assembly lick up all that are round about us, as a calf would lick up the green herbs of the field:—and Balac son of Sepphor was king of Moab at that time. (5) And he sent ambassadors to Balaam the son of Beor, to Phathura, which is on a river of the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, and behold it has covered the face of the earth, and it has encamped close to me. (6) And now come, curse me this people, for it is stronger than we; if we may be able to smite some of them, and I will cast them out of the land: for I know that whomsoever thou dost bless, they are blessed, and whomsoever thou dost curse, they are cursed. (7) And the elders of Moab went, and the elders of Madiam, and their divining instruments were in their hands; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balac. (8) And he said to them, Tarry here the night, and I will answer you the things which the Lord shall say to me; and the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. (9) And God came to Balaam, and said to him, Who are these men with thee? (10) And Balaam said to God, Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab, sent them to me, saying, (11) Behold, a people has come forth out of Egypt, and has covered the face of the land, and it has encamped near to me; and now come, curse it for me, if indeed I shall be able to smite it, and cast it out of the land. (12) And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, neither shalt thou curse the people; for they are blessed. (13) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balac, Depart quickly to your lord; God does not permit me to go with you. (14) And the princes of Moab rose, and came to Balac, and said, Balaam will not come with us. (15) And Balac yet again sent more princes and more honourable than they. (16) And they came to Balaam, and they say to him, Thus says Balac the son of Sepphor: I beseech thee, delay not to come to me. (17) For I will greatly honour thee, and will do for thee whatsoever thou shalt say; come then, curse me this people. (18) And Balaam answered and said to the princes of Balac, If Balac would give me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord God, to make it little or great in my mind. (19) And now do ye also tarry here this night, and I shall know what the Lord will yet say to me. (20) And God came to Balaam by night, and said to him, If these men are come to call thee, rise and follow them; nevertheless the word which I shall speak to thee, it shalt thou do. (21) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. (22) And God was very angry because he went; and the angel of the Lord rose up to withstand him. Now he had mounted his ass, and his two servants were with him. (23) And when the ass saw the angel of God standing opposite in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand, then the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass with his staff to direct her in the way. (24) And the angel of the Lord stood in the avenues of the vines, a fence being on this side and a fence on that. (25) And when the ass saw the angel of God, she thrust herself against the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall, and he smote her again. (26) And the angel of the Lord went farther, and came and stood in a narrow place where it was impossible to turn to the right or the left. (27) And when the ass saw the angel of God, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam was angry, and struck the ass with his staff. (28) And God opened the mouth of the ass, and she says to Balaam, What have I done to thee, that thou hast smitten me this third time? (29) And Balaam said to the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; and if I had had a sword in my hand, I would now have killed thee. (30) And the ass says to Balaam, Am not I thine ass on which thou hast ridden since thy youth till this day? did I ever do thus to thee, utterly disregarding thee? and he said, No. (31) And God opened the eyes of Balaam, and he sees the angel of the Lord withstanding him in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand, and he stooped down and worshipped on his face. (32) And the angel of God said to him, Why hast thou smitten thine ass this third time? and, behold, I came out to withstand thee, for thy way was not seemly before me; and when the ass saw me, she turned away from me this third time. (33) And if she had not turned out of the way, surely now, I should have slain thee, and should have saved her alive. (34) And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know that thou wert standing opposite in the way to meet me; and now if it shall not be pleasing to thee for me to go on, I will return. (35) And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men: nevertheless the word which I shall speak to thee, that thou shalt take heed to speak. And Balaam went with the princes of Balac. (36) And when Balac heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him, to a city of Moab, which is on the borders of Arnon, which is on the extreme part of the borders. (37) And Balac said to Balaam, Did I not send to thee to call thee? why hast thou not come to me? shall I not indeed be able to honour thee? (38) And Balaam said to Balac, Behold, I am now come to thee: shall I be able to say anything? the word which God shall put into my mouth, that I shall speak. (39) And Balaam went with Balac, and they came to the cities of streets. (40) And Balac offered sheep and calves, and sent to Balaam and to his princes who were with him. (41) And it was morning; and Balac took Balaam, and brought him up to the pillar of Baal, and shewed him thence a part of the people.

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(1) And Balaam said to Balac, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams. (2) And Balac did as Balaam told him; and he offered up a calf and a ram on every altar. (3) And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by thy sacrifice, and I will go and see if God will appear to me and meet me, and the word which he shall shew me, I will report to thee. And Balac stood by his sacrifice. (4) And Balaam went to enquire of God; and he went straight forward, and God appeared to Balaam; and Balaam said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and have offered a calf and a ram on every altar. (5) And God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, and said, thou shalt return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak. (6) And he returned to him, and moreover he stood over his whole-burnt-offerings, and all the princes of Moab with him; and the Spirit of God came upon him. (7) And he took up his parable, and said, Balac king of Moab sent for me out of Mesopotamia, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and Come, call for a curse for me upon Israel. (8) How can I curse whom the Lord curses not? or how can I devote whom God devotes not? (9) For from the top of the mountains I shall see him, and from the hills I shall observe him: behold, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. (10) Who has exactly calculated the seed of Jacob, and who shall number the families of Israel? let my soul die with the souls of the righteous, and let my seed be as their seed. (11) And Balac said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I called thee to curse my enemies, and behold thou hast greatly blessed them. (12) And Balaam said to Balac, Whatsoever the Lord shall put into my mouth, shall I not take heed to speak this? (13) And Balac said to him, Come yet with me to another place where thou shalt not see the people, but only thou shalt see a part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence. (14) And he took him to a high place of the field to the top of the quarried rock, and he built there seven altars, and offered a calf and a ram on every altar. (15) And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by thy sacrifice, and I will go to enquire of God. (16) And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak. (17) And he returned to him: and he also was standing by his whole-burnt-sacrifice, and all the princes of Moab with him; and Balac said to him, What has the Lord spoken? (18) And he took up his parable, and said, rise up, Balac, and hear; hearken as a witness, thou son of Sepphor. (19) God is not as man to waver, nor as the son of man to be threatened; shall he say and not perform? shall he speak and not keep to his word? (20) Behold, I have received commandment to bless: I will bless, and not turn back. (21) There shall not be trouble in Jacob, neither shall sorrow be seen in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, the glories of rulers are in him. (22) It was God who brought him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn. (23) For there is no divination in Jacob, nor enchantment in Israel; in season it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God shall perform. (24) Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion’s whelp, and shall exalt himself as a lion; he shall not lie down till he have eaten the prey, and he shall drink the blood of the slain. (25) And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, nor bless them at all. (26) And Balaam answered and said to Balac, Spoke I not to thee, saying, Whatsoever thing God shall speak to me, that will I do? (27) And Balac said to Balaam, Come and I will remove thee to another place, if it shall please God, and curse me them from thence. (28) And Balac took Balaam to the top of Phogor, which extends to the wilderness. (29) And Balaam said to Balac, build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams. (30) And Balac did as Balaam told him, and offered a calf and a ram on every altar.

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(1) And when Balaam saw that it pleased God to bless Israel, he did not go according to his custom to meet the omens, but turned his face toward the wilderness. (2) And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and sees Israel encamped by their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. (3) And he took up his parable and said, Balaam son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says, (4) he says who hears the oracle of the Mighty One, who saw a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened: (5) How goodly are thy habitations, Jacob, and thy tents, Israel! (6) as shady groves, and as gardens by a river, and as tents which God pitched, and as cedars by the waters. (7) There shall come a man out of his seed, and he shall rule over many nations; and the kingdom of Gog shall be exalted, and his kingdom shall be increased. (8) God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn: he shall consume the nations of his enemies, and he shall drain their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the enemy. (9) He lay down, he rested as a lion, and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed, and they that curse thee are cursed. (10) And Balac was angry with Balaam, and clapped his hands together; and Balac said to Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemy, and behold thou hast decidedly blessed him this third time. (11) Now therefore flee to thy place: I said, I will honour thee, but now the Lord has deprived thee of glory. (12) And Balaam said to Balac, Did I not speak to thy messengers also whom thou sentest to me, saying, (13) If Balac should give me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to transgress the word of the Lord to make it good or bad by myself; whatsoever things God shall say, them will I speak. (14) And now, behold, I return to my place; come, I will advise thee of what this people shall do to thy people in the last days. (15) And he took up his parable and said, Balaam the son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says, (16) hearing the oracles of God, receiving knowledge from the Most High, and having seen a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened. (17) I will point to him, but not now; I bless him, but he draws not near: a star shall rise out of Jacob, a man shall spring out of Israel; and shall crush the princes of Moab, and shall spoil all the sons of Seth. (18) And Edom shall be an inheritance, and Esau his enemy shall be an inheritance of Israel, and Israel wrought valiantly. (19) And one shall arise out of Jacob, and destroy out of the city him that escapes. (20) And having seen Amalec, he took up his parable and said, Amalec is the first of the nations; yet his seed shall perish. (21) And having seen the Kenite, he took up his parable and said, thy dwelling-place is strong; yet though thou shouldest put thy nest in a rock, (22) and though Beor should have a skillfully contrived hiding-place, the Assyrians shall carry thee away captive. (23) And he looked upon Og, and took up his parable and said, Oh, oh, who shall live, when God shall do these things? (24) And one shall come forth from the hands of the Citians, and shall afflict Assur, and shall afflict the Hebrews, and they shall perish together. (25) And Balaam rose up and departed and returned to his place, and Balac went to his own home.

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(1) And Israel sojourned in Sattin, and the people profaned itself by going a-whoring after the daughters of Moab. (2) And they called them to the sacrifices of their idols; and the people ate of their sacrifices, and worshipped their idols. (3) And Israel consecrated themselves to Beel-phegor; and the Lord was very angry with Israel. (4) And the Lord said to Moses, Take all the princes of the people, and make them examples of judgment for the Lord in the face of the sun, and the anger of the Lord shall be turned away from Israel. (5) And Moses said to the tribes of Israel, Slay ye every one his friend that is consecrated to Beel-phegor. (6) And, behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought his brother to a Madianitish woman before Moses, and before all the congregation of the children of Israel; and they were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of witness. (7) And Phinees the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose out of the midst of the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand, (8) and went in after the Israelitish man into the chamber, and pierced them both through, both the Israelitish man, and the woman through her womb; and the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. (9) And those that died in the plague were four and twenty thousand. (10) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (11) Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest has caused my wrath to cease from the children of Israel, when I was exceedingly jealous among them, and I did not consume the children of Israel in my jealousy. (12) Thus do thou say to him, Behold, I give him a covenant of peace: (13) and he and his seed after him shall have a perpetual covenant of priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel. (14) Now the name of the smitten Israelitish man, who was smitten with the Madianitish woman, was Zambri son of Salmon, prince of a house of the tribe of Symeon. (15) And the name of the Madianitish woman who was smitten, was Chasbi, daughter of Sur, a prince of the nation of Ommoth: it is a chief house among the people of Madiam. (16) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, (17) Plague the Madianites as enemies, and smite them, (18) for they are enemies to you by the treachery wherein they ensnare you through Phogor, and through Chasbi their sister, daughter of a prince of Madiam, who was smitten in the day of the plague because of Phogor.

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(1) And it came to pass after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the priest, saying, (2) Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, according to the houses of their lineage, every one that goes forth to battle in Israel. (3) And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke in Araboth of Moab at the Jordan by Jericho, saying, (4) This is the numbering from twenty years old and upward as the Lord commanded Moses. And the sons of Israel that came out of Egypt are as follows: (5) Ruben was the first-born of Israel: and the sons of Ruben, Enoch, and the family of Enoch; to Phallu belongs the family of the Phalluites. (6) To Asron, the family of Asroni: to Charmi, the family of Charmi. (7) These are the families of Ruben; and their numbering was forty-three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. (8) And the sons of Phallu were Eliab, — (9) and the sons of Eliab, Namuel, and Dathan, and Abiron: these are renowned men of the congregation; these are they that rose up against Moses and Aaron in the gathering of Core, in the rebellion against the Lord. (10) And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up them and Core, when their assembly perished, when the fire devoured the two hundred and fifty, and they were made a sign. (11) But the sons of Core died not. (12) And the sons of Symeon:—the family of the sons of Symeon: to Namuel, belonged the family of the Namuelites; to Jamin the family of the Jaminites; to Jachin the family of the Jachinites. (13) To Zara the family of the Zaraites; to Saul the family of the Saulites. (14) These are the families of Symeon according to their numbering, two and twenty thousand and two hundred. (24) The sons of Gad according to their families: to Saphon, the family of the Saphonites; to Angi, the family of the Angites; to Suni, the family of the Sunites; (25) to Azeni, the family of the Azenites; to Addi, the family of the Addites: (26) to Aroadi, the family of the Aroadites; to Ariel, the family of the Arielites. (27) These are the families of the children of Gad according to their numbering, forty-four thousand and five hundred. (15) And the sons of Juda, Er and Aunan; and Er and Aunan died in the land of Chanaan. (16) And these were the sons of Juda, according to their families: to Selom belonged the family of the Selonites; to Phares, the family of the Pharesites; to Zara, the family of the Zaraites. (17) And the sons of Phares were, to Asron, the family of the Asronites; to Jamun, the family of the Jamunites. (18) These are the families of Juda according to their numbering, seventy-six thousand and five hundred. (19) And the sons of Issachar according to their families: to Thola, the family of the Tholaites; to Phua, the family of the Phuaites. (20) To Jasub, the family of the Jasubites; to Samram, the family of the Samramites. (21) These are the families of Issachar according to their numbering, sixty-four thousand and four hundred. (22) The sons of Zabulon according to their families: to Sared, the family of the Saredites; to Allon, the family of the Allonites; to Allel, the family of the Allelites. (23) These are the families of Zabulon according to their numbering, sixty thousand and five hundred. (32) The sons of Joseph according to their families, Manasse and Ephraim. (33) The sons of Manasse. To Machir the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Galaad: to Galaad, the family of the Galaadites. (34) And these are the sons of Galaad; to Achiezer, the family of the Achiezerites; to Cheleg, the family of the Chelegites. (35) To Esriel, the family of the Esrielites; to Sychem, the family of the Sychemites. (36) To Symaer, the family of the Symaerites; and to Opher, the family of the Opherites. (37) And to Salpaad the son of Opher there were no sons, but daughters: and these were the names of the daughters of Salpaad; Mala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa. (38) These are the families of Manasse according to their numbering, fifty-two thousand and seven hundred. (39) And these are the children of Ephraim; to Suthala, the family of the Suthalanites; to Tanach, the family of the Tanachites. (40) These are the sons of Suthala; to Eden, the family of the Edenites. (41) These are the families of Ephraim according to their numbering, thirty-two thousand and five hundred: these are the families of the children of Joseph according to their families. (42) The sons of Benjamin according to their families; to Bale, the family of the Balites; to Asyber, the family of the Asyberites; to Jachiran, the family of the Jachiranites. (43) To Sophan, the family of the Sophanites. (44) And the sons of Bale were Adar and Noeman; to Adar, the family of the Adarites; and to Noeman, the family of the Noemanites. (45) These are the sons of Benjamin by their families according to their numbering, thirty-five thousand and five hundred. (46) And the sons of Dan according to their families; to Same, the family of the Sameites; these are the families of Dan according to their families. (47) All the families of Samei according to their numbering, sixty-four thousand and four hundred. (28) The sons of Aser according to their families; to Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; to Jesu, the family of the Jesusites; to Baria, the family of the Bariaites. (29) To Chober, the family of the Choberites; to Melchiel, the family of the Melchielites. (30) And the name of the daughter of Aser, Sara. (31) These are the families of Aser according to their numbering, forty-three thousand and four hundred. (48) The sons of Nephthali according to their families; to Asiel, the family of the Asielites; to Gauni, the family of the Gaunites. (49) To Jeser, the family of the Jeserites; to Sellem, the family of the Sellemites. (50) These are the families of Nephthali, according to their numbering, forty thousand and three hundred. (51) This is the numbering of the children of Israel, six hundred and one thousand and seven hundred and thirty. (52) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (53) To these the land shall be divided, so that they may inherit according to the number of the names. (54) To the greater number thou shalt give the greater inheritance, and to the less number thou shalt give the less inheritance: to each one, as they have been numbered, shall their inheritance be given. (55) The land shall be divided to the names by lot, they shall inherit according to the tribes of their families. (56) Thou shalt divide their inheritance by lot between the many and the few. (57) And the sons of Levi according to their families; to Gedson, the family of the Gedsonites; to Caath, the family of the Caathites; to Merari, the family of the Merarites. (58) These are the families of the sons of Levi; the family of the Lobenites, the family of the Chebronites, the family of the Coreites, and the family of the Musites; and Caath begot Amram. (59) And the name of his wife was Jochabed, daughter of Levi, who bore these to Levi in Egypt, and she bore to Amram, Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister. (60) And to Aaron were born both Nadab and Abiud, and Eleazar, and Ithamar. (61) And Nadab and Abiud died when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sina. (62) And there were according to their numbering, twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because they have no inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. (63) And this is the numbering of Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in Araboth of Moab, at Jordan by Jericho. (64) And among these there was not a man numbered by Moses and Aaron, whom, even the children of Israel, they numbered in the wilderness of Sinai. (65) For the Lord said to them, They shall surely die in the wilderness; and there was not left even one of them, except Chaleb the son of Jephonne, and Joshua the son of Naue.

27

(1) And the daughters of Salpaad the son of Opher, the son of Galaad, the son of Machir, of the tribe of Manasse, of the sons of Joseph, came near; and these were their names, Maala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa; (2) and they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and before all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness, saying, (3) Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the midst of the congregation that rebelled against the Lord in the gathering of Core; for he died for his own sin, and he had no sons. Let not the name of our father be blotted out of the midst of his people, because he has no son: give us an inheritance in the midst of our father’s brethren. (4) And Moses brought their case before the Lord. (5) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (6) The daughters of Salpaad have spoken rightly: thou shalt surely give them a possession of inheritance in the midst of their father’s brethren, and thou shalt assign their father’s inheritance to them. (7) And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, (8) If a man die, and have no son, ye shall assign his inheritance to his daughter. (9) And if he have no daughter, ye shall give his inheritance to his brother. (10) And if he have no brethren, ye shall give his inheritance to his father’s brother. (11) And if there be no brethren of his father, ye shall give the inheritance to his nearest relation of his tribe, to inherit his possessions; and this shall be to the children of Israel an ordinance of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses. (12) And the Lord said to Moses, Go up to the mountain that is in the country beyond Jordan, this mount Nabau, and behold the land Chanaan, which I give to the sons of Israel for a possession. (13) And thou shalt see it, and thou also shalt be added to thy people, as Aaron thy brother was added to them in mount Or: (14) because ye transgressed my commandment in the wilderness of Sin, when the congregation resisted and refused to sanctify me; ye sanctified me not at the water before them. This is the water of Strife in Cades in the wilderness of Sin. (15) And Moses said to the Lord, (16) Let the Lord God of spirits and of all flesh look out for a man over this congregation, (17) who shall go out before them, and who shall come in before them, and who shall lead them out, and who shall bring them in; so the congregation of the Lord shall not be as sheep without a shepherd. (18) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take to thyself Joshua the son of Naue, a man who has the Spirit in him, and thou shalt lay thy hands upon him. (19) And thou shalt set him before Eleazar the priest, and thou shalt give him a charge before all the congregation, and thou shalt give a charge concerning him before them. (20) And thou shalt put of thy glory upon him, that the children of Israel may hearken to him. (21) And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, and they shall ask of him before the Lord the judgment of the Urim: they shall go forth at his word, and at his word they shall come in, he and the children of Israel with one accord, and all the congregation. (22) And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation. (23) And he laid his hands on him, and appointed him as the Lord ordered Moses.

28

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Charge the children of Israel, and thou shalt speak to them, saying, Ye shall observe to offer to me in my feasts my gifts, my presents, my burnt-offerings for a sweet-smelling savour. (3) And thou shalt say to them, These are the burnt-offerings, all that ye shall bring to the Lord; two lambs of a year old without blemish daily, for a whole-burnt offering perpetually. (4) Thou shalt offer one lamb in the morning, and thou shalt offer the second lamb towards evening. (5) And thou shalt offer the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, with the fourth part of a hin. (6) It is a perpetual whole-burnt-offering, a sacrifice offered in the mount of Sina for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord. (7) And its drink-offering, the fourth part of a hin to each lamb; in the holy place shalt thou pour strong drink as a drink-offering to the Lord. (8) And the second lamb thou shalt offer toward evening; thou shalt offer it according to its meat-offering and according to its drink-offering for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord. (9) And on the sabbath-day ye shall offer two lambs of a year old without blemish, and two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering, and a drink-offering. (10) It is a whole-burnt-offering of the sabbaths on the sabbath days, besides the continued whole-burnt-offering, and its drink offering. (11) And at the new moons ye shall bring a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, two calves of the herd, and one ram, seven lambs of a year old without blemish. (12) Three tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil for one calf, and two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil for one ram. (13) A tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for each lamb, as a meat-offering, a sweet-smelling savour, a burnt-offering to the Lord. (14) Their drink-offering shall be the half of a hin for one calf; and the third of a hin for one ram; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for one lamb: this is the whole-burnt-offering monthly throughout the months of the year. (15) And he shall offer one kid of the goats for a sin-offering to the Lord; it shall be offered beside the continual whole-burnt-offering and its drink-offering. (16) And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the passover to the Lord. (17) And on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. (18) And the first day shall be to you a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. (19) And ye shall bring whole-burnt-offerings, a sacrifice to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, seven lambs of a year old; they shall be to you without blemish. (20) And their meat-offering shall be fine flour mingled with oil; three tenth deals for one calf, and two tenth deals for one ram. (21) Thou shalt offer a tenth for each lamb, for the seven lambs. (22) And thou shalt offer one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you. (23) Beside the perpetual whole-burnt-offering in the morning, which is a whole-burnt-sacrifice for a continuance, (24) these shall ye thus offer daily for seven days, a gift, a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering, thou shalt offer its drink-offering. (25) And the seventh day shall be to you a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work in it. (26) And on the day of the new corn, when ye shall offer a new sacrifice at the festival of weeks to the Lord, there shall be to you a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, (27) and ye shall bring whole-burnt-offerings for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, seven lambs without blemish. (28) Their meat-offering shall be fine flour mingled with oil; there shall be three tenth deals for one calf, and two tenth deals for one ram. (29) A tenth for each lamb separately, for the seven lambs; and a kid of the goats, (30) for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you; beside the perpetual whole-burnt-offering: and (31) ye shall offer to me their meat-offering. They shall be to you unblemished, and ye shall offer their drink-offerings.

29

(1) And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be to you a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work: it shall be to you a day of blowing the trumpets. (2) And ye shall offer whole-burnt-offerings for a sweet savour to the Lord, one calf of the herd, one ram, seven lambs of a year old without blemish. (3) Their meat-offering shall be fine flour mingled with oil; three tenth deals for one calf, and two tenth deals for one ram: (4) a tenth deal for each several ram, for the seven lambs. (5) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you. (6) Beside the whole-burnt-offerings for the new moon, and their meat-offerings, and their drink-offerings, and their perpetual whole-burnt-offering; and their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings according to their ordinance for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord. (7) And on the tenth of this month there shall be to you a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls, and ye shall do no work. (8) And ye shall bring near whole-burnt-offerings for a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord; burnt-sacrifices to the Lord, one calf of the herd, one ram, seven lambs of a year old; they shall be to you without blemish. (9) Their meat-offering shall be fine flour mingled with oil; three tenth deals for one calf, and two tenth deals for one ram. (10) A tenth deal for each several lamb, for the seven lambs. (11) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you; beside the sin-offering for atonement, and the continual whole-burnt-offering, its meat-offering, and its drink-offering according to its ordinance for a smell of sweet savour, a burnt-sacrifice to the Lord. (12) And on the fifteenth day of this seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord seven days. (13) And ye shall bring near whole-burnt-offerings, a sacrifice for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord, on the first day thirteen calves of the herd, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old; they shall be without blemish. (14) their meat-offerings shall be fine flour mingled with oil; there shall be three tenth deals for one calf, for the thirteen calves; and two tenth deals for one ram, for the two rams. (15) A tenth deal for every lamb, for the fourteen lambs. (16) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering: there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (17) And on the second day twelve calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without blemish. (18) Their meat-offering and their drink-offering shall be for the calves and the rams and the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (19) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the perpetual whole-burnt-offering; their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (20) On the third day eleven calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without blemish. (21) Their meat-offering and their drink-offering shall be to the calves and to the rams and to the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (22) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering; there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (23) On the fourth day ten calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without spot. (24) There shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings to the calves and the rams and the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (25) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (26) On the fifth day nine calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without spot. (27) Their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings shall be to the calves and the rams and the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (28) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the perpetual whole-burnt-offering; there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (29) On the sixth day eight calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without blemish. (30) There shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings to the calves and rams and lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (31) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the perpetual whole-burnt-offering; there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (32) On the seventh day seven calves, two rams, fourteen lambs of a year old without blemish. (33) Their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings shall be to the calves and the rams and the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (34) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering; there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (35) And on the eighth day there shall be to you a release: ye shall do no servile work in it. (36) And ye shall offer whole-burnt-offerings as sacrifices to the Lord, one calf, one ram, seven lambs of a year old without spot. (37) There shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings for the calf and the ram and the lambs according to their number, according to their ordinance. (38) And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; beside the continual whole-burnt-offering; there shall be their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings. (39) These sacrifices shall ye offer to the Lord in your feasts, besides your vows; and ye shall offer your free-will-offerings and your whole-burnt-offerings, and your meat-offerings and your drink-offerings, and your peace-offerings.

30

(1) And Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. (2) And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord has commanded. (3) Whatsoever man shall vow a vow to the Lord, or swear an oath, or bind himself with an obligation upon his soul, he shall not break his word; all that shall come out of his mouth he shall do. (4) And if a woman shall vow a vow to the Lord, or bind herself with an obligation in her youth in her father’s house; and her father should hear her vows and her obligations, wherewith she has bound her soul, and her father should hold his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, (5) and all the obligations with which she has bound her soul, shall remain to her. (6) But if her father straitly forbid her in the day in which he shall hear all her vows and her obligations, which she has contracted upon her soul, they shall not stand; and the Lord shall hold her guiltless, because her father forbade her. (7) But if she should be indeed married, and her vows be upon her according to the utterance of her lips, in respect of the obligations which she has contracted upon her soul; (8) and her husband should hear, and hold his peace at her in the day in which he should hear, then thus shall all her vows be binding, and her obligations, which she has contracted upon her soul shall stand. (9) But if her husband should straitly forbid her in the day in which he should hear her, none of her vows or obligations which she has contracted upon her soul shall stand, because her husband has disallowed her, and the Lord shall hold her guiltless. (10) And the vow of a widow and of her that is put away, whatsoever she shall bind upon her soul, shall stand to her. (11) And if her vow be made in the house of her husband, or the obligation upon her soul with an oath, (12) and her husband should hear, and hold his peace at her, and not disallow her, then all her vows shall stand, and all the obligations which she contracted against her soul, shall stand against her. (13) But if her husband should utterly cancel the vow in the day in which he shall hear it, none of the things which shall proceed out of her lips in her vows, and in the obligations contracted upon her soul, shall stand to her; her husband has cancelled them, and the Lord shall hold her guiltless. (14) Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband shall confirm it to her, or her husband shall cancel it. (15) But if he be wholly silent at her from day to day, then shall he bind upon her all her vows; and he shall confirm to her the obligations which she has bound upon herself, because he held his peace at her in the day in which he heard her. (16) And if her husband should in any wise cancel them after the day in which he heard them, then he shall bear his iniquity. (17) These are the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and daughter in her youth in the house of her father.

31

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Avenge the wrongs of the children of Israel on the Madianites, and afterwards thou shalt be added to thy people. (3) And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm some of you, and set yourselves in array before the Lord against Madian, to inflict vengeance on Madian from the Lord. (4) Send a thousand of each tribe from all the tribes of the children of Israel to set themselves in array. (5) And they numbered of the thousands of Israel a thousand of each tribe, twelve thousands; these were armed for war. (6) And Moses sent them away a thousand of every tribe with their forces, and Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: and the holy instruments, and the signal trumpets were in their hands. (7) And they set themselves in array against Madian, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew every male. (8) And they slew the kings of Madian together with their slain subjects; even Evi and Rocon, and Sur, and Ur, and Roboc, five kings of Madian; and they slew with the sword Balaam the son of Beor with their other slain. (9) And they made a prey of the women of Madian, and their store, and their cattle, and all their possessions: and they spoiled their forces. (10) And they burnt with fire all their cities in the places of their habitation and they burnt their villages with fire. (11) And they took all their plunder, and all their spoils, both man and beast. (12) And they brought to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to all the children of Israel, the captives, and the spoils, and the plunder, to the camp to Araboth Moab, which is at Jordan by Jericho. (13) And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the rulers of the synagogue went forth out of the camp to meet them. (14) And Moses was angry with the captains of the host, the heads of thousands and the heads of hundreds who came from the battle-array. (15) And Moses said to them, Why have ye saved every female alive? (16) For they were the occasion to the children of Israel by the word of Balaam of their revolting and despising the word of the Lord, because of Phogor; and there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord. (17) Now then slay every male in all the spoil, slay every woman, who has known the lying with man. (18) And as for all the captivity of women, who have not known the lying with man, save ye them alive. (19) And ye shall encamp outside the great camp seven days; every one who has slain and who touches a dead body, shall be purified on the third day, and ye and your captivity shall purify yourselves on the seventh day. (20) And ye shall purify every garment and every leathern utensil, and all furniture of goat skin, and every wooden vessel. (21) And Eleazar the priest said to the men of the host that came from the battle-array, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses. (22) Beside the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron, and lead, and tin, (23) every thing that shall pass through the fire shall so be clean, nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sanctification; and whatsoever will not pass through the fire shall pass through water. (24) And on the seventh day ye shall wash your garments, and be clean; and afterwards ye shall come into the camp. (25) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (26) Take the sum of the spoils of the captivity both of man and beast, thou and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the families of the congregation. (27) And ye shall divide the spoils between the warriors that went out to battle, and the whole congregation. (28) And ye shall take a tribute for the Lord from the warriors that went out to battle; one soul out of five hundred, from the men, and from the cattle, even from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the asses; and ye shall take from their half. (29) And thou shalt give them to Eleazar the priest as the first-fruits of the Lord. (30) And from the half belonging to the children of Israel thou shalt take one in fifty from the men, and from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the asses, and from all the cattle; and thou shalt give them to the Levites that keep the charges in the tabernacle of the Lord. (31) And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. (32) And that which remained of the spoil which the warriors took, was—of the sheep, six hundred and seventy-five thousand: (33) and oxen, seventy-two thousand: (34) and asses, sixty-one thousand. (35) And persons of women who had not known lying with man, all the souls, thirty-two thousand. (36) And the half, even the portion of them that went out to war, from the number of the sheep, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred. (37) And the tribute to the Lord from the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. (38) And the oxen, six and thirty thousand, and the tribute to the Lord seventy-two. (39) And asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, and the tribute to the Lord, sixty-one: (40) and the persons, sixteen thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord, thirty-two souls. (41) And Moses gave the tribute to the Lord, the heave-offering of God, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses; (42) from the half belonging to the children of Israel, whom Moses separated from the men of war. (43) And the half taken from the sheep, belonging to the congregation, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred. (44) And the oxen, thirty-six thousand; (45) asses, thirty thousand and five hundred; (46) and persons, sixteen thousand. (47) And Moses took of the half belonging to the children of Israel the fiftieth part, of men and of cattle, and he gave them to the Levites who keep the charges of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. (48) And all those who were appointed to be officers of thousands of the host, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, approached Moses, and said to Moses, (49) Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war with us, and not one is missing. (50) And we have brought our gift to the Lord, every man who has found an article of gold, whether an armlet, or a chain, or a ring, or a bracelet, or a clasp for hair, to make atonement for us before the Lord. (51) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even every wrought article. (52) And all the wrought gold, even the offering that they offered to the Lord, was sixteen thousand and seven hundred and fifty shekels from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds. (53) For the men of war took plunder every one for himself. (54) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought the vessels into the tabernacle of witness, a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.

32

(1) And the children of Ruben and the children of Gad had a multitude of cattle, very great; and they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Galaad; and the place was a place for cattle: (2) and the children of Ruben and the children of Gad came, and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying, (3) Ataroth, and Daebon, and Jazer, and Namra, and Esebon, and Eleale, and Sebama, and Nabau, and Baean, (4) the land which the Lord has delivered up before the children of Israel, is pasture land, and thy servants have cattle. (5) And they said, If we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession, and do not cause us to pass over Jordan. (6) And Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? (7) And why do ye pervert the minds of the children of Israel, that they should not cross over into the land, which the Lord gives them? (8) Did not your fathers thus, when I sent them from Cades Barne to spy out the land? (9) And they went up to the valley of the cluster, and spied the land, and turned aside the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land, which the Lord gave them. (10) And the Lord was very angry in that day, and sware, saying, (11) Surely these men who came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward, who know good and evil, shall not see the land which I sware to give to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, for they have not closely followed after me: (12) save Caleb the son of Jephonne, who was set apart, and Joshua the son of Naue, for they closely followed after the Lord. (13) And the Lord was very angry with Israel; and for forty years he caused them to wander in the wilderness, until all the generation which did evil in the sight of the Lord was extinct. (14) Behold, ye are risen up in the room of your fathers, a combination of sinful men, to increase yet farther the fierce wrath of the Lord against Israel. (15) For ye will turn away from him to desert him yet once more in the wilderness, and ye will sin against this whole congregation. (16) And they came to him, and said, We will build here folds for our cattle, and cities for our possessions; (17) and we will arm ourselves and go as an advanced guard before the children of Israel, until we shall have brought them into their place; and our possessions shall remain in walled cities because of the inhabitants of the land. (18) We will not return to our houses till the children of Israel shall have been distributed, each to his own inheritance. (19) And we will not any longer inherit with them from the other side of Jordan and onwards, because we have our full inheritance on the side beyond Jordan eastward. (20) And Moses said to them, If ye will do according to these words, if ye will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle, (21) and every one of you will pass over Jordan fully armed before the Lord, until his enemy be destroyed from before his face, (22) and the land shall be subdued before the Lord, then afterwards ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and as regards Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before the Lord. (23) But if ye will not do so, ye will sin against the Lord; and ye shall know your sin, when afflictions shall come upon you. (24) And ye shall build for yourselves cities for your store, and folds for your cattle; and ye shall do that which proceeds out of your mouth. (25) And the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad spoke to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as our lord commands. (26) Our store, and our wives, and all our cattle shall be in the cities of Galaad. (27) But thy servants will go over all armed and set in order before the Lord to battle, as our lord says. (28) And Moses appointed to them for judges Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Naue, and the chiefs of the families of the tribes of Israel. (29) And Moses said to them, If the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad will pass over Jordan with you, every one armed for war before the Lord, and ye shall subdue the land before you, then ye shall give to them the land of Galaad for a possession. (30) But if they will not pass over armed with you to war before the Lord, then shall ye cause to pass over their possessions and their wives and their cattle before you into the land of Chanaan, and they shall inherit with you in the land of Chanaan. (31) And the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad answered, saying, Whatsoever the Lord says to his servants, that will we do. (32) We will go over armed before the Lord into the land of Chanaan, and ye shall give us our inheritance beyond Jordan. (33) And Moses gave to them, even to the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben, and to the half tribe of Manasse of the sons of Joseph, the kingdom of Seon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Basan, the land and its cities with its coasts, the cities of the land round about. (34) And the sons of Gad built Daebon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, (35) and Sophar, and Jazer, and they set them up, (36) and Namram, and Baetharan, strong cities, and folds for sheep. (37) And the sons of Ruben built Esebon, and Eleale, and Kariatham, (38) and Beelmeon, surrounded with walls, and Sebama; and they called the names of the cities which they built, after their own names. (39) And a son of Machir the son of Manasse went to Galaad, and took it, and destroyed the Amorite who dwelt in it. (40) And Moses gave Galaad to Machir the son of Manasse, and he dwelt there. (41) And Jair the son of Manasse went and took their villages, and called them the villages of Jair. (42) And Nabau went and took Caath and her villages, and called them Naboth after his name.

33

(1) And these are the stages of the children of Israel, as they went out from the land of Egypt with their host by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (2) And Moses wrote their removals and their stages, by the word of the Lord: and these are the stages of their journeying. (3) They departed from Ramesses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the passover the children of Israel went forth with a high hand before all the Egyptians. (4) And the Egyptians buried those that died of them, even all that the Lord smote, every first-born in the land of Egypt; also the Lord executed vengeance on their gods. (5) And the children of Israel departed from Ramesses, and encamped in Socchoth: (6) and they departed from Socchoth and encamped in Buthan, which is a part of the wilderness. (7) And they departed from Buthan and encamped at the mouth of Iroth, which is opposite Beel-sepphon, and encamped opposite Magdol. (8) And they departed from before Iroth, and crossed the middle of the sea into the wilderness; and they went a journey of three days through the wilderness, and encamped in Picriae. (9) And they departed from Picriae, and came to Ælim; and in Ælim were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm-trees, and they encamped there by the water. (10) And they departed from Ælim, and encamped by the Red Sea. (11) And they departed from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. (12) And they departed from the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Raphaca. (13) And they departed from Raphaca, and encamped in Ælus. (14) And they departed from Ælus, and encamped in Raphidin; and there was no water there for the people to drink. (15) And they departed from Raphidin, and encamped in the wilderness of Sina. (16) And they departed from the wilderness of Sina, and encamped at the Graves of Lust. (17) And they departed from the Graves of Lust, and encamped in Aseroth. (18) And they departed from Aseroth, and encamped in Rathama. (19) And they departed from Rathama, and encamped in Remmon Phares. (20) And they departed from Remmon Phares, and encamped in Lebona. (21) And they departed from Lebona, and encamped in Ressan. (22) And they departed from Ressan, and encamped in Makellath. (23) And they departed from Makellath, and encamped in Saphar. (24) And they departed from Saphar, and encamped in Charadath. (25) And they departed from Charadath, and encamped in Makeloth. (26) And they departed from Makeloth, and encamped in Kataath. (27) And they departed from Kataath, and encamped in Tarath. (28) And they departed from Tarath, and encamped in Mathecca. (29) And they departed from Mathecca, and encamped in Selmona. (30) And they departed from Selmona, and encamped in Masuruth. (31) And they departed from Masuruth, and encamped in Banaea. (32) And they departed from Banaea, and encamped in the mountain Gadgad. (33) And they departed from the mountain Gadgad, and encamped in Etebatha. (34) And they departed from Etebatha, and encamped in Ebrona. (35) And they departed from Ebrona, and encamped in Gesion Gaber. (36) And they departed from Gesion Gaber, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin; and they departed from the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in the wilderness of Pharan; this is Cades. (37) And they departed from Cades, and encamped in mount Or near the land of Edom. (38) And Aaron the priest went up by the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year of the departure of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. (39) And Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old, when he died in mount Or. (40) And Arad the Chananitish king (he too dwelt in the land of Chanaan) having heard when the children of Israel were entering the land— (41) then they departed from mount Or, and encamped in Selmona. (42) And they departed from Selmona, and encamped in Phino. (43) And they departed from Phino, and encamped in Oboth. (44) And they departed from Oboth, and encamped in Gai, on the other side Jordan on the borders of Moab. (45) And they departed from Gai, and encamped in Daebon Gad. (46) And they departed from Daebon Gad, and encamped in Gelmon Deblathaim. (47) And they departed from Gelmon Deblathaim, and encamped on the mountains of Abarim, over against Nabau. (48) And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and encamped on the west of Moab, at Jordan by Jericho. (49) And they encamped by Jordan between Æsimoth, as far as Belsa to the west of Moab. (50) And the Lord spoke to Moses at the west of Moab by Jordan at Jericho, saying, (51) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to pass over Jordan into the land of Chanaan. (52) And ye shall destroy all that dwell in the land before your face, and ye shall abolish their high places, and all their molten images ye shall destroy, and ye shall demolish all their pillars. (53) And ye shall destroy all the inhabitants of the land, and ye shall dwell in it, for I have given their land to you for an inheritance. (54) And ye shall inherit their land according to your tribes; to the greater number ye shall give the larger possession, and to the smaller ye shall give the less possession; to whatsoever part a man’s name shall go forth by lot, there shall be his property: ye shall inherit according to the tribes of your families. (55) But if ye will not destroy the dwellers in the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that whomsoever of them ye shall leave shall be thorns in your eyes, and darts in your sides, and they shall be enemies to you on the land on which ye shall dwell; (56) and it shall come to pass that as I had determined to do to them, so I will do to you.

34

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (2) Charge the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are entering into the land of Chanaan: it shall be to you for an inheritance, the land of Chanaan with its boundaries. (3) And your southern side shall be from the wilderness of Sin to the border of Edom, and your border southward shall extend on the side of the salt sea eastward. (4) And your border shall go round you from the south to the ascent of Acrabin, and shall proceed by Ennac, and the going forth of it shall be southward to Cades Barne, and it shall go forth to the village of Arad, and shall proceed by Asemona. (5) And the border shall compass from Asemona to the river of Egypt, and the sea shall be the termination. (6) And ye shall have your border on the west, the great sea shall be the boundary: this shall be to you the border on the west. (7) And this shall be your northern border; from the great sea ye shall measure to yourselves, by the side of the mountain. (8) And ye shall measure to yourselves the mountain from mount Hor at the entering in to Emath, and the termination of it shall be the coasts of Saradac. (9) And the border shall go out to Dephrona, and its termination shall be at Arsenain; this shall be your border from the north. (10) And ye shall measure to yourselves the eastern border from Arsenain to Sepphamar. (11) And the border shall go down from Sepphamar to Bela eastward to the fountains, and the border shall go down from Bela behind the sea Chenereth eastward. (12) And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the termination shall be the salt sea; this shall be your land and its borders round about. (13) And Moses charged the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, even as the Lord commanded us to give it to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasse. (14) For the tribe of the children of Ruben, and the tribe of the children of Gad have received their inheritance according to their families; and the half-tribe of Manasse have received their inheritances. (15) Two tribes and half a tribe have received their inheritance beyond Jordan by Jericho from the south eastwards. (16) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (17) These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for an inheritance; Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Naue. (18) And ye shall take one ruler from each tribe to divide the land to you by lot. (19) And these are the names of the men; of the tribe of Juda Chaleb the son of Jephonne. (20) Of the tribe of Symeon, Salamiel the son of Semiud. (21) Of the tribe of Benjamin, Eldad the son of Chaslon. (22) Of the tribe of Dan the prince was Bacchir the son of Egli. (23) Of the sons of Joseph of the tribe of the sons of Manasse, the prince was Aniel the son of Suphi. (24) Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, the prince was Camuel the son of Sabathan. (25) Of the tribe of Zabulon, the prince was Elisaphan the son of Pharnac. (26) Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince was Phaltiel the son of Oza. (27) Of the tribe of the children of Aser, the prince was Achior the son of Selemi. (28) Of the tribe of Nephthali, the prince was Phadael the son of Jamiud. (29) These did the Lord command to distribute the inheritances to the children of Israel in the land of Chanaan.

35

(1) And the Lord spoke to Moses to the west of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, (2) Give orders to the children of Israel, and they shall give to the Levites cities to dwell in from the lot of their possession, and they shall give to the Levites the suburbs of the cities round about them. (3) And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and their enclosures shall be for their cattle and all their beasts. (4) And the suburbs of the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outwards two thousand cubits round about. (5) And thou shalt measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and your city shall be in the midst of this, and the suburbs of the cities as described. (6) And ye shall give the cities to the Levites, the six cities of refuge which ye shall give for the slayer to flee thither, and in addition to these, forty-two cities. (7) Ye shall give to the Levites in all forty-eight cities, them and their suburbs. (8) And as for the cities which ye shall give out of the possession of the children of Israel, from those that have much ye shall give much, and from those that have less ye shall give less: they shall give of their cities to the Levites each one according to his inheritance which they shall inherit. (9) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (10) Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are to cross over Jordan into the land of Chanaan. (11) And ye shall appoint to yourselves cities: they shall be to you cities of refuge for the slayer to flee to, every one who has killed another unintentionally. (12) And the cities shall be to you places of refuge from the avenger of blood, and the slayer shall not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. (13) And the cities which ye shall assign, even the six cities, shall be places of refuge for you. (14) Ye shall assign three cities on the other side of Jordan, and ye shall assign three cities in the land of Chanaan. (15) It shall be a place of refuge for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for him that sojourns among you; these cities shall be for a place of refuge, for every one to flee thither who has killed a man unintentionally. (16) And if he should smite him with an iron instrument, and the man should die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death. (17) And if he should smite him with a stone thrown from his hand, whereby a man may die, and he thus die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death. (18) And if he should smite him with an instrument of wood from his hand, whereby he may die, and he thus die, he is a murderer; let the murderer by all means be put to death. (19) The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: whensoever he shall meet him he shall slay him. (20) And if he should thrust him through enmity, or cast any thing upon him from an ambuscade, and the man should die, (21) or if he have smitten him with his hand through anger, and the man should die, let the man that smote him be put to death by all means, he is a murderer: let the murderer by all means be put to death: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him. (22) But if he should thrust him suddenly, not through enmity, or cast any thing upon him, not from an ambuscade, (23) or smite him with any stone, whereby a man may die, unawares, and it should fall upon him, and he should die, but he was not his enemy, nor sought to hurt him; (24) then the assembly shall judge between the smiter and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments. (25) And the congregation shall rescue the slayer from the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, whither he fled for refuge; and he shall dwell there till the death of the high-priest, whom they anointed with the holy oil. (26) But if the slayer should in any wise go out beyond the bounds of the city whither he fled for refuge, (27) and the avenger of blood should find him without the bounds of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood should kill the slayer, he is not guilty. (28) For he ought to have remained in the city of refuge till the high-priest died; and after the death of the high-priest the slayer shall return to the land of his possession. (29) And these things shall be to you for an ordinance of judgment throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (30) Whoever kills a man, thou shalt slay the murderer on the testimony of witnesses; and one witness shall not testify against a soul that he should die. (31) And ye shall not accept ransoms for life from a murderer who is worthy of death, for he shall be surely put to death. (32) Ye shall not accept a ransom to excuse his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest. (33) So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it. (34) And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.

36

(1) And the heads of the tribe of the sons of Galaad the son of Machir the son of Manasse, of the tribe of the sons of Joseph, drew near, and spoke before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the heads of the houses of the families of the children of Israel: (2) and they said, The Lord commanded our lord to render the land of inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and the Lord appointed our lord to give the inheritance of Salpaad our brother to his daughters. (3) And they will become wives in one of the tribes of the children of Israel; so their inheritance shall be taken away from the possession of our fathers, and shall be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which the women shall marry, and shall be taken away from the portion of our inheritance. (4) And if there shall be a release of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which the women marry, and their inheritance, shall be taken away from the inheritance of our family’s tribe. (5) And Moses charged the children of Israel by the commandment of the Lord, saying, Thus says the tribe of the children of Joseph. (6) This is the thing which the Lord has appointed the daughters of Salpaad, saying, Let them marry where they please, only let them marry men of their father’s tribe. (7) So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel go about from tribe to tribe, for the children of Israel shall steadfastly continue each in the inheritance of his family’s tribe. (8) And whatever daughter is heiress to a property of the tribes of the children Israel, such women shall be married each to one of her father’s tribe, that the sons of Israel may each inherit the property of his father’s tribe. (9) And the inheritance shall not go about from one tribe to another, but the children of Israel shall steadfastly continue each in his own inheritance. (10) As the Lord commanded Moses, so did they to the daughters of Salpaad. (11) So Thersa, and Egla, and Melcha, and Nua, and Malaa, the daughters of Salpaad, married their cousins; (12) they were married to men of the tribe of Manasse of the sons of Joseph; and their inheritance was attached to the tribe of their father’s family. (13) These are the commandments, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, at the west of Moab, at Jordan by Jericho.

Deuteronomy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

1

(1) These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side Jordan in the desert towards the west near the Red Sea, between Pharan Tophol, and Lobon, and Aulon, and the gold works. (2) It is a journey of eleven days from Choreb to mount Seir as far as Cades Barne. (3) And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to all the children of Israel, according to all things which the Lord commanded him for them: (4) after he had smitten Seon king of the Amorites who dwelt in Esebon, and Og the king of Basan who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain; (5) beyond Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying, (6) The Lord your God spoke to us in Choreb, saying, Let it suffice you to have dwelt so long in this mountain. (7) Turn ye and depart and enter into the mountain of the Amorites, and go to all that dwell near about Araba, to the mountain and the plain and to the south, and the land of the Chananites near the sea, and Antilibanus, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. (8) Behold, God has delivered the land before you; go in and inherit the land, which I sware to your fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them. (9) And I spoke to you at that time, saying, I shall not be able by myself to bear you. (10) The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, ye are to-day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (11) The Lord God of your fathers add to you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you as he has spoken to you. (12) How shall I alone be able to bear your labour, and your burden, and your gainsayings? (13) Take to yourselves wise and understanding and prudent men for your tribes, and I will set your leaders over you. (14) And ye answered me and said, The thing which thou hast told us is good to do. (15) So I took of you wise and understanding and prudent men, and I set them to rule over you as rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and officers to your judges. (16) And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear causes between your brethren, and judge rightly between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. (17) Thou shalt not have respect to persons in judgment, thou shalt judge small and great equally; thou shalt not shrink from before the person of a man, for the judgment is God’s; and whatsoever matter shall be too hard for you, ye shall bring it to me, and I will hear it. (18) And I charged upon you at that time all the commands which ye shall perform. (19) And we departed from Choreb, and went through all that great wilderness and terrible, which ye saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorite, as the Lord our God charged us, and we came as far as Cades Barne. (20) And I said to you, Ye have come as far as the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God gives to you: (21) behold, the Lord your God has delivered to us the land before you: go up and inherit it as the Lord God of your fathers said to you; fear not, neither be afraid. (22) And ye all came to me, and said, Let us send men before us, and let them go up to the land for us; and let them bring back to us a report of the way by which we shall go up, and of the cities into which we shall enter. (23) And the saying pleased me: and I took of you twelve men, one man of a tribe. (24) And they turned and went up to the mountain, and they came as far as the valley of the cluster, and surveyed it. (25) And they took in their hands of the fruit of the land, and brought it to you, and said, The land is good which the Lord our God gives us. (26) Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the words of the Lord our God. (27) And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us. (28) Whither do we go up? and your brethren drew away your heart, saying, It is a great nation and populous, and mightier than we; and there are cities great and walled up to heaven: moreover we saw there the sons of the giants. (29) And I said to you, Fear not, neither be ye afraid of them; (30) the Lord your God who goes before your face, he shall fight against them together with you effectually, according to all that he wrought for you in the land of Egypt; (31) and in this wilderness which ye saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorite; how the Lord thy God will bear thee as a nursling, as if any man should nurse his child, through all the way which ye have gone until ye came to this place. (32) And in this matter ye believed not the Lord our God, (33) who goes before you in the way to choose you a place, guiding you in fire by night, shewing you the way by which ye go, and a cloud by day. (34) And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and being greatly provoked he sware, saying, (35) Not one of these men shall see this good land, which I sware to their fathers, (36) except Chaleb the son of Jephonne, he shall see it; and to him I will give the land on which he went up, and to his sons, because he attended to the things of the Lord. (37) And the Lord was angry with me for your sake, saying, Neither shalt thou by any means enter therein. (38) Joshua the son of Naue, who stands by thee, he shall enter in there; do thou strengthen him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. (39) And every young child who this day knows not good or evil, —they shall enter therein, and to them I will give it, and they shall inherit it. (40) And ye turned and marched into the wilderness, in the way by the Red Sea. (41) And ye answered and said, We have sinned before the Lord our God; we will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God has commanded us: and having taken every one his weapons of war, and being gathered together, ye went up to the mountain. (42) And the Lord said to me, Tell them, Ye shall not go up, neither shall ye fight, for I am not with you; thus shall ye not be destroyed before your enemies. (43) And I spoke to you, and ye did not hearken to me; and ye transgressed the commandment of the Lord; and ye forced your way and went up into the mountain. (44) And the Amorite who dwelt in that mountain came out to meet you, and pursued you as bees do, and wounded you from Seir to Herma. (45) And ye sat down and wept before the Lord our God, and the Lord hearkened not to your voice, neither did he take heed to you. (46) And ye dwelt in Cades many days, as many days as ye dwelt there.

2

(1) And we turned and departed into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we compassed mount Seir many days. (2) And the Lord said to me, (3) Ye have compassed this mount long enough; turn therefore toward the north. (4) And charge the people, saying, Ye are going through the borders of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they shall fear you, and dread you greatly. (5) Do not engage in war against them, for I will not give you of their land even enough to set your foot upon, for I have given mount Seir to the children of Esau as an inheritance. (6) Buy food of them for money and eat, and ye shall receive water of them by measure for money, and drink. (7) For the Lord our God has blessed thee in every work of thy hands. Consider how thou wentest through that great and terrible wilderness: behold, the Lord thy God has been with thee forty years; thou didst not lack any thing. (8) And we passed by our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the way of Araba from Ælon and from Gesion Gaber; and we turned and passed by the way of the desert of Moab. (9) And the Lord said to me, Do not ye quarrel with the Moabites, and do not engage in war with them; for I will not give you of their land for an inheritance, for I have given Aroer to the children of Lot to inherit. (10) Formerly the Ommin dwelt in it, a great and numerous nation and powerful, like the Enakim. (11) These also shall be accounted Raphain like the Enakim; and the Moabites call them Ommin. (12) And the Chorrhite dwelt in Seir before, and the sons of Esau destroyed them, and utterly consumed them from before them; and they dwelt in their place, as Israel did to the land of his inheritance, which the Lord gave to them. (13) Now then, arise ye, said I, and depart, and cross the valley of Zaret. (14) And the days in which we traveled from Cades Barne till we crossed the valley of Zaret, were thirty and eight years, until the whole generation of the men of war failed, dying out of the camp, as the Lord God sware to them. (15) And the hand of the Lord was upon them to destroy them out of the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. (16) And it came to pass when all the men of war dying out of the midst of the people had fallen, (17) that the Lord spoke to me, saying, (18) Thou shalt pass over this day the borders of Moab to Aroer; (19) and ye shall draw nigh to the children of Amman: do not quarrel with them, nor wage war with them; for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Amman for an inheritance, because I have given it to the children of Lot for an inheritance. (20) It shall be accounted a land of Raphain, for the Raphain dwelt there before, and the Ammanites call them Zochommin. (21) A great nation and populous, and mightier than you, as also the Enakim: yet the Lord destroyed them from before them, and they inherited their land, and they dwelt there instead of them until this day. (22) As they did to the children of Esau that dwell in Seir, even as they destroyed the Chorrhite from before them, and inherited their country, and dwelt therein instead of them until this day. (23) And the Evites who dwell in Asedoth to Gaza, and the Cappadocians who came out of Cappadocia, destroyed them, and dwelt in their room. (24) Now then arise and depart, and pass over the valley of Arnon: behold, I have delivered into thy hands Seon the king of Esebon the Amorite, and his land: begin to inherit it: engage in war with him this day. (25) Begin to put thy terror and thy fear on the face of all the nations under heaven, who shall be troubled when they have heard thy name, and shall be in anguish before thee. (26) And I sent ambassadors from the wilderness of Kedamoth to Seon king of Esebon with peaceable words, saying, (27) I will pass through thy land: I will go by the road, I will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. (28) Thou shalt give me food for money, and I will eat; and thou shalt give me water for money, and I will drink; I will only go through on my feet: (29) as the sons of Esau did to me, who dwelt in Seir, and the Moabites who dwelt in Aroer, until I shall have passed Jordan into the land which the Lord our God gives us. (30) And Seon king of Esebon would not that we should pass by him, because the Lord our God hardened his spirit, and made his heart stubborn, that he might be delivered into thy hands, as on this day. (31) And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have begun to deliver before thee Seon the king of Esebon the Amorite, and his land, and do thou begin to inherit his land. (32) And Seon the king of Esebon came forth to meet us, he and all his people to war at Jassa. (33) And the Lord our God delivered him before our face, and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. (34) And we took possession of all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed every city in succession, and their wives, and their children; we left no living prey. (35) Only we took the cattle captive, and took the spoil of the cities. (36) From Aroer, which is by the brink of the brook of Arnon, and the city which is in the valley, and as far as the mount of Galaad; there was not a city which escaped us: the Lord our God delivered all of them into our hands. (37) Only we did not draw near to the children of Amman, even all the parts bordering on the brook Jaboc, and the cities in the mountain country, as the Lord our God charged us.

3

(1) And we turned and went by the way leading to Basan; and Og the king of Basan came out to meet us, he and all his people, to battle at Edraim. (2) And the Lord said to me, Fear him not, for I have delivered him, and all his people, and all his land, into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the Amorites who dwelt in Esebon. (3) And the Lord our God delivered him into our hands, even Og the king of Basan, and all his people; and we smote him until we left none of his seed. (4) And we mastered all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we took not from them; sixty cities, all the country round about Argob, belonging to king Og in Basan: (5) all strong cities, lofty walls, gates and bars; besides the very many cities of the Pherezites. (6) We utterly destroyed them as we dealt with Seon the king of Esebon, so we utterly destroyed every city in order, and the women and the children, (7) and all the cattle; and we took for a prey to ourselves the spoil of the cities. (8) And we took at that time the land out of the hands of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, extending from the brook of Arnon even unto Aermon. (9) The Phoenicians call Aermon Sanior, but the Amorite has called it Sanir. (10) All the cities of Misor, and all Galaad, and all Basan as far as Elcha and Edraim, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan. (11) For only Og the king of Basan was left of the Raphain: behold, his bed was a bed of iron; behold, it is in the chief city of the children of Ammon; the length of it is nine cubits, and the breadth of it four cubits, according to the cubit of a man. (12) And we inherited that land at that time from Aroer, which is by the border of the torrent Arnon, and half the mount of Galaad; and I gave his cities to Ruben and to Gad. (13) And the rest of Galaad, and all Basan the kingdom of Og I gave to the half-tribe of Manasse, and all the country round about Argob, all that Basan; it shall be accounted the land of Raphain. (14) And Jair the son of Manasse took all the country round about Argob as far as the borders of Gargasi and Machathi: he called them by his name Basan Thavoth Jair until this day. (15) And to Machir I gave Galaad. (16) And to Ruben and to Gad I gave the land under Galaad as far as the brook of Arnon, the border between the brook and as far as Jaboc; the brook is the border to the children Amman. (17) And Araba and Jordan are the boundary of Machanareth, even to the sea of Araba, the salt sea under Asedoth Phasga eastward. (18) And I charged you at that time, saying, The Lord your God has given you this land by lot; arm yourselves, every one that is powerful, and go before your brethren the children of Israel. (19) Only your wives and your children and your cattle (I know that ye have much cattle), let them dwell in your cities which I have given you; (20) until the Lord your God give your brethren rest, as also he has given to you, and they also shall inherit the land, which the Lord our God gives them on the other side of Jordan; then ye shall return, each one to his inheritance which I have given you. (21) And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Your eyes have seen all things, which the Lord our God did to these two kings: so shall the Lord our God do to all the kingdoms against which thou crossest over thither. (22) Ye shall not be afraid of them, because the Lord our God himself shall fight for you. (23) And I besought the Lord at that time, saying, (24) Lord God, thou hast begun to shew to thy servant thy strength, and thy power, and thy mighty hand, and thy high arm: for what God is there in heaven or on the earth, who will do as thou hast done, and according to thy might? (25) I will therefore go over and see this good land that is beyond Jordan, this good mountain and Antilibanus. (26) And the Lord because of you did not regard me, and hearkened not to me; and the Lord said to me, Let it suffice thee, speak not of this matter to me any more. (27) Go up to the top of the quarried rock, and look with thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes, for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. (28) And charge Joshua, and strengthen him, and encourage him; for he shall go before the face of this people, and he shall give them the inheritance of all the land which thou hast seen. (29) And we abode in the valley near the house of Phogor.

4

(1) And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, all that I teach you this day to do: that ye may live, and be multiplied, and that ye may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you. (2) Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, and ye shall not take from it: keep the commandments of the Lord our God, all that I command you this day. (3) Your eyes have seen all that the Lord our God did in the case of Beel-phegor; for every man that went after Beel-phegor, the Lord your God has utterly destroyed him from among you. (4) But ye that kept close to the Lord your God are all alive to-day. (5) Behold, I have shewn you ordinances and judgments as the Lord commanded me, that ye should do so in the land into which ye go to inherit it. (6) And ye shall keep and do them: for this is your wisdom and understanding before all nations, as many as shall hear all these ordinances; and they shall say, Behold, this great nation is a wise and understanding people. (7) For what manner of nation is so great, which has God so near to them as the Lord our God is in all things in whatsoever we may call upon him? (8) And what manner of nation is so great, which has righteous ordinances and judgments according to all this law, which I set before you this day? (9) Take heed to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which thine eyes have seen, and let them not depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; and thou shalt teach thy sons and thy sons’ sons, (10) even the things that happened in the day in which ye stood before the Lord our God in Choreb in the day of the assembly; for the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days which they live upon the earth, and they shall teach their sons. (11) And ye drew nigh and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire up to heaven: there was darkness, blackness, and tempest. (12) And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire a voice of words, which ye heard: and ye saw no likeness, only ye heard a voice. (13) And he announced to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone. (14) And the Lord commanded me at that time, to teach you ordinances and judgments, that ye should do them on the land, into which ye go to inherit it. (15) And take good heed to your hearts, for ye saw no similitude in the day in which the Lord spoke to you in Choreb in the mountain out of the midst of the fire: (16) lest ye transgress, and make to yourselves a carved image, any kind of figure, the likeness of male or female, (17) the likeness of any beast of those that are on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird which flies under heaven, (18) the likeness of any reptile which creeps on the earth, the likeness of any fish of those which are in the waters under the earth; (19) and lest having looked up to the sky, and having seen the sun and the moon and the stars, and all the heavenly bodies, thou shouldest go astray and worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God has distributed to all the nations under heaven. (20) But God took you, and led you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as at this day. (21) And the Lord God was angry with me for the things said by you, and sware that I should not go over this Jordan, and that I should not enter into the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. (22) For I am to die in this land, and shall not pass over this Jordan; but ye are to pass over, and shall inherit this good land. (23) Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord our God, which he made with you, and ye transgress, and make to yourselves a graven image of any of the things concerning which the Lord thy God commanded thee. (24) For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (25) And when thou shalt have begotten sons, and shalt have sons’ sons, and ye shall have dwelt a long time on the land, and shall have transgressed, and made a graven image of any thing, and shall have done wickedly before the Lord your God to provoke him; (26) I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that ye shall surely perish from off the land, into which ye go across Jordan to inherit it there; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly cut off. (27) And the Lord shall scatter you among all nations, and ye shall be left few in number among all the nations, among which the Lord shall bring you. (28) And ye shall there serve other gods, the works of the hands of men, wood and stones, which cannot see, nor can they hear, nor eat, nor smell. (29) And there ye shall seek the Lord your God, and ye shall find him whenever ye shall seek him with all your heart, and with all your soul in your affliction. (30) And all these things shall come upon thee in the last days, and thou shalt turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice. (31) Because the Lord thy God is a God of pity: he will not forsake thee, nor destroy thee; he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers, which the Lord sware to them. (32) Ask of the former days which were before thee, from the day when God created man upon the earth, and beginning at the one end of heaven to the other end of heaven, if there has happened any thing like to this great event, if such a thing has been heard: (33) if a nation have heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard and hast lived; (34) if God has assayed to go and take to himself a nation out of the midst of another nation with trial, and with signs, and with wonders, and with war, and with a mighty hand, and with a high arm, and with great sights, according to all the things which the Lord our God did in Egypt in thy sight. (35) So that thou shouldest know that the Lord thy God he is God, and there is none beside him. (36) His voice was made audible from heaven to instruct thee, and he shewed thee upon the earth his great fire, and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. (37) Because he loved thy fathers, he also chose you their seed after them, and he brought thee himself with his great strength out of Egypt, (38) to destroy nations great and stronger than thou before thy face, to bring thee in, to give thee their land to inherit, as thou hast it this day. (39) An thou shalt know this day, and shalt consider in thine heart, that the Lord thy God he is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath, and there is none else but he. (40) And keep ye his commandments, and his ordinances, all that I command you this day; that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, that ye may be long-lived upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for ever. (41) Then Moses separated three cities beyond Jordan on the east, (42) that the slayer might flee thither, who should have slain his neighbour unintentionally, and should not have hated him in times past, and he shall flee to one of these cities and live: (43) Bosor in the wilderness, in the plain country of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad belonging to Gad, and Gaulon in Basan belonging to Manasse. (44) This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. (45) These are the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt: (46) on the other side of Jordan, in the valley near the house of Phogor, in the land of Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel smote when they came out of the land of Egypt. (47) And they inherited his land, and the land of Og king of Basan, two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan eastward. (48) From Aroer, which is on the border of the brook Arnon, even to the mount of Seon, which is Aermon. (49) All Araba beyond Jordan eastward under Asedoth hewn in the rock.

5

(1) And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, Israel, the ordinances and judgments, all that I speak in your ears this day, and ye shall learn them, and observe to do them. (2) The Lord your God made a covenant with you in Choreb. (3) The Lord did not make this covenant with your fathers, but with you: ye are all here alive this day. (4) The Lord spoke to you face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire. (5) And I stood between the Lord and you at that time to report to you the words of the Lord, (because ye were afraid before the fire, and ye went not up to the mountain) saying, (6) I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (7) Thou shalt have no other gods before my face. (8) Thou shalt not make to thyself an image, nor likeness of any thing, whatever things are in the heaven above, and whatever are in the earth beneath, and whatever are in the waters under the earth. (9) Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor shalt thou serve them; for I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation to them that hate me, (10) and doing mercifully to thousands of them that love me, and that keep my commandments. (11) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord thy God will certainly not acquit him that takes his name in vain. (12) Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God commanded thee. (13) Six days thou shalt work, and thou shalt do all thy works; (14) but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do in it no work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and the stranger that sojourns in the midst of thee; that thy man-servant may rest, and thy maid, and thine ox, as well as thou. (15) And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God brought thee out thence with a mighty hand, and a high arm: therefore the Lord appointed thee to keep the sabbath day and to sanctify it. (16) Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God commanded thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long upon the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee. (17) Thou shalt not commit murder. (18) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (19) Thou shalt not steal. (20) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (21) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, nor his field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any beast of his, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (22) These words the Lord spoke to all the assembly of you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire—there was darkness, blackness, storm, a loud voice—and he added no more, and he wrote them on two tables of stone, and he gave them to me. (23) And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the fire, for the mountain burned with fire, that ye came to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders: (24) and ye said, Behold, the Lord our God has shewn us his glory, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: this day we have seen that God shall speak to man, and he shall live. (25) And now let us not die, for this great fire will consume us, if we shall hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, and we shall die. (26) For what flesh is there which has heard the voice of the living God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have heard, and shall live? (27) Do thou draw near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and thou shalt speak to us all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall speak to thee, and we will hear, and do. (28) And the Lord heard the voice of your words as ye spoke to me; and the Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, even all things that they have said to thee. They have well said all that they have spoken. (29) O that there were such a heart in them, that they should fear me and keep my commands always, that it might be well with them and with their sons for ever. (30) Go, say to them, Return ye to your houses; (31) but stand thou here with me, and I will tell thee all the commands, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, and let them do so in the land which I give them for an inheritance. (32) And ye shall take heed to do as the Lord thy God commanded thee; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, (33) according to all the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in it, that he may give thee rest; and that it may be well with thee, and ye may prolong your days on the land which ye shall inherit.

6

(1) And these are the commands, and the ordinances, and the judgments, as many as the Lord our God gave commandment to teach you to do so in the land on which ye enter to inherit it. (2) That ye may fear the Lord your God, keep ye all his ordinances, and his commandments, which I command thee to-day, thou, and thy sons, and thy sons’ sons, all the days of thy life, that ye may live many days. (3) Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do them, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may be greatly multiplied, as the Lord God of thy fathers said that he would give thee a land flowing with milk and honey: and these are the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. (4) Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. (5) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. (6) And these words, all that I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart and in thy soul. (7) And thou shalt teach them to thy children, and thou shalt speak of them sitting in the house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising up. (8) And thou shalt fasten them for a sign upon thy hand, and it shall be immoveable before thine eyes. (9) And ye shall write them on the lintels of your houses and of your gates. (10) And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware to thy fathers, to Abraam, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and beautiful cities which thou didst not build, (11) houses full of all good things which thou didst not fill, wells dug in the rock which thou didst not dig, vineyards and oliveyards which thou didst not plant, then having eaten and been filled, (12) beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God that brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (13) Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; and thou shalt cleave to him, and by his name thou shalt swear. (14) Go ye not after other gods of the gods of the nations round about you; (15) for the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is a jealous God, lest the Lord thy God be very angry with thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. (16) Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as ye tempted him in the temptation. (17) Thou shalt by all means keep the commands of the Lord thy God, the testimonies, and the ordinances, which he commanded thee. (18) And thou shalt do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord thy God, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and inherit the good land, which the Lord sware to your fathers, (19) to chase all thine enemies from before thy face, as the Lord said. (20) And it shall come to pass when thy son shall ask thee at a future time, saying, What are the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded us? (21) Then shalt thou say to thy son, We were slaves to Pharao in the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought us forth thence with a mighty hand, and with a high arm. (22) And the Lord wrought signs and great and grievous wonders in Egypt, on Pharao and on his house before us. (23) And he brought us out thence to give us this land, which he sware to give to our fathers. (24) And the Lord charged us to observe all these ordinances; to fear the Lord our God, that it may be well with us for ever, that we may live, as even to-day. (25) And there shall be mercy to us, if we take heed to keep all these commands before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.

7

(1) And when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land, into which thou goest to possess it, and shall remove great nations from before thee, the Chettite, and Gergesite, and Amorite, and Chananite, and Pherezite, and Evite, and Jebusite, seven nations more numerous and stronger than you, (2) and the Lord thy God shall deliver them into thy hands, then thou shalt smite them: thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt not make a covenant with them, neither shall ye pity them: (3) neither shall ye contract marriages with them: thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, and thou shalt not take his daughter to thy son. (4) For he will draw away thy son from me, and he will serve other gods; and the Lord will be very angry with you, and will soon utterly destroy thee. (5) But thus shall ye do to them; ye shall destroy their altars, and shall break down their pillars, and shall cut down their groves, and shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods. (6) For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God; and the Lord thy God chose thee to be to him a peculiar people beyond all nations that are upon the face of the earth. (7) It was not because ye are more numerous than all other nations that the Lord preferred you, and the Lord made choice of you: for ye are fewer in number than all other nations. (8) But because the Lord loved you, and as keeping the oath which he sware to your fathers, the Lord brought you out with a strong hand, and the Lord redeemed thee from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt. (9) Thou shalt know therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, a faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him, and for those that keep his commandments to a thousand generations, (10) and who recompenses them that hate him to their face, to destroy them utterly; and will not be slack with them that hate him: he will recompense them to their face. (11) Thou shalt keep therefore the commands, and the ordinances, and these judgments, which I command thee this day to do. (12) And it shall come to pass when ye shall have heard these ordinances, and shall have kept and done them, that the Lord thy God shall keep for thee the covenant and the mercy, which he sware to your fathers. (13) And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; and he will bless the off-spring of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, on the land which the Lord sware to thy fathers to give to thee. (14) Thou shalt be blessed beyond all nations; there shall not be among you an impotent or barren one, or among thy cattle. (15) And the Lord thy God shall remove from thee all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou hast seen, and all that thou hast known, will he lay upon thee; but he will lay them upon all that hate thee. (16) And thou shalt eat all the spoils of the nations which the Lord thy God gives thee; thine eye shall not spare them, and thou shalt not serve their gods; for this is an offence to thee. (17) But if thou shouldest say in thine heart, This nation is greater than I, how shall I be able to destroy them utterly? (18) thou shalt not fear them; thou shalt surely remember all that the Lord thy God did to Pharao and to all the Egyptians: (19) the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, those signs and great wonders, the strong hand, and the high arm; how the Lord thy God brought thee forth: so the Lord your God will do to all the nations, whom thou fearest in their presence. (20) And the Lord thy God shall send against them the hornets, until they that are left and they that are hidden from thee be utterly destroyed. (21) Thou shalt not be wounded before them, because the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is a great and powerful God. (22) And the Lord thy God shall consume these nations before thee by little and little: thou shalt not be able to consume them speedily, lest the land become desert, and the wild beasts of the field be multiplied against thee. (23) And the Lord thy God shall deliver them into thy hands, and thou shalt destroy them with a great destruction, until ye shall have utterly destroyed them. (24) And he shall deliver their kings into your hands, and ye shall destroy their name from that place; none shall stand up in opposition before thee, until thou shalt have utterly destroyed them. (25) Ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods: thou shalt not covet their silver, neither shalt thou take to thyself gold from them, lest thou shouldest offend thereby, because it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. (26) And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thine house, so shouldest thou be an accursed thing like it; thou shalt utterly hate it, and altogether abominate it, because it is an accursed thing.

8

(1) Ye shall observe to do all the commands which I charge you to-day, that ye may live and be multiplied, and enter in and inherit the land, which the Lord your God sware to give to your fathers. (2) And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee in the wilderness, that he might afflict thee, and try thee, and that the things in thine heart might be made manifest, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. (3) And he afflicted thee and straitened thee with hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thy fathers knew not; that he might teach thee that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God shall man live. (4) Thy garments grew not old from off thee, thy shoes were not worn from off thee, thy feet were not painfully hardened, lo! these forty years. (5) And thou shalt know in thine heart, that as if any man should chasten his son, so the Lord thy God will chasten thee. (6) And thou shalt keep the commands of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. (7) For the Lord thy God will bring thee into a good and extensive land, where there are torrents of waters, and fountains of deep places issuing through the plains and through the mountains: (8) a land of wheat and barley, wherein are vines, figs, pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; (9) a land on which thou shalt not eat thy bread with poverty, and thou shalt not want any thing upon it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of its mountains thou shalt dig brass. (10) And thou shalt eat and be filled, and shalt bless the Lord thy God on the good land, which he has given thee. (11) Take heed to thyself that thou forget not the Lord thy God, so as not to keep his commands, and his judgments, and ordinances, which I command thee this day: (12) lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them; (13) and thy oxen and thy sheep are multiplied to thee, and thy silver and thy gold are multiplied to thee, and all thy possessions are multiplied to thee, (14) thou shouldest be exalted in heart, and forget the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: (15) who brought thee through that great and terrible wilderness, where is the biting serpent, and scorpion, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee a fountain of water out of the flinty rock: (16) who fed thee with manna in the wilderness, which thou knewest not, and thy fathers knew not; that he might afflict thee, and thoroughly try thee, and do thee good in thy latter days. (17) Lest thou shouldest say in thine heart, My strength, and the power of mine hand have wrought for me this great wealth. (18) But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, that he gives thee strength to get wealth; even that he may establish his covenant, which the Lord sware to thy fathers, as at this day. (19) And it shall come to pass if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and shouldest go after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall surely perish. (20) As also the other nations which the Lord God destroys before your face, so shall ye perish, because ye hearkened not to the voice of the Lord your God.

9

(1) Hear, O Israel: Thou goest this day across Jordan to inherit nations greater and stronger than yourselves, cities great and walled up to heaven; (2) a people great and many and tall, the sons of Enac, whom thou knowest, and concerning whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Enac? (3) And thou shalt know to-day, that the Lord thy God he shall go before thy face: he is a consuming fire; he shall destroy them, and he shall turn them back before thee, and shall destroy them quickly, as the Lord said to thee. (4) Speak not in thine heart, when the Lord thy God has destroyed these nations before thy face, saying, For my righteousness the Lord brought me in to inherit this good land. (5) Not for thy righteousness, nor for the holiness of thy heart, dost thou go in to inherit their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord will destroy them from before thee, and that he may establish the covenant, which the Lord sware to our fathers, to Abraam, and to Isaac, and to Jacob. (6) And thou shalt know to-day, that it is not for thy righteousnesses the Lord thy God gives thee this good land to inherit, for thou art a stiff-necked people. (7) Remember, forget not, how much thou provokedst the Lord thy God in the wilderness: from the day that ye came forth out of Egypt, even till ye came into this place, ye continued to be disobedient toward the Lord. (8) Also in Choreb ye provoked the Lord, and the Lord was angry with you to destroy you; (9) when I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant, which the Lord made with you, and I was in the mountain forty days and forty nights, I ate no bread and drank no water. (10) And the Lord gave me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and on them there had been written all the words which the Lord spoke to you in the mountain in the day of the assembly. (11) And it came to pass after forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant. (12) And the Lord said to me, Arise, go down quickly from hence, for thy people whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have transgressed; they have gone aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them, and have made themselves a molten image. (13) And the Lord spoke to me, saying, I have spoken to thee once and again, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people. (14) And now suffer me utterly to destroy them, and I will blot out their name from under heaven, and will make of thee a nation great and strong, and more numerous than this. (15) And I turned and went down from the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to heaven; and the two tables of the testimonies were in my two hands. (16) And when I saw that ye had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten image, and had gone astray out of the way, which the Lord commanded you to keep; (17) then I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before you. (18) And I made my petition before the Lord as also at the first forty days and forty nights: I ate no bread and drank no water, on account of all your sins which ye sinned in doing evil before the Lord God to provoke him. (19) And I was greatly terrified because of the wrath and anger, because the Lord was provoked with you utterly to destroy you; yet the Lord hearkened to me at this time also. (20) And he was angry with Aaron to destroy him utterly, and I prayed for Aaron also at that time. (21) And your sin which ye had made, even the calf, I took, and burnt it with fire, and pounded it and ground it down till it became fine; and it became like dust, and I cast the dust into the brook that descended from the mountain. (22) Also in the burning, and in the temptation, and at the graves of lust, ye provoked the Lord. (23) And when the Lord sent you forth from Cades Barne, saying, Go up and inherit the land which I give to you, then ye disobeyed the word of the Lord your God, and believed him not, and hearkened not to his voice. (24) Ye were disobedient in the things relating to the Lord from the day in which he became known to you. (25) And I prayed before the Lord forty days and forty nights, the number that I prayed before, for the Lord said that he would utterly destroy you. (26) And I prayed to God, and said, O Lord, King of gods, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, whom thou didst redeem, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt with thy great power, and with thy strong hand, and with thy high arm. (27) Remember Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thyself: look not upon the hardness of heart of this people, and their impieties, and their sins. (28) Lest the inhabitants of the land whence thou broughtest us out speak, saying, Because the Lord could not bring them into the land of which he spoke to them, and because he hated them, has he brought them forth to slay them in the wilderness. (29) And these are thy people and thy portion, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt with thy great strength, and with thy mighty hand, and with thy high arm.

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(1) At that time the Lord said to me, Hew for thyself two stone tables as the first, and come up to me into the mountain, and thou shalt make for thyself an ark of wood. (2) And thou shalt write upon the tables the words which were on the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them into the ark. (3) So I made an ark of boards of incorruptible wood, and I hewed tables of stone like the first, and I went up to the mountain, and the two tables were in my hand. (4) And he wrote upon the tables according to the first writing the ten commandments, which the Lord spoke to you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire, and the Lord gave them to me. (5) And I turned and came down from the mountain, and I put the tables into the ark which I had made; and there they were, as the Lord commanded me. (6) And the children of Israel departed from Beeroth of the sons of Jakim to Misadai: there Aaron died, and there he was buried, and Eleazar his son was priest in his stead. (7) Thence they departed to Gadgad; and from Gadgad to Etebatha, a land wherein are torrents of water. (8) At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand near before the Lord, to minister and bless in his name to this day. (9) Therefore the Levites have no part nor inheritance among their brethren; the Lord himself is their inheritance, as he said to them. (10) And I remained in the mount forty days and forty nights: and the Lord heard me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy you. (11) And the Lord said to me, Go, set out before this people, and let them go in and inherit the land, which I sware to their fathers to give to them. (12) And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; (13) to keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and his ordinances, all that I charge thee to-day, that it may be well with thee? (14) Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord thy God, the earth and all things that are in it. (15) Only the Lord chose your fathers to love them, and he chose out their seed after them, even you, beyond all nations, as at this day. (16) Therefore ye shall circumcise the hardness of your heart, and ye shall not harden your neck. (17) For the Lord your God, he is God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, and strong, and terrible God, who does not accept persons, nor will he by any means accept a bribe: (18) executing judgment for the stranger and orphan and widow, and he loves the stranger to give him food and raiment. (19) And ye shall love the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (20) Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt cleave to him, and shalt swear by his name. (21) He is thy boast, and he is thy God, who has wrought in the midst of thee these great and glorious things, which thine eyes have seen. (22) With seventy souls your fathers went down into Egypt; but the Lord thy God has made thee as the stars of heaven in multitude.

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(1) Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and shalt observe his appointments, and his ordinances, and his commandments, and his judgments, always. (2) And ye shall know this day; for I speak not to your children, who know not and have not seen the discipline of the Lord thy God, and his wonderful works, and his strong hand, and his high arm, (3) and his miracles, and his wonders, which he wrought in the midst of Egypt on Pharao king of Egypt, and all his land; (4) and what he did to the host of the Egyptians, and to their chariots, and their cavalry, and their host; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overwhelm the face of them as they pursued after you, and the Lord destroyed them until this day; (5) and all the things which he did to you in the wilderness until ye came into this place; (6) and all the things that he did to Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab the son of Ruben, whom the earth opening her mouth swallowed up, and their houses, and their tents, and all their substance that was with them, in the midst of all Israel: (7) for your eyes have seen all the mighty works of the Lord, which he wrought among you to-day. (8) And ye shall keep all his commandments, as many as I command thee to-day, that ye may live, and be multiplied, and that ye may go in and inherit the land, into which ye go across Jordan to inherit it: (9) that ye may live long upon the land, which the Lord sware to your fathers to give to them, and to their seed after them, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) For the land into which thou goest to inherit it, is not as the land of Egypt, whence ye came out, whensoever they sow the seed, and water it with their feet, as a garden of herbs: (11) but the land into which thou goest to inherit it, is a land of mountains and plains; it shall drink water of the rain of heaven. (12) A land which the Lord thy God surveys continually, the eyes of the Lord thy God are upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. (13) Now if ye will indeed hearken to all the commands which I charge thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to serve him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, (14) then he shall give to thy land the early and latter rain in its season, and thou shalt bring in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. (15) And he shall give food in thy fields to thy cattle; and when thou hast eaten and art full, (16) take heed to thyself that thy heart be not puffed up, and ye transgress, and serve other gods, and worship them: (17) and the Lord be angry with you, and restrain the heaven; and there shall not be rain, and the earth shall not yield its fruit, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land, which the Lord has given you. (18) And ye shall store these words in your heart and in your soul, and ye shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and it shall be fixed before your eyes. (19) And ye shall teach them to your children, so as to speak about them when thou sittest in the house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou sleepest, and when thou risest up. (20) And ye shall write them on the lintels of your houses, and on your gates; (21) that your days may be long, and the days of your children, upon the land which the Lord sware to your fathers to give to them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. (22) And it shall come to pass that if ye will indeed hearken to all these commands, which I charge thee to observe this day, to love the Lord our God, and to walk in all his ways, and to cleave close to him; (23) then the Lord shall cast out all these nations before you, and ye shall inherit great nations and stronger than yourselves. (24) Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be your; from the wilderness and Antilibanus, and from the great river, the river Euphrates, even as far as the west sea shall be your coasts. (25) No one shall stand before you; and the Lord your God will put the fear of you and the dread of you on the face of all the land, on which ye shall tread, as he told you. (26) Behold, I set before you this day the blessing and the curse; (27) the blessing, if ye hearken to the commands of the Lord your God, all that I command you this day; (28) and the curse, if ye do not hearken to the commands of the Lord our God, as many as I command you this day, and ye wander from the way which I have commanded you, having gone to serve other gods, which ye know not. (29) And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land into which thou goest over to inherit it, then thou shalt put blessing on mount Garizin, and the curse upon mount Gaebal. (30) Lo! are not these beyond Jordan, behind, westward in the land of Chanaan, which lies westward near Golgol, by the high oak? (31) For ye are passing over Jordan, to go in and inherit the land, which the Lord our God gives you to inherit always, and ye shall dwell in it. (32) And ye shall take heed to do all his ordinances, and these judgments, as many as I set before you to-day.

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(1) And these are the ordinances and the judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you for an inheritance, all the days which ye live upon the land. (2) Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which they served their gods, whose land ye inherit, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under the thick tree. (3) And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place. (4) Ye shall not do so to the Lord your God. (5) But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose in one of your cities to name his name there, and to be called upon, ye shall even seek him out and go thither. (6) And ye shall carry thither your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your first-fruits, and your vowed-offerings, and your freewill-offerings, and your offerings of thanksgiving, the first-born of your herds, and of your flocks. (7) And ye shall eat there before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all the things on which ye shall lay your hand, ye and your houses, as the Lord your God has blessed you. (8) Ye shall not do altogether as we do here to-day, every man that which is pleasing in his own sight. (9) For hitherto ye have not arrived at the rest and the inheritance, which the Lord our God gives you. (10) And ye shall go over Jordan, and shall dwell in the land, which the Lord our God takes as an inheritance for you; and he shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye shall dwell safely. (11) And there shall be a place which the Lord thy God shall choose for his name to be called there, thither shall ye bring all things that I order you to-day; your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and every choice gift of yours, whatsoever ye shall vow to the Lord your God. (12) And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is at your gates; because he has no portion or inheritance with you. (13) Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy whole-burnt-offerings in any place which thou shalt see; (14) save in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, in one of thy tribes, there shall ye offer your whole-burnt-offerings, and there shalt thou do all things whatsoever I charge thee this day. (15) But thou shalt kill according to all thy desire, and shalt eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he has given thee in every city; the unclean that is within thee and the clean shall eat it on equal terms, as the doe or the stag. (16) Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water. (17) Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy cities the tithe of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil, the first-born of thine herd and of thy flock, and all your vows as many as ye shall have vowed, and your thank-offerings, and the first-fruits of thine hands. (18) But before the Lord thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the stranger that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, on whatsoever thou shalt lay thine hand. (19) Take heed to thyself that thou do not desert the Levite all the time that thou livest upon the earth. (20) And if the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy borders, as he said to thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; if thy soul should desire to eat flesh, thou shalt eat flesh according to all the desire of thy soul. (21) And if the place be far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, that his name be called upon it, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which God shall have given thee, even as I commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy cities according to the desire of thy soul. (22) As the doe and the stag are eaten, so shalt thou eat it; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner. (23) Take diligent heed that thou eat no blood, for blood is the life of it; the life shall not be eaten with the flesh. (24) Ye shall not eat it; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water. (25) Thou shalt not eat it, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee, if thou shalt do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God. (26) But thou shalt take thy holy things, if thou hast any, and thy vowed-offerings, and come to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name named upon it. (27) And thou shalt sacrifice thy whole-burnt-offerings, thou shalt offer the flesh upon the altar of the Lord thy God; but the blood of thy sacrifices thou shalt pour out at the foot of the altar of the Lord thy God, but the flesh thou shalt eat. (28) Beware and hearken, and thou shalt do all the commands which I charge thee, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons for ever, if thou shalt do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord thy God. (29) And if the Lord thy God shall utterly destroy the nations, to whom thou goest in thither to inherit their land, from before thee, and thou shalt inherit it, and dwell in their land; (30) take heed to thyself that thou seek not to follow them after they are destroyed before thee, saying, How do these nations act towards their gods? I will do likewise. (31) Thou shalt not do so to thy God; for they have sacrificed to their gods the abominations of the Lord which he hates, for they burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods. (32) Every word that I command you this day, it shalt thou observe to do: thou shalt not add to it, nor diminish from it.

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(1) And if there arise within thee a prophet, or one who dreams a dream, and he gives thee a sign or a wonder, (2) and the sign or the wonder come to pass which he spoke to thee, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye know not; (3) ye shall not hearken to the words of that prophet, or the dreamer of that dream, because the Lord thy God tries you, to know whether ye love your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) Ye shall follow the Lord your God, and fear him, and ye shall hear his voice, and attach yourselves to him. (5) And that prophet or that dreamer of a dream, shall die; for he has spoken to make thee err from the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, who redeemed thee from bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in: so shalt thou abolish the evil from among you. (6) And if thy brother by thy father or mother, or thy son, or daughter, or thy wife in thy bosom, or friend who is equal to thine own soul, entreat thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, (7) of the gods of the nations that are round about you, who are near thee or at a distance from thee, from one end of the earth to the other; (8) thou shalt not consent to him, neither shalt thou hearken to him; and thine eye shall not spare him, thou shalt feel no regret for him, neither shalt thou at all protect him: (9) thou shalt surely report concerning him, and thy hands shall be upon him among the first to slay him, and the hands of all the people at the last. (10) And they shall stone him with stones, and he shall die, because he sought to draw thee away from the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (11) And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not again do according to this evil thing among you. (12) And if in one of thy cities which the Lord God gives thee to dwell therein, thou shalt hear men saying, (13) Evil men have gone out from you, and have caused all the inhabitants of their land to fall away, saying, Let us go and worship other gods, whom ye knew not, (14) then thou shalt enquire and ask, and search diligently, and behold, if the thing is clearly true, and this abomination has taken place among you, (15) thou shalt utterly destroy all the dwellers in that land with the edge of the sword; ye shall solemnly curse it, and all things in it. (16) And all its spoils thou shalt gather into its public ways, and thou shalt burn the city with fire, and all its spoils publicly before the Lord thy God; and it shall be uninhabited for ever, it shall not be built again. (17) And there shall nothing of the cursed thing cleave to thy hand, that the Lord may turn from his fierce anger, and shew thee mercy, and pity thee, and multiply thee, as he sware to thy fathers; (18) if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, all that I charge thee this day, to do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God.

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(1) Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not make any baldness between you eyes for the dead. (2) For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God, and the Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a peculiar people to himself of all the nations on the face of the earth. (3) Ye shall not eat any abominable thing. (4) These are the beasts which ye shall eat; the calf of the herd, and lamb of the sheep, and kid of the goats; (5) the stag, and doe, and pygarg, and wild goat, and camelopard. (6) Every beast that divides the hoofs, and makes claws of two divisions, and that chews the cud among beasts, these ye shall eat. (7) And these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, and of those that divide the hoofs, and make distinct claws; the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit; because they chew the cud, and do not divide the hoof, these are unclean to you. (8) And as for the swine, because he divides the hoof, and makes claws of the hoof, yet he chews not the cud, he is unclean to you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, ye shall not touch their dead bodies. (9) And these ye shall eat of all that are in the water, ye shall eat all that have fins and scales. (10) And all that have not fins and scales ye shall not eat; they are unclean to you. (11) Ye shall eat every clean bird. (12) And these of them ye shall not eat; the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the sea-eagle, (13) and the vulture, and the kite and the like to it, (14) (15) and the sparrow, and the owl, and the seamew, (16) and the heron, and the swan, and the stork, (17) and the cormorant, and the hawk, and its like, and the hoopoe, and the raven, (18) and the pelican, and the diver and the like to it, and the red-bill and the bat. (19) All winged animals that creep are unclean to you; ye shall not eat of them. (20) Ye shall eat every clean bird. (21) Ye shall eat nothing that dies of itself; it shall be given to the sojourner in thy cities and he shall eat it, or thou shalt sell it to a stranger, because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a lamb in his mother’s milk. (22) Thou shalt tithe a tenth of all the produce of thy seed, the fruit of thy field year by year. (23) And thou shalt eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name called there; ye shall bring the tithe of thy corn and of thy wine, and of thine oil, the first-born of thy herd and of thy flock, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. (24) And if the journey be too far for thee, and thou art not able to bring them, because the place is far from thee which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name called there, because the Lord thy God will bless thee; (25) then thou shalt sell them for money, and thou shalt take the money in thy hands, and thou shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose. (26) And thou shalt give the money for whatsoever thy soul shall desire, for oxen or for sheep, or for wine, or thou shalt lay it out on strong drink, or on whatsoever thy soul may desire, and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice and thy house, (27) and the Levite that is in thy cities, because he has not a portion or inheritance with thee. (28) After three years thou shalt bring out all the tithes of thy fruits, in that year thou shalt lay it up in thy cities. (29) And the Levite shall come, because he has no part or lot with thee, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy cities; and they shall eat and be filled, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works which thou shalt do.

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(1) Every seven years thou shalt make a release. (2) And this is the ordinance of the release: thou shalt remit every private debt which thy neighbour owes thee, and thou shalt not ask payment of it from thy brother; for it has been called a release to the Lord thy God. (3) Of a stranger thou shalt ask again whatsoever he has of thine, but to thy brother thou shalt remit his debt to thee. (4) For thus there shall not be a poor person in the midst of thee, for the Lord thy God will surely bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee by inheritance, that thou shouldest inherit it. (5) And if ye shall indeed hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep and do all these commandments, as many as I charge thee this day, (6) (for the Lord thy God has blessed thee in the way of which he spoke to thee,)then thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. (7) And if there shall be in the midst of thee a poor man of thy brethren in one of thy cities in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, neither shalt thou by any means close up thine hand from thy brother who is in want. (8) Thou shalt surely open thine hands to him, and shalt lend to him as much as he wants according to his need. (9) Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws nigh; and thine eye shall be evil to thy brother that is in want, and thou shalt not give to him, and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in thee. (10) Thou shalt surely give to him, and thou shalt lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and thou shalt not grudge in thine heart as thou givest to him, because on this account the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all things on which thou shalt lay thine hand. (11) For the poor shall not fail off thy land, therefore I charge thee to do this thing, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hands to thy poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon thy land. (12) And if thy brother or sister, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold to thee, he shall serve thee six years, and in the seventh year thou shalt send him out free from thee. (13) And when thou shalt send him out free from thee, thou shalt not send him out empty. (14) Thou shalt give him provision for the way from thy flock, and from thy corn, and from thy wine; as the Lord thy God has blessed thee, thou shalt give to him. (15) And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee from thence; therefore I charge thee to do this thing. (16) And if he should say to thee, I will not go out from thee, because he continues to love thee and thy house, because he is well with thee; (17) then thou shalt take an awl, and bore his ear through to the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever; and in like manner shalt thou do to thy maid-servant. (18) It shall not seem hard to thee when they are sent out free from thee, because thy servant has served thee six years according to the annual hire of a hireling; so the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all things whatsoever thou mayest do. (19) Every first-born that shall be born among thy kine and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify the males to the Lord thy God; thou shalt not work with thy first-born calf, and thou shalt not shear the first-born of thy sheep. (20) Thou shalt eat it before the Lord year by year in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy house. (21) And if there be in it a blemish, if it be lame or blind, an evil blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it to the Lord thy God. (22) Thou shalt eat it in thy cities; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner, as the doe or the stag. (23) Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out on the earth as water.

16

(1) Observe the month of new corn, and thou shalt sacrifice the passover to the Lord thy God; because in the month of new corn thou camest out of Egypt by night. (2) And thou shalt sacrifice the passover to the Lord thy God, sheep and oxen in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name called upon it. (3) Thou shalt not eat leaven with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread with it, bread of affliction, because ye came forth out of Egypt in haste; that ye may remember the day of your coming forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. (4) Leaven shall not be seen with thee in all thy borders for seven days, and there shall not be left of the flesh which thou shalt sacrifice at even on the first day until the morning. (5) thou shalt not have power to sacrifice the passover in any of the cities, which the Lord thy God gives thee. (6) But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, to have his name called there, thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even at the setting of the sun, at the time when thou camest out of Egypt. (7) And thou shalt boil and roast and eat it in the place, which the Lord thy God shall choose; and thou shalt return in the morning, and go to thy house. (8) Six days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a holiday, a feast to the Lord thy God: thou shalt not do in it any work, save what must be done by any one. (9) Seven weeks shalt thou number to thyself; when thou hast begun to put the sickle to the corn, thou shalt begin to number seven weeks. (10) And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks to the Lord thy God, accordingly as thy hand has power in as many things as the Lord thy God shall give thee. (11) And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which dwells among you, in whatsoever place the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be called there. (12) And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and thou shalt observe and do these commands. (13) Thou shalt keep for thyself the feast of tabernacles seven days, when thou gatherest in thy produce from thy corn-floor and thy wine-press. (14) And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow that is in thy cities. (15) Seven days shalt thou keep a feast to the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself; and if the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy fruits, and in every work of thy hands, then thou shalt rejoice. (16) Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: thou shalt not appear before the Lord thy God empty. (17) Each one according to his ability, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he has given thee. (18) Thou shalt make for thyself judges and officers in thy cities, which the Lord thy God gives thee in thy tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment: (19) they shall not wrest judgment, nor favour persons, nor receive a gift; for gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. (20) Thou shalt justly pursue justice, that ye may live, and go in and inherit the land which the Lord thy God gives thee. (21) Thou shalt not plant for thyself a grove; thou shalt not plant for thyself any tree near the altar of thy God. (22) Thou shalt not set up for thyself a pillar, which the Lord thy God hates.

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(1) Thou shalt not sacrifice to the Lord thy God a calf or a sheep, in which there is a blemish, or any evil thing; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. (2) And if there should be found in any one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God gives thee, a man or a woman who shall do that which is evil before the Lord thy God, so as to transgress his covenant, (3) and they should go and serve other gods, and worship them, the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which he commanded thee not to do, (4) and it be told thee, and thou shalt have enquired diligently, and, behold, the thing really took place, this abomination has been done in Israel; (5) then shalt thou bring out that man, or that woman, and ye shall stone them with stones, and they shall die. (6) He shall die on the testimony of two or three witnesses; a man who is put to death shall not be put to death for one witness. (7) And the hand of the witnesses shall be upon him among the first to put him to death, and the hand of the people at the last; so shalt thou remove the evil one from among yourselves. (8) And if a matter shall be too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, and between cause and cause, and between stroke and stroke, and between contradiction and contradiction, matters of judgment in your cities; (9) then thou shalt arise and go up to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and thou shalt come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days, and they shall search out the matter and report the judgment to thee. (10) And thou shalt act according to the thing which they shall report to thee out of the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and thou shalt observe to do all whatsoever shall have been by law appointed to thee. (11) Thou shalt do according to the law and to the judgment which they shall declare to thee: thou shalt not swerve to the right hand or to the left from any sentence which they shall report to thee. (12) And the man whosoever shall act in haughtiness, so as not to hearken to the priest who stands to minister in the name of the Lord thy God, or the judge who shall preside in those days, that man shall die, and thou shalt remove the evil one out of Israel. (13) And all the people shall hear and fear, and shall no more commit impiety. (14) And when thou shalt enter into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, and shalt inherit it and dwell in it, and shalt say, I will set a ruler over me, as also the other nations round about me; (15) thou shalt surely set over thee the ruler whom the Lord God shall choose: of thy brethren thou shalt set over thee a ruler; thou shalt not have power to set over thee a stranger, because he is not thy brother. (16) For he shall not multiply to himself horses, and he shall by no means turn the people back to Egypt, lest he should multiply to himself horses; for the Lord said, Ye shall not any more turn back by that way. (17) And he shall not multiply to himself wives, lest his heart turn away; and he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. (18) And when he shall be established in his government, then shall he write for himself this repetition of the law into a book by the hands of the priests the Levites; (19) and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord thy God, and to keep all these commandments, and to observe these ordinances: (20) that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, that he depart not from the commandments on the right hand or on the left; that he and his sons may reign long in his dominion among the children of Israel.

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(1) The priests, the Levites, even the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; the burnt-offerings of the Lord are their inheritance, they shall eat them. (2) And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord himself is his portion, as he said to him. (3) And this is the due of the priests in the things coming from the people from those who offer sacrifices, whether it be a calf or a sheep; and thou shalt give the shoulder to the priest, and the cheeks, and the great intestine: (4) and the first-fruits of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil; and thou shalt give to him the first-fruits of the fleeces of thy sheep: (5) because the Lord has chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand before the Lord thy God, to minister and bless in his name, himself and his sons among the children of Israel. (6) And if a Levite come from one of the cities of all the children of Israel, where he himself dwells, accordingly as his mind desires, to the place which he shall have chosen, (7) he shall minister to the name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites, who stand there present before the Lord thy God. (8) He shall eat an allotted portion, besides the sale of his hereditary property. (9) And when thou shalt have entered into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. (10) There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury, (11) a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, and observer of signs, questioning the dead. (12) For every one that does these things is an abomination to the Lord thy God; for because of these abominations the Lord will destroy them from before thy face. (13) Thou shalt be perfect before the Lord thy God. (14) For all these nations whose land thou shalt inherit, they will listen to omens and divinations; but the Lord thy God has not permitted thee so to do. (15) The Lord thy God shall raise up to thee a prophet of thy brethren, like me; him shall ye hear: (16) according to all things which thou didst desire of the Lord thy God in Choreb in the day of the assembly, saying, We will not again hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and we will not any more see this great fire, and so we shall not die. (17) And the Lord said to me, They have spoken rightly all that they have said to thee. (18) I will raise up to them a prophet of their brethren, like thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them as I shall command him. (19) And whatever man shall not hearken to whatsoever words that prophet shall speak in my name, I will take vengeance on him. (20) But the prophet whosoever shall impiously speak in my name a word which I have not commanded him to speak, and whosoever shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. (21) But if thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? (22) Whatsoever words that prophet shall speak in the name of the Lord, and they shall not come true, and not come to pass, this is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; that prophet has spoken wickedly: ye shall not spare him.

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(1) And when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives thee, even the land, and ye shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses, (2) thou shalt separate for thyself three cities in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee. (3) Take a survey of thy way, and thou shalt divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God apportions to thee, into three parts, and there shall be there a refuge for every manslayer. (4) And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past. (5) And whosoever shall enter with his neighbour into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbour, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live. (6) Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and slay him, though there is to this man no sentence of death, because he hated him not in time past. (7) Therefore I charge thee, saying, Thou shalt separate for thy self three cities. (8) And if the Lord shall enlarge thy borders, as he sware to thy fathers, and the Lord shall give to thee all the land which he said he would give to thy fathers; (9) if thou shalt hearken to do all these commands, which I charge thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways continually; thou shalt add for thyself yet three cities to these three. (10) So innocent blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, and there shall not be in thee one guilty of blood. (11) But if there should be in thee a man hating his neighbour, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities, (12) then shall the elders of his city send, and take him thence, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the avengers of blood, and he shall die. (13) Thine eye shall not spare him; so shalt thou purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with thee. (14) Thou shalt not move the landmarks of thy neighbour, which thy fathers set in the inheritance, in which thou hast obtained a share in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit. (15) One witness shall not stand to testify against a man for any iniquity, or for any fault, or for any sin which he may commit; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall every word be established. (16) And if an unjust witness rise up against a man, alleging iniquity against him; (17) then shall the two men between whom the controversy is, stand before the Lord, and before the priests, and before the judges, who may be in those days. (18) And the judges shall make diligent inquiry, and, behold, if and unjust witness has borne unjust testimony; and has stood up against his brother; (19) then shall ye do to him as he wickedly devised to do against his brother, and thou shalt remove the evil from yourselves. (20) And the rest shall hear and fear, and do no more according to this evil thing in the midst of you. (21) Thine eye shall not spare him: thou shalt exact life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

20

(1) And if thou shouldest go forth to war against thine enemies, and shouldest see horse, and rider, and a people more numerous than thyself; thou shalt not be afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (2) And it shall come to pass whenever thou shalt draw nigh to battle, that the priest shall draw nigh and speak to the people, and shall say to them, (3) Hear, O Israel; ye are going this day to battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint, fear not, neither be confounded, neither turn aside from their face. (4) For it is the Lord your God who advances with you, to fight with you against your enemies, and to save you. (5) And the scribes shall speak to the people, saying, What man is he that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man dedicate it. (6) And what man is he that has planted a vineyard, and not been made merry with it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man be made merry with it. (7) And what man is he that has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. (8) And the scribes shall speak further to the people, and say, What man is he that fears and is cowardly in his heart? Let him go and return to his house, lest he make the heart of his brother fail, as his own. (9) And it shall come to pass when the scribes shall have ceased speaking to the people, that they shall appoint generals of the army to be leaders of the people. (10) And if thou shalt draw nigh to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably. (11) If then they should answer peaceably to thee, and open to thee, it shall be that all the people found in it shall be tributary and subject to thee. (12) But if they will not hearken to thee, but wage war against thee, thou shalt invest it; (13) until the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, and thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword: (14) except the women and the stuff: and all the cattle, and whatsoever shall be in the city, and all the plunder thou shalt take as spoil for thyself, and shalt eat all the plunder of thine enemies whom the Lord thy God gives thee. (15) Thus shalt thou do to all the cities that are very far off from thee, not being of the cities of these nations which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit their land. (16) Of these ye shall not take any thing alive; (17) but ye shall surely curse them, the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Chananite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite, and the Gergesite; as the Lord thy God commanded thee: (18) that they may not teach you to do all their abominations, which they did to their gods, and so ye should sin before the Lord your God. (19) And if thou shouldest besiege a city many days to prevail against it by war to take it, thou shalt not destroy its trees, by applying an iron tool to them, but thou shalt eat of it, and shalt not cut it down: Is the tree that is in the field a man, to enter before thee into the work of the siege? (20) But the tree which thou knowest to be not fruit-bearing, this thou shalt destroy and cut down; and thou shalt construct a mound against the city, which makes war against thee, until it be delivered up.

21

(1) And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has smitten him; (2) thine elders and thy judges shall come forth, and shall measure the distances of the cities round about the slain man: (3) and it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not laboured, and which has not borne a yoke. (4) And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which has not been tilled and is not sown, and they shall slay the heifer in the valley. (5) And the priests the Levites shall come, because the Lord God has chosen them to stand by him, and to bless in his name, and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be decided. (6) And all the elders of that city who draw nigh to the slain man shall wash their hands over the head of the heifer which was slain in the valley; (7) and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it. (8) Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, that innocent blood may not be charged on thy people Israel: and the blood shall be atoned for to them. (9) And thou shalt take away innocent blood from among you, if thou shouldest do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God. (10) And if when thou goest out to war against thine enemies, the Lord thy God should deliver them into thine hands, and thou shouldest take their spoil, (11) and shouldest see among the spoil a woman beautiful in countenance, and shouldest desire her, and take her to thyself for a wife, (12) and shouldest bring her within thine house: then shalt thou shave her head, and pare her nails; (13) and shalt take away her garments of captivity from off her, and she shall abide in thine house, and shall bewail her father and mother the days of a month; and afterwards thou shalt go in to her and dwell with her, and she shall be thy wife. (14) And it shall be if thou do not delight in her, thou shalt send her out free; and she shall not by any means be sold for money, thou shalt not treat her contemptuously, because thou hast humbled her. (15) And if a man have two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and both the loved and the hated should have born him children, and the son of the hated should be first-born; (16) then it shall be that whensoever he shall divide by inheritance his goods to his sons, he shall not be able to give the right of the first-born to the son of the loved one, having overlooked the son of the hated, which is the first-born. (17) But he shall acknowledge the first-born of the hated one to give to him double of all things which shall be found by him, because he is the first of his children, and to him belongs the birthright. (18) And if any man has a disobedient and contentious son, who hearkens not to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they should correct him, and he should not hearken to them; (19) then shall his father and his mother take hold of him, and bring him forth to the elders of his city, and to the gate of the place: (20) and they shall say to the men of their city, This our son is disobedient and contentious, he hearkens not to our voice, he is a reveler and a drunkard. (21) And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and thou shalt remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear. (22) And if there be sin in any one, and the judgment of death be upon him, and he be put to death, and ye hang him on a tree: (23) his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but ye shall by all means bury it in that day; for every one that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God; and ye shall by no means defile the land which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance.

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(1) When thou seest the calf of thy brother or his sheep wandering in the way, thou shalt not overlook them; thou shalt by all means turn them back to thy brother, and thou shalt restore them to him. (2) And if thy brother do not come nigh thee, and thou dost not know him, thou shalt bring it into thy house within; and it shall be with thee until thy brother shall seek them, and thou shalt restore them to him. (3) Thus shalt thou do to his ass, and thus shalt thou do to his garment, and thus shalt thou do to every thing that thy brother has lost; whatsoever shall have been lost by him, and thou shalt have found, thou shalt not have power to overlook. (4) Thou shalt not see the ass of thy brother, or his calf, fallen in the way: thou shalt not overlook them, thou shalt surely help him to raise them up. (5) The apparel of a man shall not be on a woman, neither shall a man put on a woman’s dress; for every one that does these things is an abomination to the Lord thy God. (6) And if thou shouldest come upon a brood of birds before thy face in the way or upon any tree, or upon the earth, young or eggs, and the mother be brooding on the young or the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young ones. (7) Thou shalt by all means let the mother go, but thou shalt take the young to thyself; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long. (8) If thou shouldest build a new house, then shalt thou make a parapet to thy house; so thou shalt not bring blood-guiltiness upon thy house, if one should in any wise fall from it. (9) Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with diverse seed, lest the fruit be devoted, and whatsoever seed thou mayest sow, with the fruit of thy vineyard. (10) Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. (11) Thou shalt not wear a mingled garment, woollen and linen together. (12) Thou shalt make fringes on the four borders of thy garments, with which soever thou mayest be clothed. (13) And if any one should take a wife, and dwell with her, and hate her, (14) and attach to her reproachful words, and bring against her an evil name, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her I found not her tokens of virginity: (15) then the father and the mother of the damsel shall take and bring out the damsel’s tokens of virginity to the elders of the city to the gate. (16) And the father of the damsel shall say to the elders, I gave this my daughter to this man for a wife; (17) and now he has hated her, and attaches reproachful words to her, saying, I have not found tokens of virginity with thy daughter; and these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall unfold the garment before the elders of the city. (18) And the elders of that city shall take that man, and shall chastise him, (19) and shall fine him a hundred shekels, and shall give them to the father of the damsel, because he has brought forth an evil name against a virgin of Israel; and she shall be his wife: he shall never be able to put her away. (20) But if this report be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel; (21) then shall they bring out the damsel to the doors of her father’s house, and shall stone her with stones, and she shall die; because she has wrought folly among the children of Israel, to defile the house of her father by whoring: so thou shalt remove the evil one from among you. (22) And if a man be found lying with a woman married to a man, ye shall kill them both, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou remove the wicked one out of Israel. (23) And if there be a young damsel espoused to a man, and a man should have found her in the city and have lain with her; (24) ye shall bring them both out to the gate of their city, and they shall be stoned with stones, and they shall die; the damsel, because she cried not in the city; and the man, because he humbled his neighbour’s spouse: so shalt thou remove the evil one from yourselves. (25) But if a man find in the field a damsel that is betrothed, and he should force her and lie with her, ye shall slay the man that lay with her only. (26) And the damsel has not committed a sin worthy of death; as if a man should rise up against his neighbour, and slay him, so is this thing; (27) because he found her in the field; the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to help her. (28) And if any one should find a young virgin who has not been betrothed, and should force her and lie with her, and be found, (29) the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the damsel fifty silver didrachms, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; he shall never be able to put her away. (30) A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not uncover his father’s skirt.

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(1) He that is fractured or mutilated in his private parts shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord. (2) One born of a harlot shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord. (3) The Ammanite and Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even until the tenth generation he shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even for ever: (4) because they met you not with bread and water by the way, when ye went out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Mesopotamia to curse thee. (5) But the Lord thy God would not hearken to Balaam; and the Lord thy God changed the curses into blessings, because the Lord thy God loved thee. (6) Thou shalt not speak peaceably or profitably to them all thy days for ever. (7) Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, because he is thy brother; thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land. (8) If sons be born to them, in the third generation they shall enter into the assembly of the Lord. (9) And if thou shouldest go forth to engage with thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every wicked thing. (10) If there should be in thee a man who is not clean by reason of his issue by night, then he shall go forth out of the camp, and he shall not enter into the camp. (11) And it shall come to pass toward evening he shall wash his body with water, and when the sun has gone down, he shall go into the camp. (12) And thou shalt have a place outside of the camp, and thou shalt go out thither, (13) and thou shalt have a trowel on thy girdle; and it shall come to pass when thou wouldest relieve thyself abroad, that thou shalt dig with it, and shalt bring back the earth and cover thy nuisance. (14) Because the Lord thy God walks in thy camp to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemy before thy face; and thy camp shall be holy, and there shall not appear in thee a disgraceful thing, and so he shall turn away from thee. (15) Thou shalt not deliver a servant to his master, who coming from his master attaches himself to thee. (16) He shall dwell with thee, he shall dwell among you where he shall please; thou shalt not afflict him. (17) There shall not be a harlot of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be a fornicator of the sons of Israel; there shall not be an idolatress of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be an initiated person of the sons of Israel. (18) Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, nor the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God, for any vow; because even both are an abomination to the Lord thy God. (19) Thou shalt not lend to thy brother on usury of silver, or usury of meat, or usury of any thing which thou mayest lend out. (20) Thou mayest lend on usury to a stranger, but to thy brother thou shalt not lend on usury; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all thy works upon the land, into which thou art entering to inherit it. (21) And if thou wilt vow a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee, and otherwise it shall be sin in thee. (22) But if thou shouldest be unwilling to vow, it is not sin in thee. (23) Thou shalt observe the words that proceed from between thy lips; and as thou hast vowed a gift to the Lord God, so shalt thou do that which thou hast spoken with thy mouth. (24:1) And if thou shouldest go into the corn field of thy neighbour, then thou mayest gather the ears with thy hands; but thou shalt not put the sickle to thy neighbour’s corn. (24:2) And if thou shouldest go into the vineyard of thy neighbour, thou shalt eat grapes sufficient to satisfy thy desire; but thou mayest not put them into a vessel.

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(3) And if any one should take a wife, and should dwell with her, then it shall come to pass if she should not have found favour before him, because he has found some unbecoming thing in her, that he shall write for her a bill of divorcement, and give it into her hands, and he shall send her away out of his house. (4) And if she should go away and be married to another man; (5) and the last husband should hate her, and write for her a bill of divorcement; and should give it into her hands, and send her away out of his house, and the last husband should die, who took her to himself for a wife; (6) the former husband who sent her away shall not be able to return and take her to himself for a wife, after she has been defiled; because it is an abomination before the Lord thy God, and ye shall not defile the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit. (7) And if any one should have recently taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall any thing be laid upon him; he shall be free in his house; for one year he shall cheer his wife whom he has taken. (8) Thou shalt not take for a pledge the under millstone, nor the upper millstone; for he who does so takes life for a pledge. (9) And if a man should be caught stealing one of his brethren of the children of Israel, and having overcome him he should sell him, that thief shall die; so shalt thou remove that evil one from yourselves. (10) Take heed to thyself in regard of the plague of leprosy: thou shalt take great heed to do according to all the law, which the priests the Levites shall report to you; take heed to do, as I have charged you. (11) Remember all that the Lord thy God did to Mariam in the way, when ye were going out of Egypt. (12) If thy neighbour owe thee a debt, any debt whatsoever, thou shalt not go into his house to take his pledge: (13) thou shalt stand without, and the man who is in thy debt shall bring the pledge out to thee. (14) And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge. (15) Thou shalt surely restore his pledge at sunset, and he shall sleep in his garment, and he shall bless thee; and it shall be mercy to thee before the Lord thy God. (16) Thou shalt not unjustly withhold the wages of the poor and needy of thy brethren, or of the strangers who are in thy cities. (17) Thou shalt pay him his wages the same day, the sun shall not go down upon it, because he is poor and he trusts in it; and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and it shall be sin in thee. (18) The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, and the sons shall not be put to death for the fathers; every one shall be put to death for his own sin. (19) Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of the stranger and the fatherless, and widow; thou shalt not take the widow’s garment for a pledge. (20) And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee from thence; therefore I charge thee to do this thing. (21) And when thou shalt have reaped corn in thy field, and shalt have forgotten a sheaf in thy field, thou shalt not return to take it; it shall be for the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands. (22) And if thou shouldest gather thine olives, thou shalt not return to collect the remainder; it shall be for the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, and thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing. (23) And when soever thou shalt gather the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean what thou hast left; it shall be for the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow: (24) and thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing.

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(1) And if there should be a dispute between men, and they should come forward to judgment, and the judges judge, and justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked: (2) then it shall come to pass, if the unrighteous should be worthy of stripes, thou shalt lay him down before the judges, and they shall scourge him before them according to his iniquity. (3) And they shall scourge him with forty stripes in number, they shall not inflict more; for if thou shouldest scourge him with more stripes beyond these stripes, thy brother will be disgraced before thee. (4) Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn. (5) And if brethren should live together, and one of them should die, and should not have seed, the wife of the deceased shall not marry out of the family to a man not related: her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and shall take her to himself for a wife, and shall dwell with her. (6) And it shall come to pass that the child which she shall bear, shall be named by the name of the deceased, and his name shall not be blotted out of Israel. (7) And if the man should not be willing to take his brother’s wife, then shall the woman go up to the gate to the elders, and she shall say, My husband’s brother will not raise up the name of his brother in Israel, my husband’s brother has refused. (8) And the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him; and if he stand and say, I will not take her: (9) then his brother’s wife shall come forward before the elders, and shall loose one shoe from off his foot, and shall spit in his face, and shall answer and say, Thus shall they do to the man who will not build his brother’s house in Israel. (10) And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that has had his shoe loosed. (11) And if men should strive together, a man with his brother, and the wife of one of them should advance to rescue her husband out of the hand of him that smites him, and she should stretch forth her hand, and take hold of his private parts; (12) thou shalt cut off her hand; thine eye shall not spare her. (13) Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. (14) Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. (15) Thou shalt have a true and just weight, and a true and just measure, that thou mayest live long upon the land which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance. (16) For every one that does this is an abomination to the Lord thy God, even every one that does injustice. (17) Remember what things Amalec did to thee by the way, when thou wentest forth out of the land of Egypt: (18) how he withstood thee in the way, and harassed thy rear, even those that were weary behind thee, and thou didst hunger and wast weary; and he did not fear God. (19) And it shall come to pass whenever the Lord thy God shall have given thee rest from all thine enemies round about thee, in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, thou shalt blot out the name of Amalec from under heaven, and shalt not forget to do it.

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(1) And it shall be when thou shalt have entered into the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit it, and thou shalt have inherited it, and thou shalt have dwelt upon it, (2) that thou shalt take of the first of the fruits of thy land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, and thou shalt put them into a basket, and thou shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name called there. (3) And thou shalt come to the priest who shall be in those days, and thou shalt say to him, I testify this day to the Lord my God, that I am come into the land which the Lord sware to our fathers to give to us. (4) And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hands, and shall set it before the altar of the Lord thy God: (5) and he shall answer and say before the Lord thy God, My father abandoned Syria, and went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a small number, and became there a mighty nation and a great multitude. (6) And the Egyptians afflicted us, and humbled us, and imposed hard tasks on us: (7) and we cried to the Lord our God, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our humiliation, and our labour, and our affliction. (8) And the Lord brought us out of Egypt himself with his great strength, and his mighty hand, and his high arm, and with great visions, and with signs, and with wonders. (9) And he brought us into this place, and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruits of the land, which thou gavest me, O Lord, a land flowing with milk and honey: and thou shalt leave it before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt worship before the Lord thy God; (11) and thou shalt rejoice in all the good things, which the Lord thy God has given thee, thou and thy family, and the Levite, and the stranger that is within thee. (12) And when thou shalt have completed all the tithings of thy fruits in the third year, thou shalt give the second tenth to the Levite, and stranger, and fatherless, and widow; and they shall eat it in thy cities, and be merry. (13) And thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have fully collected the holy things out of my house, and I have given them to the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, according to all commands which thou didst command me: I did not transgress thy command, and I did not forget it. (14) And in my distress I did not eat of them, I have not gathered of them for an unclean purpose, I have not given of them to the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (15) Look down from thy holy house, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given them, as thou didst swear to our fathers, to give to us a land flowing with milk and honey. (16) On this day the Lord thy God charged thee to keep all the ordinances and judgments; and ye shall observe and do them, with all your heart, and with all your soul. (17) Thou hast chosen God this day to be thy God, and to walk in all his ways, and to observe his ordinances and judgments, and to hearken to his voice. (18) And the Lord has chosen thee this day that thou shouldest be to him a peculiar people, as he said, to keep his commands; (19) and that thou shouldest be above all nations, as he has made thee renowned, and a boast, and glorious, that thou shouldest be a holy people to the Lord thy God, as he has spoken.

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(1) And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded, saying, Keep all these commands, all that I command you this day. (2) And it shall come to pass in the day when ye shall cross over Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, that thou shalt set up for thyself great stones, and shalt plaster them with plaster. (3) And thou shalt write on these stones all the words of this law, as soon as ye have crossed Jordan, when ye are entered into the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers gives thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, according as the Lord God of thy fathers said to thee. (4) And it shall be as soon as ye are gone over Jordan, ye shall set up these stones, which I command thee this day, on mount Gaebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. (5) And thou shalt build there an altar to the Lord thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt not lift up iron upon it. (6) Of whole stones shalt thou build an altar to the Lord thy God, and thou shalt offer upon it whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord thy God. (7) And thou shalt there offer a peace-offering; and thou shalt eat and be filled, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. (8) And thou shalt write upon the stones all this law very plainly. (9) And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Be silent and hear, O Israel; this day thou art become a people to the Lord thy God. (10) And thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and shalt do all his commands, and his ordinances, as many as I command thee this day. (11) And Moses charged the people on that day, saying, (12) These shall stand to bless the people on mount Garizin having gone over Jordan; Symeon, Levi, Judas, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. (13) And these shall stand for cursing on mount Gaebal; Ruben, Gad, and Aser, Zabulon, Dan, and Nephthali. (14) And the Levites shall answer and say to all Israel with a loud voice, (15) Cursed is the man whosoever shall make a graven or molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of craftsmen, and shall put it in a secret place: and all the people shall answer and say, So be it. (16) Cursed is the man that dishonours his father or his mother: and all the people shall say, So be it. (17) Cursed is he that removes his neighbour’s landmarks: and all the people shall say, So be it. (18) Cursed is he that makes the blind to wander in the way: and all the people shall say, So be it. (19) Cursed is every one that shall pervert the judgment of the stranger, and orphan, and widow: and all the people shall say, So be it. (20) Cursed is he that lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt: and all the people shall say, So be it. (21) Cursed is he that lies with any beast: and all the people shall say, So be it. (22) Cursed is he that lies with his sister by his father or his mother: and all the people shall say, So be it. (23) Cursed is he that lies with his daughter-in-law: and all the people shall say, So be it. Cursed is he that lies with his wife’s sister: and all the people shall say, So be it. (24) Cursed is he that smites his neighbour secretly: and all the people shall say, So be it. (25) Cursed is he whosoever shall have taken a bribe to slay an innocent man: and all the people shall say, So be it. (26) Cursed is every man that continues not in all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, So be it.

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(1) And it shall come to pass, if thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all these commands, which I charge thee this day, that the Lord thy God shall set thee on high above all the nations of the earth; (2) and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and shall find thee. If thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God, (3) blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, and the herds of thy oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. (5) Blessed shall be thy barns, and thy stores. (6) Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out. (7) The Lord deliver thine enemies that withstand thee utterly broken before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and they shall flee seven ways from before thee. (8) The Lord send upon thee his blessing in thy barns, and on all on which thou shalt put thine hand, in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee. (9) The Lord raise thee up for himself a holy people, as he sware to thy fathers; if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and walk in all his ways. (10) And all the nations of the earth shall see thee, that the name of the Lord is called upon thee, and they shall stand in awe of thee. (11) And the Lord thy God shall multiply thee for good in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, on thy land which the Lord sware to thy fathers to give to thee. (12) May the Lord open to thee his good treasure, the heaven, to give rain to thy land in season: may he bless all the works of thy hands: so shalt thou lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. (13) The Lord thy God make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt then be above and thou shalt not be below, if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, in all things that I charge thee this day to observe. (14) Thou shalt not turn aside from any of the commandments, which I charge thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (15) But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe all his commandments, as many as I charge thee this day, then all these curses shall come on thee, and overtake thee. (16) Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. (17) Cursed shall be thy barns and thy stores. (18) Cursed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. (19) Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt thou be in thy going out. (20) The Lord send upon thee want, and famine, and consumption of all things on which thou shalt put thy hand, until he shall have utterly destroyed thee, and until he shall have consumed thee quickly because of thine evil devices, because thou hast forsaken me. (21) The Lord cause the pestilence to cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee off the land into which thou goest to inherit it. (22) The Lord smite thee with distress, and fever, and cold, and inflammation, and blighting, and paleness, and they shall pursue thee until they have destroyed thee. (23) And thou shalt have over thine head a sky of brass, and the earth under thee shall be iron. (24) The Lord thy God make the rain of thy land dust; and dust shall come down from heaven, until it shall have destroyed thee, and until it shall have quickly consumed thee. (25) The Lord give thee up for slaughter before thine enemies: thou shalt go out against them one way, and flee from their face seven ways; and thou shalt be a dispersion in all the kingdoms of the earth. (26) And your dead men shall be food to the birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to scare them away. (27) The Lord smite thee with the botch of Egypt in the seat, and with a malignant scab, and itch, so that thou canst not be healed. (28) The Lord smite thee with insanity, and blindness, and astonishment of mind. (29) And thou shalt grope at mid-day, as a blind man would grope in the darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and then thou shalt be unjustly treated, and plundered continually, and there shall be no helper. (30) thou shalt take a wife, and another man shall have her; thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell in it; thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes of it. (31) Thy calf shall be slain before thee, and thou shalt not eat of it; thine ass shall be violently taken away from thee, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given to thine enemies, and thou shalt have no helper. (32) Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another nation, and thine eyes wasting away shall look for them: thine hand shall have no strength. (33) A nation which thou knowest not shall eat the produce of thy land, and all thy labours; and thou shalt be injured and crushed always. (34) And thou shalt be distracted, because of the sights of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (35) The Lord smite thee with an evil sore, on the knees and the legs, so that thou shalt not be able to be healed from the sole of thy foot to the crown of thy head. (36) The Lord carry away thee and thy princes, whom thou shalt set over thee, to a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers know; and thou shalt there serve other gods, wood and stone. (37) An thou shalt be there for a wonder, and a parable, and a tale, among all the nations, to which the Lord thy God shall carry thee away. (38) Thou shalt carry forth much seed into the field, and thou shalt bring in little, because the locust shall devour it. (39) Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dress it, and shalt not drink the wine, neither shalt thou delight thyself with it, because the worm shall devour it. (40) Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy borders, and thou shalt not anoint thee with oil, because thine olive shall utterly cast its fruit. (41) Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be thine, for they shall depart into captivity. (42) All thy trees and the fruits of thy land shall the blight consume. (43) The stranger that is within thee shall get up very high, and thou shalt come down very low. (44) He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. (45) And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and shall overtake thee, until he shall have consumed thee, and until he shall have destroyed thee; because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commands, and his ordinances which he has commanded thee. (46) And these things shall be signs in thee, and wonders among thy seed for ever; (47) because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with gladness and a good heart, because of the abundance of all things. (48) And thou shalt serve thine enemies, which the Lord will send forth against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in the want of all things; and thou shalt wear upon thy neck a yoke of iron until he shall have destroyed thee. (49) The Lord shall bring upon thee a nation from the extremity of the earth, like the swift flying of an eagle, a nation whose voice thou shalt not understand; (50) a nation bold in countenance, which shall not respect the person of the aged and shall not pity the young. (51) And it shall eat up the young of thy cattle, and the fruits of thy land, so as not to leave to thee corn, wine, oil, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, until it shall have destroyed thee; (52) and have utterly crushed thee in thy cities, until the high and strong walls be destroyed, in which thou trustest, in all thy land; and it shall afflict thee in thy cities, which he has given to thee. (53) And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, all that he has given thee, in thy straitness and thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee. (54) He that is tender and very delicate within thee shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom, and the children that are left, which may have been left to him; (55) so as not to give to one of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because of his having nothing left him in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemies shall afflict thee in all thy cities. (56) And she that is tender and delicate among you, whose foot has not assayed to go upon the earth for delicacy and tenderness, shall look with an evil eye on her husband in her bosom, and her son and her daughter, (57) and her offspring that comes out between her feet, and the child which she shall bear; for she shall eat them because of the want of all things, secretly in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee in thy cities. (58) If thou wilt not hearken to do all the words of this law, which have been written in this book, to fear this glorious and wonderful name, the Lord thy God; (59) then the Lord shall magnify thy plagues, and the plagues of thy seed, great and wonderful plagues, and evil and abiding diseases. (60) And he shall bring upon thee all the evil pain of Egypt, of which thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave to thee. (61) And the Lord shall bring upon thee every sickness, and every plague that is not written, and every one that is written in the book of this law, until he shall have destroyed thee. (62) And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of the sky in multitude; because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God. (63) And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you; and ye shall be quickly removed from the land, into which ye go to inherit it. (64) And the Lord thy God shall scatter thee among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other; and thou shalt there serve other gods, wood and stone, which thou hast not known, nor thy fathers. (65) Moreover among those nations he will not give thee quiet, neither by any means shall the sole of thy foot have rest; and the Lord shall give thee there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting soul. (66) And thy life shall be in suspense before thine eyes; and thou shalt be afraid by day and by night, and thou shalt have no assurance of thy life. (67) In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were evening! and in the evening thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thine heart with which thou shalt fear, and for the sights of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (68) And the Lord shall bring thee back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said, Thou shalt not see it again; and ye shall be sold there to your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and none shall buy you.

29

(1) These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Choreb. (2) And Moses called all the sons of Israel and said to them, Ye have seen all things that the Lord did in the land of Egypt before you to Pharao and his servants, and all his land; (3) the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. (4) Yet the Lord God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day. (5) And he led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments did not grow old, and your sandals were not worn away off your feet. (6) Ye did not eat bread, ye did not drink wine or strong drink, that ye might know that I am the Lord your God. (7) And ye came as far as this place; and there came forth Seon king of Esebon, and Og king of Basan, to meet us in war. (8) And we smote them and took their land, and I gave it for an inheritance to Ruben and Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasse. (9) And ye shall take heed to do all the words of this covenant, that ye may understand all things that ye shall do. (10) Ye all stand to-day before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, every man of Israel, (11) your wives, and your children, and the stranger who is in the midst of your camp, from your hewer of wood even to your drawer of water, (12) that thou shouldest enter into the covenant of the Lord thy God and into his oaths, as many as the Lord thy God appoints thee this day; (13) that he may appoint thee to himself for a people, and he shall be thy God, as he said to thee, and as he sware to thy fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob. (14) And I do not appoint to you alone this covenant and this oath; (15) but to those also who are here with you to-day before the Lord your God, and to those who are not here with you to-day. (16) For ye know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, how we came through the midst of the nations through whom ye came. (17) And ye beheld their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which are among them. (18) Lest there be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart has turned aside from the Lord your God, having gone to serve the gods of these nations; lest there be in you a root springing up with gall and bitterness. (19) And it shall be if one shall hear the words of this curse, and shall flatter himself in his heart, saying, Let good happen to me, for I will walk in the error of my heart, lest the sinner destroy the guiltless with him: (20) God shall by no means be willing to pardon him, but then the wrath of the Lord and his jealousy shall flame out against that man; and all the curses of this covenant shall attach themselves to him, which are written in this book, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. (21) And the Lord shall separate that man for evil of all the children of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the book of this law. (22) And another generation shall say—even your sons who shall rise up after you, and the stranger who shall come from a land afar off, and shall see the plagues of that land and their diseases, which the Lord has sent upon it, (23) brimstone and burning salt, (the whole land shall not be sown, neither shall any green thing spring, nor rise upon it, as Sodom and Gomorrha were overthrown, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord overthrew in his wrath and anger:)— (24) and all the nations shall say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? what is this great fierceness of anger? (25) And men shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, the things which he appointed to their fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt: (26) and they went and served other gods, which they knew not, neither did he assign them to them. (27) And the Lord was exceedingly angry with that land to bring upon it according to all the curses which are written in the book of this law. (28) And the Lord removed them from their land in anger, and wrath, and very great indignation, and cast them out into another land as at present. (29) The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, to do all the words of this law.

30

(1) And it shall come to pass when all these things shall have come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thy face, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, wherein the Lord shall have scattered thee, (2) and shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice, according to all things which I charge thee this day, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; (3) then the Lord shall heal thine iniquities, and shall pity thee, and shall again gather thee out from all the nations, among which the Lord has scattered thee. (4) If thy dispersion be from one end of heaven to the other, thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and thence will the Lord thy God take thee. (5) And the Lord thy God shall bring thee in from thence into the land which thy fathers have inherited, and thou shalt inherit it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. (6) And the Lord shall purge thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (7) And the Lord thy God will put these curses upon thine enemies, and upon those that hate thee, who have persecuted thee. (8) And thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and shall keep his commands, all that I charge thee this day. (9) And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in every work of thine hands, in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, because the Lord thy God will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: (10) if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, and his ordinances, and his judgments written in the book of this law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. (11) For this command which I give thee this day is not grievous, neither is it far from thee. (12) It is not in heaven above, as if there were one saying, Who shall go up for us into heaven, and shall take it for us, and we will hear and do it? (13) Neither is it beyond the sea, saying, Who will go over for us to the other side of the sea, and take it for us, and make it audible to us, and we will do it? (14) The word is very near thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart, and in thine hands to do it. (15) Behold, I have set before thee this day life and death, good and evil. (16) If thou wilt hearken to the commands of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his ordinances, and his judgments; then ye shall live, and shall be many in number, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all the land into which thou goest to inherit it. (17) But if thy heart change, and thou wilt not hearken, and thou shalt go astray and worship other gods, and serve them, (18) I declare to you this day, that ye shall utterly perish, and ye shall by no means live long upon the land, into which ye go over Jordan to inherit it. (19) I call both heaven and earth to witness this day against you, I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: choose thou life, that thou and thy seed may live; (20) to love the Lord thy God, to hearken to his voice, and cleave to him; for this is thy life, and the length of thy days, that thou shouldest dwell upon the land, which the Lord sware to thy fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

31

(1) And Moses finished speaking all these words to all the children of Israel; (2) and said to them, I am this day a hundred and twenty years old; I shall not be able any longer to come in or go out; and the Lord said to me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. (3) The Lord thy God who goes before thee, he shall destroy these nations before thee, and thou shalt inherit them: and it shall be Joshua that goes before thy face, as the Lord has spoken. (4) And the Lord thy God shall do to them as he did to Seon and Og the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, and to their land, as he destroyed them. (5) And the Lord has delivered them to you; and ye shall do to them, as I charged you. (6) Be courageous and strong, fear not, neither be cowardly neither be afraid before them; for it is the Lord your God that advances with you in the midst of you, neither will he by any means forsake thee, nor desert thee. (7) And Moses called Joshua, and said to him before all Israel, Be courageous and strong; for thou shalt go in before this people into the land which the Lord sware to your fathers to give to them, and thou shalt give it to them for an inheritance. (8) And the Lord that goes with thee shall not forsake thee nor abandon thee; fear not, neither be afraid. (9) And Moses wrote the words of this law in a book, and gave it to the priests the sons of Levi who bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to the elders of the sons of Israel. (10) And Moses charged them in that day, saying, After seven years, in the time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, (11) when all Israel come together to appear before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord shall choose, ye shall read this law before all Israel in their ears, (12) having assembled the people, the men, and the women, and the children, and the stranger that is in your cities, that they may hear, and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God; and they shall hearken to do all the words of this law. (13) And their sons who have not known shall hear, and shall learn to fear the Lord thy God all the days that they live upon the land, into which ye go over Jordan to inherit it. (14) And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, the days of thy death are at hand; call Joshua, and stand ye by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony, and I will give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went to the tabernacle of testimony, and stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. (15) And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and the pillar of the cloud stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. (16) And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will arise and go a whoring after the strange gods of the land, into which they are entering: and they will forsake me, and break my covenant, which I made with them. (17) And I will be very angry with them in that day, and I will leave them and turn my face away from them, and they shall be devoured; and many evils and afflictions shall come upon them; and they shall say in that day, Because the Lord my God is not with me, these evils have come upon me. (18) And I will surely turn away my face from them in that day, because of all their evil doings which they have done, because they turned aside after strange gods. (19) And now write the words of this song, and teach it to the children of Israel, and ye shall put it into their mouth, that this song may witness for me among the children of Israel to their face. (20) For I will bring them into the good land, which I sware to their fathers, to give to them a land flowing with milk and honey: and they shall eat and be filled and satisfy themselves; then will they turn aside after other gods, and serve them, and they will provoke me, and break my covenant. (21) And this song shall stand up to witness against them; for they shall not forget it out of their mouth, or out of the mouth of their seed; for I know their wickedness, what they are doing here this day, before I have brought them into the good land, which I sware to their fathers. (22) And Moses wrote this song in that day, and taught it to the children of Israel. (23) And he charged Joshua, and said, Be courageous and strong, for thou shalt bring the sons of Israel into the land, which the Lord sware to them, and he shall be with thee. (24) And when Moses finished writing all the words of this law in a book, even to the end, (25) then he charged the Levites who bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, (26) Take the book of this law, and ye shall put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; and it shall be there among you for a testimony. (27) For I know thy provocation, and thy stiff neck; for yet during my life with you at this day, ye have been provoking in your conduct toward God: how shall ye not also be so after my death? (28) Gather together to me the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, that I may speak in their ears all these words; and I call both heaven and earth to witness against them. (29) For I know that after my death ye will utterly transgress, and turn aside out of the way which I have commanded you; and evils shall come upon you in the latter days, because ye will do evil before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of your hands. And Moses spoke all the words of this song even to the end, in the ears of the whole assembly.

32

(1) Attend, O heaven, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words out of my mouth. (2) Let my speech be looked for as the rain, and my words come down as dew, as the shower upon the herbage, and as snow upon the grass. (3) For I have called on the name of the Lord: assign ye greatness to our God. (4) As for God, his works are true, and all his ways are judgment: God is faithful, and there is no unrighteousness in him; just and holy is the Lord. (5) They have sinned, not pleasing him; spotted children, a froward and perverse generation. (6) Do ye thus recompense the Lord? is the people thus foolish and unwise? did not he himself thy father purchase thee, and make thee, and form thee? (7) Remember the days of old, consider the years for past ages: ask thy father, and he shall relate to thee, thine elders, and they shall tell thee. (8) When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. (9) And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance. (10) He maintained him in the wilderness, in burning thirst and a dry land: he led him about and instructed him, and kept him as the apple of an eye. (11) As an eagle would watch over his brood, and yearns over his young, receives them having spread his wings, and takes them up on his back: (12) the Lord alone led them, there was no strange god with them. (13) He brought them up on the strength of the land; he fed them with the fruits of the fields; they sucked honey out of the rock, and oil out of the solid rock. (14) Butter of cows, and milk of sheep, with the fat of lambs and rams, of calves and kids, with fat of kidneys of wheat; and he drank wine, the blood of the grape. (15) So Jacob ate and was filled, and the beloved one kicked; he grew fat, he became thick and broad: then he forsook the God that made him, and departed from God his Saviour. (16) They provoked me to anger with strange gods; with their abominations they bitterly angered me. (17) They sacrificed to devils, and not to God; to gods whom they knew not: new and fresh gods came in, whom their fathers knew not. (18) Thou hast forsaken God that begot thee, and forgotten God who feeds thee. (19) And the Lord saw, and was jealous; and was provoked by the anger of his sons and daughters, (20) and said, I will turn away my face from them, and will show what shall happen to them in the last days; for it is a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faith. (21) They have provoked me to jealousy with that which is not God, they have exasperated me with their idols; and I will provoke them to jealousy with them that are no nation, I will anger them with a nation void of understanding. (22) For a fire has been kindled out of my wrath, it shall burn to hell below; it shall devour the land, and the fruits of it; it shall set on fire the foundations of the mountains. (23) I will gather evils upon them, and will fight with my weapons against them. (24) They shall be consumed with hunger and the devouring of birds, and there shall be irremediable destruction: I will send forth against them the teeth of wild beasts, with the rage of serpents creeping on the ground. (25) Without, the sword shall bereave them of children, and terror shall issue out of the secret chambers; the young man shall perish with the virgin, the suckling with him who has grown old. (26) I said, I will scatter them, and I will cause their memorial to cease from among men. (27) Were it not for the wrath of the enemy, lest they should live long, lest their enemies should combine against them; lest they should say, Our own high arm, and not the Lord, has done all these things. (28) It is a nation that has lost counsel, neither is there understanding in them. (29) They had not sense to understand: let them reserve these things against the time to come. (30) How should one pursue a thousand, and two rout tens of thousands, if God had not sold them, and the Lord delivered them up? (31) For their gods are not as our God, but our enemies are void of understanding. (32) For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their vine-branch of Gomorrha: their grape is a grape of gall, their cluster is one of bitterness. (33) Their wine is the rage of serpents, and the incurable rage of asps. (34) Lo! are not these things stored up by me, and sealed among my treasures? (35) In the day of vengeance I will recompense, whensoever their foot shall be tripped up; for the day of their destruction is near to them, and the judgments at hand are close upon you. (36) For the Lord shall judge his people, and shall be comforted over his servants; for he saw that they were utterly weakened, and failed in the hostile invasion, and were become feeble: (37) and the Lord said, Where are their gods on whom they trusted? (38) the fat of whose sacrifices ye ate, and ye drank the wine of their drink-offerings? let them arise and help you, and be your protectors. (39) Behold, behold that I am he, and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I will make to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands. (40) For I will lift up my hand to heaven, and swear by my right hand, and I will say, I live for ever. (41) For I will sharpen my sword like lightning, and my hand shall take hold of judgment; and I will render judgment to my enemies, and will recompense them that hate me. (42) I will make my weapons drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, it shall glut itself with the blood of the wounded, and from the captivity of the heads of their enemies that rule over them. (43) Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and the Lord shall purge the land of his people. (44) And Moses wrote this song in that day, and taught it to the children of Israel; and Moses went in and spoke all the words of this law in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Naue. (45) And Moses finished speaking to all Israel. (46) And he said to them, Take heed with your heart to all these words, which I testify to you this day, which ye shall command your sons, to observe and do all the words of this law. (47) For this is no vain word to you; for it is your life, and because of this word ye shall live long upon the land, into which ye go over Jordan to inherit it. (48) And the Lord spoke to Moses in this day, saying, (49) Go up to the mount Abarim, this mountain Nabau which is in the land of Moab over against Jericho, and behold the land of Chanaan, which I give to the sons of Israel: (50) and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be added to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Or, and was added to his people. (51) Because ye disobeyed my word among the children of Israel, at the waters of strife of Cades in the wilderness of Sin; because ye sanctified me not among the sons of Israel. (52) Thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not enter into it.

33

(1) And this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. (2) And he said, The Lord is come from Sina, and has appeared from Seir to us, and has hasted out of the mount of Pharan, with the ten thousands of Cades; on his right hand were his angels with him. (3) And he spared his people, and all his sanctified ones are under thy hands; and they are under thee; and he received of his words (4) the law which Moses charged us, an inheritance to the assemblies of Jacob. (5) And he shall be prince with the beloved one, when the princes of the people are gathered together with the tribes of Israel. (6) Let Ruben live, and not die; and let him be many in number. (7) And this is the blessing of Juda; Hear, Lord, the voice of Juda, and do thou visit his people: his hands shall contend for him, and thou shalt be a help from his enemies. (8) And to Levi he said, Give to Levi his manifestations, and his truth to the holy man, whom they tempted in the temptation; they reviled him at the water of strife. (9) Who says to his father and mother, I have not seen thee; and he knew not his brethren, and he refused to know his sons: he kept thine oracles, and observed thy covenant. (10) They shall declare thine ordinances to Jacob, and thy law to Israel: they shall place incense in the time of thy wrath continually upon thine altar. (11) Bless, Lord, his strength, and accept the works of his hands; break the loins of his enemies that have risen up against him, and let not them that hate him rise up. (12) And to Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in confidence, and God overshadows him always, and he rested between his shoulders. (13) And to Joseph he said, His land is of the blessing of the Lord, of the seasons of sky and dew, and of the deeps of wells below, (14) and of the fruits of the changes of the sun in season, and of the produce of the months, (15) from the top of the ancient mountains, and from the top of the everlasting hills, (16) and of the fullness of the land in season: and let the things pleasing to him that dwelt in the bush come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of him who was glorified above his brethren. (17) His beauty is as the firstling of his bull, his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall thrust the nations at once, even from the end of the earth: these are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these are the thousands of Manasse. (18) And to Zabulon he said, Rejoice, Zabulon, in thy going out, and Issachar in his tents. (19) They shall utterly destroy the nations, and ye shall call men there, and there offer the sacrifice of righteousness; for the wealth of the sea shall suckle thee, and so shall the marts of them that dwell by the sea-coast. (20) And to Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlarges Gad: as a lion he rested, having broken the arm and the ruler. (21) And he saw his first-fruits, that there the land of the princes gathered with the chiefs of the people was divided; the Lord wrought righteousness, and his judgment with Israel. (22) And to Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp, and shall leap out of Basan. (23) And to Nephthali he said, Nephthali has the fulness of good things; and let him be filled with blessing from the Lord: he shall inherit the west and the south. (24) And to Aser he said, Aser is blessed with children; and he shall be acceptable to his brethren: he shall dip his foot in oil. (25) His sandal shall be iron and brass; as thy days, so shall be thy strength. (26) There is not any such as the God of the beloved; he who rides upon the heaven is thy helper, and the magnificent One of the firmament. (27) And the rule of God shall protect thee, and that under the strength of the everlasting arms; and he shall cast forth the enemy from before thy face, saying, Perish. (28) And Israel shall dwell in confidence alone on the land of Jacob, with corn and wine; and the sky shall be misty with dew upon thee. (29) Blessed art thou, O Israel; who is like to thee, O people saved by the Lord? thy helper shall hold his shield over thee, and his sword is thy boast; and thine enemies shall speak falsely to thee, and thou shalt tread upon their neck.

34

(1) And Moses went up from Araboth Moab to the mount of Nabau, to the top of Phasga, which is before Jericho; and the Lord shewed him all the mount of Galaad to Dan, and all the land of Nephthali, (2) and all the land of Ephraim and Manasse, and all the land of Juda to the farthest sea; (3) and the wilderness, and the country round about Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to Segor. (4) And the Lord said to Moses, This is the land of which I sware to Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your seed will I give it: and I have shewed it to thine eyes, but thou shalt not go in thither. (5) So Moses the servant of the Lord died in the land of Moab by the word of the Lord. (6) And they buried him in Gai near the house of Phogor; and no one has seen his sepulchre to this day. (7) And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old at his death; his eyes were not dimmed, nor were his natural powers destroyed. (8) And the children of Israel wept for Moses in Araboth of Moab at Jordan near Jericho thirty days; and the days of the sad mourning for Moses were completed. (9) And Joshua the son of Naue was filled with the spirit of knowledge, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened to him; and they did as the Lord commanded Moses. (10) And there rose up no more a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, (11) in all the signs and wonders, which the Lord sent him to work in Egypt on Pharao, and his servants, and all his land; (12) the great wonders, and the mighty hand which Moses displayed before all Israel.

Joshua

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1

(1) And it came to pass after the death of Moses, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Naue, the minister of Moses, saying, (2) Moses my servant is dead; now then arise, go over Jordan, thou and all this people, into the land, which I give them. (3) Every spot on which ye shall tread I will give it to you, as I said to Moses. (4) The wilderness and Antilibanus, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and as far as the extremity of the sea; your costs shall be from the setting of the sun. (5) Not a man shall stand against you all the days of thy life; and as I was with Moses, so will I also be with thee, and I will not fail thee, or neglect thee. (6) Be strong and ‘quit thyself like a man, for thou shalt divide the land to this people, which I sware to give to your fathers. (7) Be strong, therefore, and quit thyself like a man, to observe and do as Moses my servant commanded thee; and thou shalt not turn therefrom to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest be wise in whatsoever thou mayest do. (8) And the book of this law shall not depart out of thy mouth, and thou shalt meditate in it day and night, that thou mayest know how to do all the things that are written in it; then shalt thou prosper, and make thy ways prosperous, and then shalt thou be wise. (9) Lo! I have commanded thee; be strong and courageous, be not cowardly nor fearful, for the Lord thy God is with thee in all places whither thou goest. (10) And Joshua commanded the scribes of the people, saying, (11) Go into the midst of the camp of the people, and command the people, saying, Prepare provisions; for yet three days and ye shall go over this Jordan, entering in to take possession of the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives to you. (12) And to Ruben, and to Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasse, Joshua said, (13) Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, the Lord your God has caused you to rest, and has given you this land. (14) Let your wives and your children and your cattle dwell in the land, which he has given you; and ye shall go over well armed before your brethren, every one of you who is strong; and ye shall fight on their side; (15) until the Lord your God shall have given your brethren rest, as also to you, and they also shall have inherited the land, which the Lord your God gives them; then ye shall depart each one to his inheritance, which Moses gave you beyond Jordan eastward. (16) And they answered Joshua and said, We will do all things which thou commandest us, and we will go to every place whither thou shalt send us. (17) Whereinsoever we hearkened to Moses we will hearken to thee; only let the Lord our God be with thee, as he was with Moses. (18) And whosoever shall disobey thee, and whosoever shall not hearken to thy words as thou shalt command him, let him die; but be thou strong and courageous.

2

(1) And Joshua the son of Naue sent out of Sattin two young men to spy the land, saying, Go up and view the land and Jericho: and the two young men went and entered into Jericho; and they entered into the house of a harlot, whose name was Raab, and lodged there. (2) And it was reported to the king of Jericho, saying, Men of the sons of Israel have come in hither to spy the land. (3) And the king of Jericho sent and spoke to Raab, saying, Bring out the men that entered into thine house this night; for they are come to spy out the land. (4) And the woman took the two men and hid them; and she spoke to the messengers, saying, The men came in to me, (5) but when the gate was shut in the evening, the men went out; I know not whither they are gone: follow after them, if ye may overtake them. (6) But she had brought them up upon the house, and hid them in the flax-stalks that were spread by her on the house. (7) And the men followed after them in the way to Jordan to the fords; and the gate was shut. (8) And it came to pass when the men who pursued after them were gone forth, and before the spies had lain down to sleep, that she came up to them on the top of the house; (9) and she said to them, I know that the Lord has given you the land; for the fear of you has fallen upon us. (10) For we have heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of the land of Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. (11) And when we heard it we were amazed in our heart, and there was no longer any spirit in any of us because of you, for the Lord your god is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath. (12) And now swear to me by the Lord God; since I deal mercifully with you, so do ye also deal mercifully with the house of my father: (13) and save alive the house of my father, my mother, and my brethren, and all my house, and all that they have, and ye shall rescue my soul from death. (14) And the men said to her, Our life for yours even to death: and she said, When the Lord shall have delivered the city to you, ye shall deal mercifully and truly with me. (15) And she let them down by the window; (16) and she said to them, Depart into the hill-country, lest the pursuers meet you, and ye shall be hidden there three days until your pursuers return from after you, and afterwards ye shall depart on your way. (17) And the men said to her, We are clear of this thy oath. (18) Behold, we shall enter into a part of the city, and thou shalt set a sign; thou shalt bind this scarlet cord in the window, by which thou hast let us down, and thou shalt bring in to thyself, into thy house, thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all the family of thy father. (19) And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall go outside the door of thy house, his guilt shall be upon him, and we shall be quit of this thine oath; and we will be responsible for all that shall be found with thee in thy house. (20) But if any one should injure us, or betray these our matters, we shall be quit of this thine oath. (21) And she said to them, Let it be according to your word; and she sent them out, and they departed. (22) And they came to the hill-country, and remained there three days; and the pursuers searched all the roads, and found them not. (23) And the two young men returned, and came down out of the mountain; and they went over to Joshua the son of Naue, and told him all things that had happened to them. (24) And they said to Joshua, The Lord has delivered all the land into our power, and all the inhabitants of that land tremble because of us.

3

(1) And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and departed from Sattin; and they came as far as Jordan, and lodged there before they crossed over. (2) And it came to pass after three days, that the scribes went through the camp; (3) and they charged the people, saying, When ye shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God, and our priests and the Levites bearing it, ye shall depart from your places, and ye shall go after it. (4) But let there be a distance between you and it; ye shall stand as much as two thousand cubits from it. Do not draw nigh to it, that ye may know the way which ye are to go; for ye have not gone the way before. (5) And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you. (6) And Joshua said to the priests, Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and go before the people: and the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and went before the people. (7) And the Lord said to Joshua, This day do I begin to exalt thee before all the children of Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so will I also be with thee. (8) And now charge the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, As soon as ye shall enter on a part of the water of Jordan, then ye shall stand in Jordan. (9) And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hearken to the word of the Lord our God. (10) Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and will utterly destroy from before our face the Chananite, and the Chettite and Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Amorite, and the Gergesite, and the Jebusite. (11) Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over Jordan. (12) Choose for yourselves twelve men of the sons of Israel, one of each tribe. (13) And it shall come to pass, when the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth rest in the water of Jordan, the water of Jordan below shall fail, and the water coming down from above shall stop. (14) And the people removed from their tents to cross over Jordan, and the priests bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord before the people. (15) And when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered upon Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were dipped in part of the water of Jordan; (now Jordan overflowed all its banks about the time of wheat harvest:) (16) then the waters that came down from above stopped; there stood one solid heap very far off, as far as the region of Kariathiarim, and the lower part came down to the sea of Araba, the salt sea, till it completely failed; and the people stood opposite Jericho. (17) And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry land in the midst of Jordan; and all the children of Israel went through on dry land, until all the people had completely gone over Jordan.

4

(1) And when the people had completely passed over Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, (2) Take men from the people, one of each tribe, (3) and charge them; and ye shall take out of the midst of Jordan twelve fit stones, and having carried them across together with yourselves, place them in your camp, where ye shall encamp for the night. (4) And Joshua having called twelve men of distinction among the children of Israel, one of each tribe, (5) said to them, Advance before me in the presence of the Lord into the midst of Jordan, and each having taken up a stone from thence, let him carry it on his shoulders, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel: (6) that these may be to you continually for an appointed sign, that when thy son asks thee in future, saying, What are these stones to us? (7) then thou mayest explain to thy son, saying, The river Jordan was dried up from before the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth, when it passed it: and these stones shall be for a memorial for you for the children of Israel for ever. (8) And the children of Israel did so, as the Lord commanded Joshua; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, (as the Lord commanded Joshua, when the children of Israel had completely passed over,)and carried these stones with them into the camp, and laid them down there. (9) And Joshua set also other twelve stones in Jordan itself, in the place that was under the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and there they are to this day. (10) And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood in Jordan, until Joshua had finished all that the Lord commanded him to report to the people; and the people hasted and passed over. (11) And it came to pass when all the people had passed over, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord passed over, and the stones before them. (12) And the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses commanded them. (13) Forty thousand armed for battle went over before the Lord to war, to the city of Jericho. (14) In that day the Lord magnified Joshua before all the people of Israel; and they feared him, as they did Moses, as long as he lived. (15) And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, (16) Charge the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord, to go up out of Jordan. (17) And Joshua charged the priests, saying, Go up out of Jordan. (18) And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord were gone up out of Jordan, and set their feet upon the land, that the water of Jordan returned impetuously to its place, and went as before over all its banks. (19) And the people went up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month; and the children of Israel encamped in Galgala in the region eastward from Jericho. (20) And Joshua set these twelve stones which he took out of Jordan, in Galgala, (21) saying, When your sons ask you, saying, What are these stones? (22) Tell your sons, that Israel went over this Jordan on dry land, (23) when the Lord our God had dried up the water of Jordan from before them, until they had passed over; as the Lord our God did to the Red Sea, which the Lord our God dried up from before us, until we passed over. (24) That all the nations of the earth might know, that the power of the Lord is mighty, and that ye might worship the Lord our God in every work.

5

(1) And it came to pass when the kings of the Amorites who were beyond Jordan heard, and the kings of Phoenicia by the sea, that the Lord God had dried up the river Jordan from before the children of Israel when they passed over, that their hearts failed, and they were terror-stricken, and there was no sense in them because of the children of Israel. (2) And about this time the Lord said to Joshua, Make thee stone knives of sharp stone, and sit down and circumcise the children of Israel the second time. (3) And Joshua made sharp knives of stone, and circumcised the children of Israel at the place called the "Hill of Foreskins." (4) And this is the way in which Joshua purified the children of Israel; as many as were born in the way, and as many as were uncircumcised of them that came out of Egypt, (5) all these Joshua circumcised; for forty and two years Israel wondered in the wilderness of Mabdaris— (6) Wherefore most of the fighting men that came out of the land of Egypt, were uncircumcised, who disobeyed the commands of God; concerning whom also he determined that they should not see the land, which the Lord sware to give to their fathers, even a land flowing with milk and honey. (7) And in their place he raised up their sons, whom Joshua circumcised, because they were uncircumcised, having been born by the way. (8) And when they had been circumcised they rested continuing there in the camp till they were healed. (9) And the Lord said to Joshua the son of Naue, On this day have I removed the reproach of Egypt from you: and he called the name of that place Galgala. (10) And the children of Israel kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, to the westward of Jericho on the opposite side of the Jordan in the plain. (11) And they ate of the grain of the earth unleavened and new corn. (12) In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna: and they took the fruits of the land of the Phoenicians in that year. (13) And it came to pass when Joshua was in Jericho, that he looked up with his eyes and saw a man standing before him, and there was a drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua drew near and said to him, Art thou for us or on the side of our enemies? (14) And he said to him, I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord. (15) And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth, and said to him, Lord, what commandest thou thy servant? (16) And the captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe off thy feet, for the place whereon thou now standest is holy.

6

(1) Now Jericho was closely shut up and besieged, and none went out of it, and none came in. (2) And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I deliver Jericho into thy power, and its king in it, and its mighty men. (3) And do thou set the men of war round about it. (4) And it shall be that when ye shall sound with the trumpet, all the people shall shout together. (5) And when they have shouted, the walls of the city shall fall of themselves; and all the people shall enter, each one rushing direct into the city. (6) And Joshua the son of Naue went in to the priests, and spoke to them, saying, (8) Charge the people to go round, and encompass the city; and let your men of war pass on armed before the Lord. (7) And let seven priests having seven sacred trumpets proceed thus before the Lord, and let them sound loudly; and let the ark of the covenant of the Lord follow. (9) And let the men of war proceed before, and the priests bringing up the rear behind the ark of the covenant of the Lord proceed sounding the trumpets. (10) And Joshua commanded the people, saying, Cry not out, nor let any one hear your voice, until he himself declare to you the time to cry out, and then ye shall cry out. (11) And the ark of the covenant of God having gone round immediately returned into the camp, and lodged there. (12) And on the second day Joshua rose up in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord. (13) And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets went on before the Lord; and afterwards the men of war went on, and the remainder of the multitude went after the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. (14) And all the rest of the multitude compassed the city six times from within a short distance, and went back again into the camp; this they did six days. (15) And on the seventh day they rose up early, and compassed the city on that day seven times. (16) And it came to pass at the seventh circuit the priests blew the trumpets; and Joshua said to the children of Israel, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. (17) And the city shall be devoted, it and all things that are in it, to the Lord of Hosts: only do ye save Raab the harlot, and all things in her house. (18) But keep yourselves strictly from the accursed thing, lest ye set your mind upon and take of the accursed thing, and ye make the camp of the children of Israel and accursed thing, and destroy us. (19) And all the silver, or gold, or brass, or iron, shall be holy to the Lord; it shall be carried into the treasury of the Lord. (20) And the priests sounded with the trumpets: and when the people heard the trumpets, all the people shouted at once with a loud and strong shout; and all the wall fell round about, and all the people went up into the city: (21) and Joshua devoted it to destruction, and all things that were in the city, man and woman, young man and old, and calf and ass, with the edge of the sword. (22) And Joshua said to the two young men who had acted a spies, Go into the house of the woman, and bring her out thence, and all that she has. (23) And the two young men who had spied out the city entered into the house of the woman, and brought out Raab the harlot, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and her kindred, and all that she had; and they set her without the camp of Israel. (24) And the city was burnt with fire with all things that were in it; only of the silver, and gold, and brass, and iron, they gave to be brought into the treasury of the Lord. (25) And Joshua saved alive Raab the harlot, and all the house of her father, and caused her to dwell in Israel until this day, because she hid the spies which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (26) And Joshua adjured them on that day before the Lord, saying, Cursed be the man who shall build that city: he shall lay the foundation of it in his first-born, and he shall set up the gates of it in his youngest son. And so did Hozan of Baethel; he laid the foundation in Abiron his first-born, and set up the gates of it in his youngest surviving son. (27) And the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was in all the land.

7

(1) But the children of Israel committed a great trespass, and purloined part of the accursed thing; and Achar the son of Charmi, the son of Zambri, the son of Zara, of the tribe of Juda, took of the accursed thing; and the Lord was very angry with the children of Israel. (2) And Joshua sent men to Gai, which is by Baethel, saying, Spy out Gai: and the men went up and spied Gai. (3) And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and take the city by siege: carry not up thither the whole people, for the enemy are few. (4) And there went up about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai. (5) And the men of Gai slew of them to the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water. (6) And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads. (7) And Joshua said, I pray, Lord, wherefore has thy servant brought this people over Jordan to deliver them to the Amorite to destroy us? would we had remained and settled ourselves beyond Jordan. (8) And what shall I say since Israel has turned his back before his enemy? (9) And when the Chananite and all the inhabitants of the land hear it, they shall compass us round and destroy us from off the land: and what wilt thou do for thy great name? (10) And the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up; why hast thou fallen upon thy face? (11) The people has sinned, and transgressed the covenant which I made with them; they have stolen from the cursed thing, and put it into their store. (12) And the children of Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their back before their enemies, for they have become an accursed thing: I will not any longer be with you, unless ye remove the cursed thing from yourselves. (13) Rise, sanctify the people and tell them to sanctify themselves for the morrow: thus says the Lord God of Israel, The accursed thing is among you; ye shall not be able to stand before your enemies, until ye shall have removed the cursed thing from among you. (14) And ye shall all be gathered together by your tribes in the morning, and it shall come to pass that the tribe which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by families; and the family which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by households; and the household which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring man by man. (15) And the man who shall be pointed out, shall be burnt with fire, and all that he has; because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and has wrought wickedness in Israel. (16) And Joshua rose up early, and brought the people by their tribes; and the tribe of Juda was pointed out. (17) And it was brought by their families, and family of the Zaraites was pointed out. (18) And it was brought man by man, and Achar the son of Zambri the son of Zara was pointed out. (19) And Joshua said to Achar, Give glory this day to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me what thou hast done, and hide it not from me. (20) And Achar answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel: thus and thus have I done: (21) I saw in the spoil an embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachms of silver, and one golden wedge of fifty didrachms, and I desired them and took them; and, behold, they are hid in my tent, and the silver is hid under them. (22) And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent into the camp; and these things were hidden in his tent, and the silver under them. (23) And they brought them out of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and the elders of Israel, and they laid them before the Lord. (24) And Joshua took Achar the son of Zara, and brought him to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his calves, and his asses, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all his property, and all the people were with him; and he brought them to Emec Achor. (25) And Joshua said to Achar, Why hast thou destroyed us? the Lord destroy thee as at this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones. (26) And they set up over him a great heap of stones; and the Lord ceased from his fierce anger. Therefore he called the place Emecachor until this day.

8

(1) And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not, nor be timorous: take with thee all the men of war, and arise, go up to Gai; behold, I have given into thy hands the king of Gai, and his land. (2) And thou shalt do to Gai, as thou didst to Jericho and its king; and thou shalt take to thyself the spoil of its cattle; set now for thyself an ambush for the city behind. (3) And Joshua and all the men of war rose to go up to Gai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men, and he sent them away by night. (4) And he charged them, saying, Do ye lie in ambush behind the city: do not go far from the city, and ye shall all be ready. (5) Land I and all with me will draw near to the city: and it shall come to pass when the inhabitants of Gai shall come forth to meet us, as before, that we will flee from before them. (6) And when they shall come out after us, we will draw them away from the city; and they will say, These men flee from before us, as also before. (7) And ye shall rise up out of the ambuscade, and go into the city. (8) Ye shall do according to this word, lo! I have commanded you. (9) And Joshua sent them, and they went to lie in ambush; and they lay between Baethel and Gai, westward of Gai. (10) And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people; and he went up, he and the elders before the people to Gai. (11) And all the men of war went up with him, and they went forward and came over against the city eastward. (12) And the ambuscade was on the west side of the city. (14) And it came to pass when the king of Gai saw it, he hasted and went out to meet them direct to the battle, he and all the people that were with him: and he knew not that there was an ambuscade formed against him behind the city. (15) And Joshua and Israel saw, and retreated from before them. (16) And they pursued after the children of Israel, and they themselves went to a distance from the city. (17) There was no one left in Gai who did not pursue after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. (18) And the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch forth thy hand with the spear that is in thy hand toward the city, for I have delivered it into thy hands; and the liers in wait shall rise up quickly out of their place. (19) And Joshua stretched out his hand and his spear toward the city, and the ambuscade rose up quickly out of their place; and they came forth when he stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and burnt the city with fire. (20) And when the inhabitants of Gai looked round behind them, then they saw the smoke going up out of the city to heaven, and they were no longer able to flee this way or that way. (21) And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambuscade had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up to heaven; and they turned and smote the men of Gai. (22) And these came forth out of the city to meet them; and they were in the midst of the army, some being on this side, and some on that; and they smote them until there was not left of them one who survived and escaped. (23) And they took the king of Gai alive, and brought him to Joshua. (24) And when the children of Israel had ceased slaying all that were in Gai, and in the fields, and in the mountain on the descent, from whence they pursued them even to the end, then Joshua returned to Gai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. (25) And they that fell in that day, men and women, were twelve thousand: they slew all the inhabitants of Gai. (27) Beside the spoils that were in the city, all things which the children of Israel took as spoil for themselves according to the command of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Joshua. (28) And Joshua burnt the city with fire: he made it an uninhabited heap for ever, even to this day. (29) And he hanged the king of Gai on a gallows; and he remained on the tree till evening: and when the sun went down, Joshua gave charge, and they took down his body from the tree, and cast it into a pit, and they set over him a heap of stones until this day.

9

(1) And when the kings of the Amorites on the other side of Jordan, who were in the mountain country, and in the plain, and in all the coast of the great sea, and those who were near Antilibanus, and the Chettites, and the Chananites, and the Pherezites, and the Evites, and the Amorites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites, heard of it, (2) they came all together at the same time to make war against Joshua and Israel. (30) Then Joshua built an alter to the Lord God of Israel in mount Gebal, (31) as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it was written in the law of Moses, an alter of unhewn stones, on which iron had not been lifted up: and he offered there whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord, and a piece offering. And Joshua wrote upon the stones a copy of the law, even the law of Moses, before the children of Israel. (33) And all Israel, and their elders, and their judges, and their scribes, passed on one side and on the other, before the ark; and the priests and the levites took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the stranger and the native were there, who were half of them near mount Gebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded at first, to bless the people. (34) And afterwards Joshua read accordingly all the words of this law, the blessings and the curses, according to all things written in the law of Moses. (35) There was not a word of all that Moses charged Joshua, which Joshua read not in the ears of all men, and the women, and the children of Israel, and the strangers that joined themselves to Israel. (3) And the inhabitants of Gabaon heard of all that the Lord did to Jericho and Gai. (4) And they also wrought craftily, and they went and made provision and prepared themselves; and having taken old sacks on their shoulders, and old and rent and patched bottles of wine, (5) and the upper part of their shoes and their sandals old and clouted on their feet, and their garments old upon them—and the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy and corrupt. (6) And they came to Joshua into the camp of Israel to Galgala, and said to Joshua and Israel, We are come from a far land: now then make a covenant with us. (7) And the children of Israel said to the Chorrhaean, Peradventure thou dwellest amongst us; and how should I make a covenant with thee? (8) And they said to Joshua, We are thy servants: and Joshua said to them, Whence are ye, and whence have ye come? (9) And they said, Thy servants are come from a very far country in the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard his name, and all that he did in Egypt, (10) and all that he did to the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain. (11) And our elders and all that inhabit our land when they heard spoke to us, saying, Take to yourselves provision for the way, and go to meet them; and ye shall say to them, We are thy servants, and now make a covenant with us. (12) These are the loaves—we took them hot for our journey on the day on which we came out to come to you; and now they are dried and become mouldy. (13) And these are the skins of wine which we filled when new, and they are rent; and our garments and our shoes are worn out because of the very long journey. (14) And the chiefs took of their provision, and asked not counsel of the Lord. (15) And Joshua made peace with them, and they made a covenant with them to preserve them; and the princes of the congregation sware to them. (16) And it came to pass three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were near neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. (17) And the children of Israel departed and came to their cities; and their cities were Gabaon, and Kephira, and Berot, and the cities of Jarin. (18) Land the children of Israel fought not with them, because all the princes sware to them by the Lord God of Israel; and all the congregation murmured at the princes. (19) And the princes said to all the congregation: We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel, and now we shall not be able to touch them. (20) This we will do; take them alive, and we will preserve them: so there shall not be wrath against us by reason of the oath which we swore to them. (21) They shall live, and shall be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation, as the princes said to them. (22) And Joshua called them together and said to them, Why have ye deceived me, saying, We live very far from you; whereas ye are fellow-countrymen of those who dwell among us? (23) And now ye are cursed: there shall not fail of you a slave, or a hewer of wood, or a drawer of water to me and my God. (24) And they answered Joshua, saying, It was reported to us what the Lord thy God charged his servant Moses, to give you this land, and to destroy us and all that dwelt on it from before you; and we feared very much for our lives because of you, and therefore we did this thing. (25) And now, behold, we are in your power; do to us as it is pleasing to you, and as it seems good to you. (26) Aand they did so to them; and Joshua rescued them in that day out of the hands of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them. (27) And Joshua made them in that day hewers of wood and drawers of water to the whole congregation, and for the altar of God: therefore the inhabitants of Gabaon became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the altar of God until this day, even for the place which the Lord should choose.

10

(1) And when Adoni-bezec king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Gai, and had destroyed it, as he did to Jericho and its king, even so they did to Gai and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gabaon had gone over to Joshua and Israel; (2) then they were greatly terrified by them, for the king knew that Gabaon was a great city, as one of the chief cities, and all its men were mighty. (3) So Adoni-bezec king of Jerusalem sent to Elam king of Hebron, and to Phidon king of Jerimuth, and to Jephtha king of Lachis, and to Dabin king of Odollam, saying, (4) Come up hither to me, and help me, and let us take Gabaon; for the Gabaonites have gone over to Joshua and to the children of Israel. (5) And the five kings of the Jebusites went up, the king of Jerusalem, and the king of Chebron, and the king of Jerimuth, and the king of Lachis, and the king of Odollam, they and all their people; and encamped around Gabaon, and besieged it. (6) And the inhabitants of Gabaon sent to Joshua into the camp to Galgala, saying, Slack not thy hands from thy servants: come up quickly to us, and help us, and rescue us; for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered together against us. (7) And Joshua went up from Galgala, he and all the people of war with him, every one mighty in strength. (8) And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear them not, for I have delivered them into thy hands; there shall not one of them be left before you. (9) And when Joshua came suddenly upon them, he had advanced all the night out of Galgala. (10) And the Lord struck them with terror before the children of Israel; and the Lord destroyed them with a great slaughter at Gabaon; and they pursued them by the way of the going up of Oronin, and they smote them to Azeca and to Makeda. (11) And when they fled from the face of the children of Israel at the descent of Oronin, then the Lord cast upon them hailstones from heaven to Azeca; and they were more that died by the hailstones, than those whom the children of Israel slew with the sword in the battle. (12) Then Joshua spoke to the Lord, in the day in which the Lord delivered the Amorite into the power of Israel, when he destroyed them in Gabaon, and they were destroyed from before the children of Israel: and Joshua said, Let the sun stand over against Gabaon, and the moon over against the valley of Ælon. (13) And the sun and the moon stood still, until God executed vengeance on their enemies; and the sun stood still in the midst of heaven; it did not proceed to set till the end of one day. (14) And there was not such a day either before or after, so that God should hearken to a man, because the Lord fought on the side of Israel. (15) (16) And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave that is in Makeda. (17) And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings have been found hid in the cave that is in Makeda. (18) And Joshua said, Roll stones to the mouth of the cave, and set men to watch over them. (19) But do not ye stand, but pursue after your enemies, and attack the rear of them, and do not suffer them to enter into their cities; for the Lord our God has delivered them into our hands. (20) And it came to pass when Joshua and all Israel ceased destroying them utterly with a very great slaughter, that they that escaped took refuge in the strong cities. (21) And all the people returned safe to Joshua to Makeda; and no one of the children of Israel murmured with his tongue. (22) And Joshua said, Open the cave, and bring out these five kings out of the cave. (23) And they brought out the five kings out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, and the king of Chebron, and the king of Jerimuth, and the king of Lachis, and the king of Odollam. (24) And when they brought them out to Joshua, then Joshua called together all Israel, and the chiefs of the army that went with him, saying to them, Come forward and set your feet on their necks; and they came and set their feet on their necks. (25) And Joshua said to them, Do not fear them, neither be cowardly; be courageous and strong, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies, against whom ye fight. (26) And Joshua slew them, and hanged them on five trees; and they hung upon the trees until the evening. (27) And it came to pass toward the setting of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, and cast them into the cave into which they had fled for refuge, and rolled stones to the cave, which remain till this day. (28) And they took Makeda on that day, and slew the inhabitants with the edge of the sword, and they utterly destroyed every living thing that was in it; and there was none left in it that was preserved and had escaped; and they did to the king of Makeda, as they did to the king of Jericho. (29) And Joshua and all Israel with him departed out of Makeda to Lebna, and besieged Lebna. (30) And the Lord delivered it into the hands of Israel: and they took it, and its king, and slew the inhabitants with the edge of the sword, and every thing breathing in it; and there was not left in it any that survived and escaped; and they did to its king, as they did to the king of Jericho. (31) And Joshua and all Israel with him departed from Lebna to Lachis, and he encamped about it, and besieged it. (32) And the Lord delivered Lachis into the hands of Israel; and they took it on the second day, and they put the inhabitants to death with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed it, as they had done to Lebna. (33) Then Elam the king of Gazer went up to help Lachis; and Joshua smote him and his people with the edge of the sword, until there was not left to him one that was preserved and escaped. (34) And Joshua and all Israel with him departed from Lachis to Odollam, and he besieged it and took it. (35) And the Lord delivered it into the hand of Israel; and he took it on that day, and slew the inhabitants with the edge of the sword, and slew every thing breathing in it, as they did to Lachis. (36) And Joshua and all Israel with him departed to Chebron, and encamped about it. (37) And he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the living creatures that were in it; there was no one preserved: they destroyed it and all things in it, as they did to Odollam. (38) And Joshua and all Israel returned to Dabir; and they encamped about it; (39) and they took it, and its king, and its villages: and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and they destroyed it, and every thing breathing in it; and they did not leave in it any one that was preserved: as they did to Chebron and her king, so they did to Dabir and her king. (40) And Joshua smote all the land of the hill country, and Nageb and the plain country, and Asedoth, and her kings, they did not leave of them one that was saved: and they utterly destroyed every thing that had the breath of life, as the Lord God of Israel commanded, (41) from Cades Barne to Gaza, all Gosom, as far as Gabaon. (42) And Joshua smote, once for all, all their kings, and their land, because the Lord God of Israel fought on the side of Israel.

11

(1) And when Jabis the king of Asor heard, he sent to Jobab king of Maron, and to the king of Symoon, and to the king of Aziph, (2) and to the kings who were by the great Sidon, to the hill country and to Araba opposite Keneroth, and to the plain, and to Phenaeddor, (3) and to the Chananites on the coast eastward, and to the Amorites on the coast, and the Chettites, and the Pherezites, and the Jebusites in the mountain, and the Evites, and those dwelling under mount Aermon in the land Massyma. (4) And they and their kings with them went forth, as the sand of the sea in multitude, and horses, and very many chariots. (5) And all the kings assembled in person, and came to the same place, and encamped at the waters of Maron to war with Israel. (6) And the Lord said to Joshua, Be not afraid of them, for to-morrow at this time I will put them to flight before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire (7) And Joshua and all the men of war came upon them at the water of Maron suddenly; and they attacked them in the hill country. (8) And the Lord delivered them into the power of Israel; and they smote them and pursued them to great Sidon, and to Maseron, and to the plains of Massoch eastward; and they destroyed them till there was not one of them left that survived. (9) And Joshua did to them, as the Lord commanded him: he houghed their horses, and burned their chariots with fire. (10) And Joshua returned at that time, and took Asor and her king; now Asor in former time was the chief of these kingdoms. (11) And they slew with the sword all that breathed in it, and utterly destroyed them all, and there was no living thing left in it; and they burnt Asor with fire. (12) And Joshua took all the cities of the kingdoms, and their kings, and slew them with the edge of the sword; and utterly slew them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. (13) But all the walled cities Israel burnt not; but Israel burnt Asor only. (14) And the children of Israel took all its spoils to themselves; and they slew all the men with the edge of the sword, until he destroyed them; they left not one of them breathing. (15) As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, even so Moses commanded Joshua; and so Joshua did, he transgressed no precept of all that Moses commanded him. (16) And Joshua took all the hill country, and all the land of Nageb, and all the land of Gosom, and the plain country, and that toward the west, and the mountain of Israel and the low country by the mountain; (17) from the mountain of Chelcha, and that which goes up to Seir, and as far as Balagad, and the plains of Libanus, under mount Aermon; and he took all their kings, and destroyed, and slew them. (18) And for many days Joshua waged war with these kings. (19) And there was no city which Israel took not; they took all in war. (20) For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts to go forth to war against Israel, that they might be utterly destroyed, that mercy should not be granted to them, but that they should be utterly destroyed, as the Lord said to Moses. (21) And Joshua came at that time, and utterly destroyed the Enakim out of the hill country, from Chebron and from Dabir, and from Anaboth, and from all the race of Israel, and from all the mountain of Juda with their cities; and Joshua utterly destroyed them. (22) There was not any one left of the Enakim by the children of Israel, only there was left of them in Gaza, and in Gath, and in Aseldo. (23) And Joshua took all the land, as the Lord commanded Moses; and Joshua gave them for an inheritance to Israel by division according to their tribes; and the land ceased from war.

12

(1) And these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel slew, and inherited their land beyond Jordan from the east, from the valley of Arnon to the mount of Aermon, and all the land of Araba on the east. (2) Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon, ruling from Arnon, which is in the valley, on the side of the valley, and half of Galaad as far as Jaboc, the borders of the children of Ammon. (3) And Araba as far as the sea of Chenereth eastward, and as far as the sea of Araba; the salt sea eastward by the way to Asimoth, from Thaeman under Asedoth Phasga. (4) And Og king of Basan, who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain, was left of the giants (5) ruling from mount Aermon and from Secchai, and over all the land of Basan to the borders of Gergesi, and Machi, and the half of Galaad of the borders of Seon king of Esebon. (6) Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smote them; and Moses gave them by way of inheritance to Ruben, and Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasse. (7) And these are the kings of the Amorites, whom Joshua and the children of Israel slew beyond Jordan by the sea of Balagad in the plain of Libanus, and as far as the mountain of Chelcha, as men go up to Seir: and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel to inherit according to their portion; (8) in the mountain, and in the plain, and in Araba, and in Asedoth, and in the wilderness, and Nageb; the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Chananite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite. (9) The king of Jericho, and the king of Gai, which is near Baethel; (10) the king of Jerusalem, the king of Chebron, (11) the king of Jerimuth, the king of Lachis; (12) the king of Ælam, the king of Gazer; (13) the king of Dabir, the king of Gader: (14) the king of Hermath, the king of Ader; (15) the king of Lebna, the king of Odollam, (16) the king of Elath, (17) the king of Taphut, the king of Opher, (18) the king of Ophec of Aroc, (19) the king of Asom, (20) the king of Symoon, the king of Mambroth, the king of Aziph, (21) the king of Cades, the king of Zachac, (22) the king of Maredoth, the king of Jecom of Chermel, (23) the king of Odollam belonging to Phennealdor, the king of Gei of Galilee: (24) the king of Thersa: all these were twenty-nine kings.

13

(1) And Joshua was old and very advanced in years; and the Lord said to Joshua, Thou art advanced in years, and there is much land left to inherit. (2) And this is the land that is left: the borders of the Phylistines, the Gesirite, and the Chananite, (3) from the wilderness before Egypt, as far as the borders of Accaron on the left of the Chananites the land is reckoned to the five principalities of the Phylistines, to the inhabitant of Gaza, and of Azotus, and of Ascalon, and of Geth, and of Accaron, and to the Evite; (4) from Thaeman even to all the land of Chanaan before Gaza, and the Sidonians as far as Aphec, as far as the borders of the Amorites. (5) And all the land of Galiath of the Phylistines, and all Libanus eastward from Galgal, under the mountain Aermon as far as the entering in of Emath; (6) every one that inhabits the hill country from Libanus as far as Masereth Memphomaim. All the Sidonians, I will destroy them from before Israel; but do thou give them by inheritance to Israel, as I charged thee. (7) And now divide this land by lot to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe of Manasse. (8) From Jordan to the great sea westward thou shalt give it them: the great sea shall be the boundary. But to the two tribes and to the half tribe of Manasse, to Ruben and to Gad Moses gave an inheritance beyond Jordan: Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them eastward, (9) from Aroer, which is on the bank of the brook of Arnon, and the city in the midst of the valley, and all Misor from Maedaban. (10) All the cities of Seon king of the Amorites, who reigned from Esebon to the coasts of the children of Ammon; (11) and the region of Galaad, and the borders of the Gesirites and the Machatites, the whole mount of Aermon, and all the land of Basan to Acha. (12) All the kingdom of Og in the region of Basan, who reigned in Astaroth and in Edrain: he was left of the giants; and Moses smote him, and destroyed him. (13) But the children of Israel destroyed not the Gesirite and the Machatite and the Chananite; and the king of the Gesiri and the Machatite dwelt among the children of Israel until this day. (14) Only no inheritance was given to the tribe of Levi: the Lord God of Israel, he is their inheritance, as the Lord said to them; and this is the division which Moses made to the children of Israel in Araboth Moab, on the other side of Jordan, by Jericho. (15) And Moses gave the land to the tribe of Ruben according to their families. (16) And their borders were from Aroer, which is opposite the brook of Arnon, and theirs is the city that is in the valley of Arnon; and all Misor, (17) to Esebon, and all the cities in Misor, and Daebon, and Baemon-Baal, and the house of Meelboth; (18) and Basan, and Bakedmoth, and Maephaad, (19) and Kariathaim, and Sebama, and Serada, and Sion in mount Enab; (20) and Baethphogor, and Asedoth Phasga, and Baetthasinoth, (21) and all the cities of Misor, and all the kingdom of Seon king of the Amorites, whom Moses smote, even him and the princes of Madian, and Evi, and Roboc, and Sur, and Ur, and Robe prince of the spoils of Sion, and the inhabitants of Sion. (22) And Balaam the son of Baeor the prophet they slew in the battle. (23) And the borders of Ruben were—even Jordan was the boundary; this is the inheritance of the children of Ruben according to their families, these were their cities and their villages. (24) And Moses gave inheritance to the sons of Gad according to their families. (25) And their borders were Jazer, all the cities of Galaad, and half the land of the children of Ammon to Araba, which is before Arad. (26) And from Esebon to Araboth by Massepha, and Botanim, and Maan to the borders of Daebon, (27) and Enadom, and Othargai, and Baenthanabra, and Soccotha, and Saphan, and the rest of the kingdom of Sean king of Esebon: and Jordan shall be the boundary as far as part of the sea of Chenereth beyond Jordan eastward. (28) This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families and according to their cities: according to their families they will turn their backs before their enemies, because their cities and their villages were according to their families. (29) And Moses gave to half the tribe of Manasse according to their families. (30) And their borders were from Maan, and all the kingdom of Basan, and all the kingdom of Og king of Basan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in the region of Basan, sixty cities: (31) and the half of Galaad, and in Astaroth, and in Edrain, royal cities of Og in the land of Basan, Moses gave to the sons of Machir the sons of Manasse, even to the half-tribe sons of Machir the sons of Manasse, according to their families. (32) These are they whom Moses caused to inherit beyond Jordan in Araboth Moab, beyond Jordan by Jericho eastward.

14

(1) And these are they of the children of Israel that received their inheritance in the land of Chanaan, to whom Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the sonof Naue, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the children of Israel, gave inheritance. (2) They inherited according to their lots, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Joshua to the nine tribes and the half tribe, on the other side of Jordan. (3) But to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. (4) For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasse and Ephraim; and there was none inheritance in the land given to the Levites, only cities to dwell in, and their suburbs separated for the cattle, and their cattle. (5) As the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel; and they divided the land. (6) And the children of Juda came to Joshua in Galgal, and Chaleb the son of Jephone the Kenezite said to him, Thou knowest the word that the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Cades Barne. (7) For I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me out of Cades Barne to spy out the land; and I returned him an answer according to his mind. (8) My brethren that went up with me turned away the heart of the people, but I applied my self to follow the Lord my God. (9) And Moses sware on that day, saying, The land on which thou art gone up, it shall be thy inheritance and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast applied thyself to follow the Lord our God. (10) And now the Lord has kept me alive as he said: this is the forty-fifth year since the Lord spoke that word to Moses; and Israel journeyed in the wilderness; and now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. (11) I am still strong this day, as when the Lord sent me: just so strong am I now to go out and to come in for war. (12) And now I ask of thee this mountain, as the Lord said in that day; for thou heardest this word on that day; and now the Enakim are there, cities great and strong: if then the Lord should be with me, I will utterly destroy them, as the Lord said to me. (13) And Joshua blessed him, and gave Chebron to Chaleb the son of Jephone the son of Kenez for an inheritance. (14) Therefore Chebron became the inheritance of Chaleb the son of Jephone the Kenezite until this day, because he followed the commandment of the Lord God of Israel. (15) And the name of Chebron before was the city Argob, it is the metropolis of the Enakim: and the land rested from war.

15

(1) And the borders of the tribe of Juda according to their families were from the borders of Idumea from the wilderness of sin, as far as Cades southward. (2) And their borders were from the south as far as a part of the salt sea from the high country that extends southward. (3) And they proceed before the ascent of Acrabin, and go out round Sena, and go up from the south to Cades Barne; and go out to Asoron, and proceed up to Sarada, and go out by the way that is west of Cades. (4) And they go out to Selmona, and issue at the valley of Egypt; and the termination of its boundaries shall be at the sea: these are their boundaries southward. (5) And their boundaries eastward are all the salt sea as far as Jordan; and their borders from the north, and from the border of the sea, and from part of Jordan— (6) the borders go up to Baethaglaam, and they go along from the north to Baetharaba, and the borders go on up to the stone of Baeon the son of Ruben. (7) And the borders continue on to the fourth part of the valley of Achor, and go down to Galgal, which is before the approach of Adammin, which is southward in the valley, and terminate at the water of the fountain of the sun; and their going forth shall be the fountain of Rogel. (8) And the borders go up to the valley of Ennom, behind Jebus southward; this is Jerusalem: and the borders terminate at the top of the mountain, which is before the valley of Ennom toward the sea, which is by the side of the land of Raphain northward. (9) And the border going forth from the top of the mountain terminates at the fountain of the water of Naphtho, and terminates at mount Ephron; and the border will lead to Baal; this is the city of Jarim. (10) And the border will go round from Baal to the sea, and will go on to the mount of Assar behind the city of Jarin northwards; this is Chaslon: and it will come down to the city of Sun, and will go on to the south. (11) And the border terminates behind Accaron northward, and the borders will terminate at Socchoth, and the borders will go on to the south, and will terminate at Lebna, and the issue of the borders will be at the sea; and their borders shall be toward the sea, the great sea shall be the boundary. (12) These are the borders of the children of Juda round about according to their families. (13) And to Chaleb the son of Jephone he gave a portion in the midst of the children of Juda by the command of God; and Joshua gave him the city of Arboc the metropolis of Enac; this is Chebron. (14) And Chaleb the son of Jephone destroyed thence the three sons of Enac, Susi, and Tholami, and Achima. (15) And Chaleb went up thence to the inhabitants of Dabir; and the name of Dabir before was the city of Letters. (16) And Chaleb said, Whosoever shall take and destroy the city of Letters, and master it, to him will I give my daughter Ascha to wife. (17) And Gothoniel the son of Chenez the brother of Chaleb took it; and he gave him Ascha his daughter to wife. (18) And it came to pass as she went out that she counselled him, saying, I will ask of my father a field; and she cried from off her ass; and Chaleb said to her, What is it? (19) And she said to him, Give me a blessing, for thou hast set me in the land of Nageb; give me Botthanis: and he gave her Gonaethla the upper, and Gonaethla the lower. (20) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Juda. (21) And their cities were cities belonging to the tribe of the children of Juda on the borders of Edom by the wilderness, and Baeseleel, and Ara, and Asor, (22) and Icam, and Regma, and Aruel, (23) and Cades, and Asorionain, and Maenam, (24) and Balmaenan, and their villages, (25) and the cities of Aseron, this is Asor, (26) and Sen, and Salmaa, and Molada, (27) and Seri, and Baephalath, (28) and Cholaseola, and Beersabee; and their villages, and their hamlets, (29) Bala and Bacoc, and Asom, (30) and Elboudad, and Baethel, and Herma, (31) and Sekelac, and Macharim, and Sethennac, (32) and Labos, and Sale, and Eromoth; twenty-nine cities, and their villages. (33) In the plain country Astaol, and Raa, and Assa, (34) and Ramen, and Tano, and Iluthoth, and Maeani, (35) and Jermuth, and Odollam, and Membra, and Saocho, and Jazeca. (36) And Sacarim and Gadera, and its villages; fourteen cities, and their villages; (37) Senna, and Adasan, and Magadalgad, (38) Senna, and Adasan, and Magadalgad, (39) and Basedoth, and Ideadalea; (40) and Chabra, and Maches, and Maachos, (41) and Geddor, and Bagadiel, and Noman, and Machedan: sixteen cities, and their villages; (42) Lebna, and Ithac, and Anoch, (43) and Jana, and Nasib, (44) and Keilam, and Akiezi, and Kezib, and Bathesar, and Ælom: ten cities, and their villages; (45) Accaron and her villages, and their hamlets: (46) from Accaron, Gemna, and all the cities that are near Asedoth; and their villages. (47) Asiedoth, and her villages, and her hamlets; Gaza, and its villages and its hamlets as far as the river of Egypt, and the great sea is the boundary. (48) And in the hill country Samir, and Jether, and Socha, (49) and Renna and the city of Letters, this is Dabir; (50) and Anon, and Es, and Man, and Æsam, (51) and Gosom, and Chalu, and Channa, and Gelom: eleven cities, and their villages; (52) Ærem, and Remna, and Soma, (53) and Jemain, and Baethachu, and Phacua, (54) and Euma, and the city Arboc, this is Chebron, and Soraith: nine cities and their villages: (55) Maor, and Chermel, and Ozib, and Itan, (56) and Jariel, and Aricam, and Zacanaim, (57) and Gabaa, and Thamnatha; nine cities, and their villages; (58) Ælua, and Bethsur, and Geddon, (59) and Magaroth, and Baethanam, and Thecum; six cities, and their villages; Theco, and Ephratha, this is Baethleem, and Phagor, and Ætan, and Culon, and Tatam, and Thobes, and Carem, and Galem, and Thether, and Manocho: eleven cities, and their villages, (60) Cariathbaal, this is the city of Jarim, and Sotheba: two cities, and their villages: (61) and Baddargeis, and Tharabaam, and Ænon; (62) and Æochioza, and Naphlazon, and the cities of Sadon, and Ancades; seven cities, and their villages. (63) And the Jebusite dwelt in Jerusalem, and the children of Juda could not destroy them; and the Jebusites dwelt in Jerusalem to this day.

16

(1) And the borders of the children of Joseph were from Jordan by Jericho eastward; and they will go up from Jericho to the hill country, to the wilderness, to Baethel Luza. (2) And they will go out to Baethel, and will proceed to the borders of Achatarothi. (3) And they will go across to the sea to the borders of Aptalim, as far as the borders of Baethoron the lower, and the going forth of them shall be to the sea. (4) And the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasse, took their inheritance. (5) And the borders of the children of Ephraim were according to their families, and the borders of their inheritance were eastward to Ataroth, and Eroc as far as Baethoron the upper, and Gazara. (6) And the borders will proceed to the sea to Icasmon north of Therma; they will go round eastward to Thenasa, and Selles, and will pass on eastward to Janoca, (7) and to Macho, and Ataroth, and these are their villages; and they will come to Jericho, and will issue at Jordan. (8) And the borders will proceed from Tapho to the sea to Chelcana; and their termination will be at the sea; this is the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim according to their families. (9) And the cities separated to the sons of Ephraim were in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasse, all the cities and their villages. (10) And Ephraim did not destroy the Chananite who dwelt in Gazer; and the Chananite dwelt in Ephraim until this day, until Pharao the king of Egypt went up and took it, and burnt it with fire; and the Chananites, and Pherezites, and the dwellers in Gaza they destroyed, and Pharao gave them for a dowry to his daughter.

17

(1) And the borders of the tribe of the children of Manasse, (for he was the first-born of Joseph,) assigned to Machir the first-born of Manasse the father of Galaad, for he was a warrior, were in the land of Galaad and of Basan. (2) And there was land assigned to the other sons of Manasse according to their families; to the sons of Jezi, and to the sons of Kelez, and to the sons of Jeziel, and to the sons of Sychem, and to the sons of Symarim, and to the sons of Opher: these are the males according to their families. (3) And Salpaad the sons of Opher had no sons but daughters: and these are the names of the daughters of Salpaad; Maala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa. (4) And they stood before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua, and before the rulers, saying, God gave a charge by the hand of Moses, to give us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren: so there was given to them by the command of the Lord an inheritance among the brethren of their father. (5) And their lot fell to them from Anassa, and to the plain of Labec of the land of Galaad, which is beyond Jordan. (6) For the daughters of the sons of Manasse inherited a portion in the midst of their brethren, and the land of Galaad was assigned to the remainder of the sons of Manasse. (7) And the borders of the sons of Manasse were Delanath, which is before the sons of Anath, and it proceeds to the borders even to Jamin and Jassib to the fountain of Thaphthoth. (8) It shall belong to Manasse, and Thapheth on the borders of Manasse shall belong to the sons of Ephraim. (9) And the borders shall go down to the valley of Carana southward by the valley of Jariel, (there is a turpentine tree belonging to Ephraim between that and the city of Manasse:) and the borders of Manasse are northward to the brook; and the sea shall be its termination. (10) Southward the land belongs to Ephraim, and northward to Manasse; and the sea shall be their cost; and northward they shall border upon Aseb, and eastward upon Issachar. (11) And Manasses shall have in the portion of Issachar and Aser Baethsan and their villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, and its villages, and the inhabitants of Mageddo, and its villages, and the third part of Mapheta, and its villages. (12) And the sons of Manasse were not able to destroy these cities; and the Chananite began to dwell in that land. (13) And it came to pass that when the children of Israel were strong, they made the Chananites subject, but they did not utterly destroy them. (14) And the sons of Joseph answered Joshua, saying, Wherefore hast thou caused us to inherit one inheritance, and one line? whereas I am a great people, and God has blessed me. (15) And Joshua said to them, If thou be a great people, go up to the forest, and clear the land for thyself, If mount Ephraim be too little for thee. (16) And they said, The mount of Ephraim does not please us, and the Chananite dwelling in it in Baethsan, and in its villages, and in the valley of Jezrael, has choice cavalry and iron. (17) And Joshua said to the sons of Joseph, If thou art a great people, and hast great strength, thou shalt not have only one inheritance. (18) For thou shalt have the wood, for there is a wood, and thou shalt clear it, and the land shall be thine; even when thou shalt have utterly destroyed the Chananite, for he has chosen cavalry; yet thou art stronger than he.

18

(1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel were assembled at Selo, and there they pitched the tabernacle of witness; and the land was subdued by them. (2) And the sons of Israel remained, even those who had not received their inheritance, seven tribes. (3) And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, How long will ye be slack to inherit the land, which the Lord our God has given you? (4) Appoint of yourselves three men of each tribe, and let them rise up and go through the land, and let them describe it before me, as it will be proper to divide it. (5) And they came to him: and he divided to them seven portions, saying, Juda shall stand to them a border southward, and the sons of Joseph shall stand to them northward. (6) And do ye divide the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, and I will give you a lot before the Lord our God. (7) For the sons of Levi have no part among you; for the priesthood of the Lord is his portion; and Gad, and Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasse, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them. (8) And the men rose up and went; and Joshua charged the men who went to explore the land, saying, Go and explore the land, and come to me, and I will bring you forth a lot here before the Lord in Selo. (9) And they went, and explored the land: and they viewed it, and described it according to the cities, seven parts in a book, and brought the book to Joshua. (10) And Joshua cast the lot for them in Selo before the Lord. (11) And the lot of the tribe of Benjamin came forth first according to their families: and the borders of their lot came forth between the children of Juda and the children of Joseph. (12) And their borders were northward: the borders shall go up from Jordan behind Jericho northward, and shall go up to the mountain westward, and the issue of it shall be Baethon of Mabdara. (13) And the borders will go forth thence to Luz, behind Luz, from the south of it; this is Baethel: and the borders shall go down to Maatarob Orech, to the hill country, which is southward of Baethoron the lower. (14) And the borders shall pass through and proceed to the part that looks toward the sea, on the south, from the mountain in front of Baethoron southward, and its termination shall be at Cariath-Baal, this is Cariath-Jarin, a city of the children of Juda; this is the part toward the west. (15) And the south side on the part of Cariath-Baal; and the borders shall go across to Gasin, to the fountain of the water of Naphtho. (16) And the borders shall extend down on one side, this is in front of the forest of Sonnam, which is on the side of Emec Raphain northward, and it shall come down to Gaeenna behind Jebusai southward: it shall come down to the fountain of Rogel. (17) And the borders shall go across to the fountain of Baethsamys: (18) and shall proceed to Galiloth, which is in front by the going up of Æthamin; and they shall come down to the stone of Baeon of the sons of Ruben; and shall pass over behind Baetharaba northward, and shall go down to the borders behind the sea northward. (19) And the termination of the borders shall be at the creek of the salt sea northward to the side of Jordan southward: these are their southern borders. (20) And Jordan shall be their boundary on the east: this is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, these are their borders round about according to their families. (21) And the cities of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethagaeo, and the Amecasis, (22) and Baethabara, and Sara, and Besana, (23) and Æein, and Phara, and Ephratha, (24) and Carapha, and Cephira, and Moni, and Gabaa, twelve cities and their villages: (25) Gabaon, and Rama, and Beerotha; (26) and Massema, and Miron, and Amoke; (27) and Phira, and Caphan, and Nacan, and Selecan, and Thareela, (28) and Jebus (this is Jerusalem); and Gabaoth, Jarim, thirteen cities, and their villages; this is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families.

19

(1) And the second lot came out for the children of Symeon; and their inheritance was in the midst of the lots of the children of Juda. (2) And their lot was Beersabee, and Samaa, and Caladam, (3) and Arsola, and Bola, and Jason, (4) and Erthula, and Bula, and Herma, (5) and Sikelac, and Baethmachereb, and Sarsusin, (6) and Batharoth, and their fields, thirteen cities, and their villages. (7) Eremmon, and Thalcha, and Jether, and Asan; four cities and their villages, (8) round about their cities as far as Balec as men go to Bameth southward: this is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Symeon according to their families. (9) The inheritance of the tribe of the children of Symeon was a part of the lot of Juda, for the portion of the children of Juda was greater than theirs; and the children of Symeon inherited in the midst of their lot. (10) And the third lot came out to Zabulon according to their families: the bounds of their inheritance shall be—Esedekgola shall be their border, (11) the sea and Magelda, and it shall reach to Baetharaba in the valley, which is opposite Jekman. (12) And the border returned from Sedduc in a contrary direction eastward from Baethsamys, to the borders of Chaselothaith, and shall pass on to Dabiroth, and shall proceed upward to Phangai. (13) And thence it shall come round in the opposite direction eastward to Gebere to the city of Catasem, and shall go on to Remmonaa Matharaoza. (14) And the borders shall come round northward to Amoth, and their going out shall be at Gaephael, (15) and Catanath, and Nabaal, and Symoon, and Jericho, and Baethman. (16) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Zabulon according to their families, these cities and their villages. (17) And the fourth lot came out to Issachar. (18) And their borders were Jazel, and Chasaloth, and Sunam, (19) and Agin, and Siona, and Reeroth, (20) and Anachereth, and Dabiron, and Kison, and Rebes, (21) and Remmas, and Jeon, and Tomman, and Æmarec, and Bersaphes. (22) And the boundaries shall border upon Gaethbor, and upon Salim westward, and Baethsamys; and the extremity of his bounds shall be Jordan. (23) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages. (24) And the fifth lot came out to Aser according to their families. (25) And their borders were Exeleketh, and Aleph, and Baethok, and Keaph, (26) and Elimelech, and Amiel, and Maasa, and the lot will border on Carmel westward, and on Sion, and Labanath. (27) And it will return westward from Baethegeneth, and will join Zabulon and Ekgai, and Phthaeel northwards, and the borders will come to Saphthaebaethme, and Inael, and will go on to Chobamasomel, (28) and Elbon, and Raab, and Ememaon, and Canthan to great Sidon. (29) And the borders shall turn back to Rama, and to the fountain of Masphassat, and the Tyrians; and the borders shall return to Jasiph, and their going forth shall be the sea, and Apoleb, and Echozob, (30) and Archob, and Aphec, and Raau. (31) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Aser according to their families, the cities and their villages. (32) And the sixth lot came out to Nephthali. (33) And their borders were Moolam, and Mola, and Besemiin, and Arme, and Naboc, and Jephthamai, as far as Dodam; and their goings out were Jordan. (34) And the coasts will return westward by Athabor, and will go out thence to Jacana, and will border on Zabulon southward, and Aser will join it westward, and Jordan eastward. (35) And the walled cities of the Tyrians, Tyre, and Omathadaketh, and Kenereth, (36) and Armaith, and Areal, and Asor, (37) and Cades, and Assari, and the well of Asor; (38) and Keroe, and Megalaarim, and Baetthame, and Thessamys. (39) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Nephthali. (40) And the seventh lot came out to Dan. (41) And their borders were Sarath, and Asa, and the cities of Sammaus, (42) and Salamin, and Ammon, and Silatha, (43) and Elon, and Thamnatha, and Accaron; (44) and Alcatha, and Begethon, and Gebeelan, (45) and Azor, and Banaebacat, and Gethremmon. (46) And westward of Hieracon the border was near to Joppa. (47) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan, according to their families, these are their cities and their villages: and the children of Dan did not drive out the Amorite who afflicted them in the mountain; and the Amorite would not suffer them to come down into the valley, but they forcibly took from them the border of their portion. (48) And the sons of Dan went and fought against Lachis, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword; and they dwelt in it, and called the name of it Lasendan: (47a) and the Amorite continued to dwell in Edom and in Salamin: and the hand of Ephraim prevailed against them, and they became tribute to them. (49) And they proceeded to take possession of the land according to their borders, and the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Naue among them, (50) by the command of God, and they gave him the city which he asked for, Thamnasarach, which is in the mount of Ephraim; and he built the city, and dwelt in it. (51) These are the divisions which Eleazar the priest divided by lot, and Joshua the son of Naue, and the heads of families among the tribes of Israel, according to the lots, in Selo before the Lord by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony, and they went to take possession of the land.

20

(1) And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, (2) Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses. (3) Even a refuge to the slayer who has smitten a man unintentionally; and the cities shall be to you a refuge, and the slayer shall not be put to death by the avenger of blood, until he have stood before the congregation for judgment. (4) And Joshua separated Cades in Galilee in the mount Nephthali, and Sychem in the mount Ephraim, and the city of Arboc; this is Chebron, in the mountain of Juda. (5) And beyond Jordan he appointed Bosor in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Ruben, and Aremoth in Galaad out of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in the country of Basan out of the tribe of Manasse. (6) These were the cities selected for the sons of Israel, and for the stranger abiding among them, that every one who smites a soul unintentionally should flee thither, that he should not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he should stand before the congregation for judgment.

21

(1) And the heads of the families of the sons of Levi drew near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Naue, and to the heads of families of the tribes of Israel. (2) And they spoke to them in Selo in the land of Chanaan, saying, The Lord gave commandment by Moses to give us cities to dwell in, and the country round about for our cattle. (3) So the children of Israel gave to the Levites in their inheritance by the command of the Lord the cities and the country round. (4) And the lot came out for the children of Caath; and the sons of Aaron, the priests the Levites, had by lot thirteen cities out of the tribe of Juda, and out of the tribe of Symeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin. (5) And to the sons of Caath that were left were given by lot ten cities, out of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasse. (6) And the sons of Gedson had thirteen cities, out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Aser, and out of the tribe of Nephthali, and out of the half tribe of Manasse in Basan. (7) And the sons of Merari according to their families had by lot twelve cities, out of the tribe of Ruben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zabulon. (8) And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded Moses, by lot. (9) And the tribe of the children of Juda, and the tribe of the children of Symeon, and part of the tribe of the children of Benjamin gave these cities, and they were assigned (10) to the sons of Aaron of the family of Caath of the sons of Levi, for the lot fell to these. (11) And they gave to them Cariatharboc the metropolis of the sons of Enac; this is Chebron in the mountain country of Juda, and the suburbs round it. (12) But the lands of the city, and its villages Joshua gave to the sons of Chaleb the son of Jephonne for a possession. (13) And to the sons of Aaron he gave the city of refuge for the slayer, Chebron, and the suburbs belonging to it; and Lemna and the suburbs belonging to it; (14) and Ælom and its suburbs; and Tema and its suburbs; (15) and Gella and its suburbs; and Dabir and its suburbs; (16) and Asa and its suburbs; and Tany and its suburbs; and Baethsamys and its suburbs: nine cities from these two tribes. (17) And from the tribe of Benjamin, Gabaon and its suburbs; and Gatheth and its suburbs; (18) and Anathoth and its suburbs; and Gamala and its suburbs; four cities. (19) All the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, thirteen. (20) And to the families, even the sons of Caath the Levites, that were left of the sons of Caath, there was given their priests’ city, (21) out of the tribe of Ephraim; and they gave them the slayer’s city of refuge, Sychem, and its suburbs, and Gazara and its appendages, and its suburbs; (22) and Baethoron and its suburbs: four cities: (23) and the tribe of Dan, Helcothaim and its suburbs; and Gethedan and its suburbs: (24) and Ælon and its suburbs; and Getheremmon and its suburbs: four cities. (25) And out of the half tribe of Manasse, Tanach and its suburbs; and Jebatha and its suburbs; two cities. (26) In all were given ten cities, and the suburbs of each belonging to them, to the families of the sons of Caath that remained. (27) And Joshua gave to the sons of Gedson the Levites out of the other half tribe of Manasse cities set apart for the slayers, Gaulon in the country of Basan, and its suburbs; and Bosora and its suburbs; two cities. (28) And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kison and its suburbs; and Debba and its suburbs; (29) and Remmath and its suburbs; and the well of Letters, and its suburbs; four cities. (30) And out of the tribe of Aser, Basella and its suburbs; and Dabbon and its suburbs; (31) and Chelcat and its suburbs; and Raab and its suburbs; four cities. (32) And of the tribe of Nephthali, the city set apart for the slayer, Cades in Galilee, and its suburbs; and Nemmath, and its suburbs; and Themmon and its suburbs; three cities. (33) All the cities of Gedson according to their families were thirteen cities. (34) And to the family of the sons of Merari the Levites that remained, he gave out of the tribe of Zabulon, Maan and its suburbs; and Cades and its suburbs, (35) and Sella and its suburbs: three cities. (36) And beyond Jordan over against Jericho, out of the tribe of Ruben, the city of refuge for the slayer, Bosor in the wilderness; Miso and its suburbs; (36a) and Jazer and its suburbs; and Decmon and its suburbs; and Mapha and its suburbs; four cities. (37) And out of the tribe of Gad the city of refuge for the slayer, both Ramoth in Galaad, and its suburbs; Camin and its suburbs; (37a) and Esbon and its suburbs; and Jazer and its suburbs: the cities were four in all. (38) All these cities were given to the sons of Merari according to the families of them that were left out of the tribe of Levi; and their limits were the twelve cities. (39) All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel, were forty-eight cities, (40) and their suburbs round about these cities: (40a) a city and the suburbs round about the city to all these cities: (40b) and Joshua ceased dividing the land by their borders: (40c) and the children of Israel gave a portion to Joshua because of the commandment of the Lord: they gave him the city which he asked: they gave him Thamnasachar in mount Ephraim; (40d) and Joshua built the city, and dwelt in it: (40e) and Joshua took the knives of stone, wherewith he circumcised the children of Israel that were born in the desert by the way, and put them in Thamnasachar. (41) So the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he sware to give to their fathers: and they inherited it, and dwelt in it. (42) And the Lord gave them rest round about, as he sware to their fathers: not one of all their enemies maintained his ground against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. (43) There failed not one of the good things which the Lord spoke to the children of Israel; all came to pass.

22

(1) Then Joshua called together the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse, (2) and said to them, Ye have heard all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and ye have hearkened to my voice in all that he commanded you. (3) Ye have not deserted your brethren these many days: until this day ye have kept the commandment of the Lord your God. (4) And now the Lord our God has given our brethren rest, as he told them: now then return and depart to your homes, and to the land of your possession, which Moses gave you on the other side Jordan. (5) But take great heed to do the commands and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do; to love the Lord our God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commands, and to cleave to him, and serve him with all your mind, and with all your soul. (6) And Joshua blessed them, and dismissed them; and they went to their homes. (7) And to one half the tribe of Manasse Moses gave a portion in the land of Basan, and to the other half Joshua gave a portion with his brethren on the other side of Jordan westward: and when Joshua sent them away to their homes, then he blessed them. (8) And they departed with much wealth to their houses, and they divided the spoil of their enemies with their brethren; very much cattle, and silver, and gold, and iron, and much raiment. (9) So the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse, departed from the children of Israel in Selo in the land of Chanaan, to go away into Galaad, into the land of their possession, which they inherited by the command of the Lord, by the hand of Moses. (10) And they came to Galaad of Jordan, which is in the land of Chanaan: and the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse built there an alter by Jordan, a great altar to look at. (11) And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse have built an alter at the borders of the land of Chanaan at Galaad of Jordan, on the opposite side to the children of Israel. (12) And all the children of Israel gathered together to Selo, so as to go up and fight against them. (13) And the children of Israel sent to the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and to the sons of the half tribe of Manasse into the land of Galaad, both Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, (14) and ten of the chiefs with him; there was one chief of every household out of all the tribes of Israel; (the heads of families are the captains of thousands in Israel.) (15) And they came to the sons of Ruben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasse into the land of Galaad; and they spoke to them, saying, (16) Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, What is this transgression that ye have transgressed before the God of Israel, to turn away today from the Lord, in that ye have built for yourselves an alter, so that ye should be apostates from the Lord? (17) Is the sin of Phogor too little for you, whereas we have not been cleansed from it until this day, though there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord? (18) And ye have this day revolted from the Lord; and it shall come to pass if ye revolt this day from the Lord, that to-morrow there shall be wrath upon all Israel. (19) And now if the land of your possession be too little, cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord, where the tabernacle of the Lord dwells, and receive ye an inheritance among us; and do not become apostates from God, neither do ye apostatize from the Lord, because of your having built an altar apart from the altar of the Lord our God. (20) Lo! did not Achar the son of Zara commit a trespass taking of the accursed thing, and there was wrath on the whole congregation of Israel? and he himself died alone in his own sin. (21) And the sons of Ruben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse answered, and spoke to the captains of the thousands of Israel, saying, (22) God even God is the Lord, and God even God himself knows, and Israel he shall know; if we have transgressed before the Lord by apostasy, let him not deliver us this day. (23) And if we have built to ourselves an altar, so as to apostatize from the Lord our God, so as to offer upon it a sacrifice of whole-burnt-offerings, so as to offer upon it a sacrifice of peace-offering, —the Lord shall require it. (24) But we have done this for the sake of precaution concerning this thing, saying, Lest hereafter your sons should say to our sons, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? (25) Whereas the Lord has set boundaries between us and you, even Jordan, and ye have no portion in the Lord: so your sons shall alienate our sons, that they should not worship the Lord. (26) And we gave orders to do thus, to build this altar, not for burnt-offerings, nor for meat-offerings; (27) but that this may be a witness between you and us, and between our posterity after us, that we may do service to the Lord before him, with our burnt-offerings and our meat-offerings and our peace-offerings: so your sons shall not say to our sons, hereafter, Ye have no portion in the Lord. (28) And we said, If ever it should come to pass that they should speak so to us, or to our posterity hereafter; then shall they say, Behold the likeness of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for the sake of burnt-offerings, nor for the sake of meat-offerings, but it is a witness between you and us, and between our sons. (29) Far be it from us therefore that we should turn away from the Lord this day so as to apostatize from the Lord, so as that we should build an altar for burnt-offerings, and for peace-offerings, besides the altar of the Lord which is before his tabernacle. (30) And Phinees the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation of Israel who were with him heard the words which the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse spoke; and it pleased them. (31) And Phinees the priest said to the sons of Ruben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half of the tribe of Manasse, To-day we know that the Lord is with us, because ye have not trespassed grievously against the Lord, and because ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord. (32) So Phinees the priest and the princes departed from the children of Ruben, and from the children of Gad, and from the half tribe of Manasse out of Galaad into the land of Chanaan to the children of Israel; and reported the words to them. (33) And it pleased the children of Israel; and they spoke to the children of Israel, and blessed the God of the children of Israel, and told them to go up no more to war against the others to destroy the land of the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse: so they dwelt upon it. (34) And Joshua gave a name to the altar of the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasse; and said, It is a testimony in the midst of them, that the Lord is their God.

23

(1) And it came to pass after many days after the Lord had given Israel rest from all his enemies round about, that Joshua was old and advanced in years. (2) And Joshua called together all the children of Israel, and their elders, and their chiefs, and their judges, and their officers; and said to them, I am old and advanced in years. (3) And ye have seen all that the Lord our God has done to all these nations before us; for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. (4) See, that I have given to you these nations that are left to you by lots to your tribes, all the nations beginning at Jordan; and some I have destroyed; and the boundaries shall be at the great sea westward. (5) And the Lord our God, he shall destroy them before us, until they utterly perish; and he shall send against them the wild beasts, until he shall have utterly destroyed them and their kings from before you; and ye shall inherit their land, as the Lord our God said to you. (6) Do ye therefore strive diligently to observe and do all things written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not to the right hand or to the left; (7) that ye go not in among these nations that are left; and the names of their gods shall not be named among you, neither shall ye serve them, neither shall ye bow down to them. (8) But ye shall cleave to the Lord our God, as ye have done until this day. (9) And the Lord shall destroy them before you, even great and strong nations; and no one has stood before us until this day. (10) One of you has chased a thousand, for the Lord our God, he fought for you, as he said to us. (11) And take ye great heed to love the Lord our God. (12) For if ye shall turn aside and attach yourselves to these nations that are left with you, and make marriages with them, and become mingled with them and they with you, (13) know that the Lord will no more destroy these nations from before you; and they will be to you snares and stumbling-blocks, and nails in your heels, and darts in your eyes, until ye be destroyed from off this good land, which the Lord your God has given you. (14) But I hasten to go the way of death, as all that are upon the earth also do: and ye know in your heart and in your soul, that not one word has fallen to the ground of all the words which the Lord our God has spoken respecting all that concerns us; there has not one of them failed. (15) And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon us which the Lord God will bring upon you all the evil things, until he shall have destroyed you from off this good land, which the Lord has given you, (16) when ye transgress the covenant of the Lord our God, which he has charged us, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them.

24

(1) And Joshua gathered all the tribe of Israel to Selo, and convoked their elders, and their officers, and their judges, and set them before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers at first sojourned beyond the river, even Thara, the father of Abraam and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods. (3) And I took your father Abraam from the other side of the river, and I guided him through all the land, and I multiplied his seed; (4) and I gave to him Isaac, and to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau mount Seir for him to inherit: and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt, and became there a great and populous and mighty nation: and the Egyptians afflicted them. (5) And I smote Egypt with the wonders that I wrought among them. (6) And afterwards God brought out our fathers from Egypt, and ye entered into the Red Sea; and the Egyptians pursued after our fathers with chariots and horses into the Red Sea. (7) And we cried aloud to the Lord; and he put a cloud and darkness between us and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in the land of Egypt; and ye were in the wilderness many days. (8) And he brought us into the land of the Amorites that dwelt beyond Jordan, and the Lord delivered them into our hands; and ye inherited their land, and utterly destroyed them from before you. (9) And Balac, king of Moab, son of Sepphor, rose up, and made war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam to curse us. (10) But the Lord thy God would not destroy thee; and he greatly blessed us, and rescued us out of their hands, and delivered them to us. (11) And ye crossed over Jordan, and came to Jericho; and the inhabitants of Jericho fought against us, the Amorite, and the Chananite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite, and the Chettite, and the Gergesite, and the Lord delivered them into our hands. (12) And he sent forth the hornet before you; and he drove them out from before you, even twelve kings of the Amorites, not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. (13) And he gave you a land on which ye did not labour, and cities which ye did not build, and ye were settled in them; and ye eat of vineyards and oliveyards which ye did not plant. (14) And now fear the Lord, and serve him in righteousness and justice; and remove the strange gods, which our fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord. (15) But if it seem not good to you to serve the Lord, choose to yourselves this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods of your fathers that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, among whom ye dwell upon their land: but I and my house will serve the Lord, for he is holy. (16) And the people answered and said, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord, so as to serve other gods. (17) The Lord our God, he is God; he brought up us and our fathers from Egypt, and kept us in all the way wherein we walked, and among all the nations through whom we passed. (18) And the Lord cast out the Amorite, and all the nations that inhabited the land from before us: yea, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God. (19) And Joshua said to the people, Indeed ye will not be able to serve the Lord, for God is holy; and he being jealous will not forgive your sins and your transgressions. (20) Whensoever ye shall forsake the Lord and serve other gods, then he shall come upon you and afflict you, and consume you, because he has done you good. (21) And the people said to Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the Lord. (22) And Joshua said to the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen the Lord to serve him. (23) And now take away the strange gods that are among you, and set your heart right toward the Lord God of Israel. (24) And the people said to Joshua, We will serve the Lord, and we will hearken to his voice. (25) So Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and gave them a law and an ordinance in Selo before the tabernacle of the God of Israel. (26) And he wrote these words in the book of the laws of God: and Joshua took a great stone, and set it up under the oak before the Lord. (27) And Joshua said to the people, Behold, this stone shall be among you for a witness, for it has heard all the words that have been spoken to it by the Lord; for he has spoken to you this day; and this stone shall be among you for a witness in the last days, whenever ye shall deal falsely with the Lord my God. (28) And Joshua dismissed the people, and they went every man to his place. (31) And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that lived as long as Joshua, and all that knew all the works of the Lord which he wrought for Israel. (29) And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Naue the servant of the Lord died, at the age of a hundred and ten years. (30) And they buried him by the borders of his inheritance in Thamnasarach in the mount of Ephraim, northward of the mount of Galaad: (30) there they put with him into the tomb in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Galgala, when he brought them out of Egypt, as the Lord appointed them; and there they are to this day. (32) And the children of Israel brought up the bones of Joseph out of Egypt, and buried them in Sicima, in the portion of the land which Jacob bought of the Amorites who dwelt in Sicima for a hundred ewe-lambs; and he gave it to Joseph for a portion. (33) And it came to pass afterwards that Eleazar the high-priest the son of Aaron died, and was buried in Gabaar of Phinees his son, which he gave him in mount Ephraim. (33a) In that day the children of Israel took the ark of God, and carried it about among them; and Phinees exercised the priest’s office in the room of Eleazar his father till he died, and he was buried in his own place Gabaar: but the children of Israel departed every one to their place, and to their own city: (33b) and the children of Israel worshipped Astarte, and Astaroth, and the gods of the nations round about them; and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Eglom king of Moab and he ruled over them eighteen years

Judges

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

1

(1) And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Chananites, to fight against them? (2) And the Lord said, Judas shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. (3) And Judas said to his brother Symeon, Come up with me into my lot, and let us array ourselves against the Chananites, and I also will go with thee into thy lot: and Symeon went with him. (4) And Judas went up; and the Lord delivered the Chananite and the Pherezite into their hands, and they smote them in Bezek to the number of ten thousand men. (5) And they overtook Adonibezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they smote the Chananite and the Pherezite. (6) And Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and took him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. (7) And Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table: as I therefore have done, so God has recompensed me: and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. (8) And the children of Judas fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote with the edge of the sword, and they burnt the city with fire. (9) And afterwards the children of Judas went down to fight with the Chananite dwelling in the hill country, and the south, and the plain country. (10) And Judas went to the Chananite who dwelt in Chebron; and Chebron came out against him; [and the name of Chebron before was Cariatharbocsepher:] and they smote Sessi, and Achiman, and Tholmi, children of Enac. (11) And they went up thence to the inhabitants of Dabir; but the name of Dabir was before Cariathsepher, the city of Letters. (12) And Chaleb said, Whosoever shall smite the city of Letters, and shall first take it, I will give to him Ascha my daughter to wife. (13) And Gothoniel the younger son of Kenez the brother of Chaleb took it; and Chaleb gave him his daughter Ascha to wife. (14) And it came to pass as she went in, that Gothoniel urged her to ask a field of her father; and she murmured and cried from off her ass, Thou hast sent me forth into a south land: and Chaleb said to her, What is thy request? (15) And Ascha said to him, Give me, I pray thee, a blessing, for thou hast sent me forth into a south land, and thou shalt give me the ransom of water: and Chaleb gave her according to her heart the ransom of the upper springs and the ransom of the low springs. (16) And the children of Jothor the Kenite the father-in-law of Moses went up from the city of palm-trees with the children of Judas, to the wilderness that is in the south of Juda, which is at the descent of Arad, and they dwelt with the people. (17) And Judas went with Symeon his brother, and smote the Chananite that inhabited Sepheth, and they utterly destroyed them; and they called the name of the city Anathema. (18) But Judas did not inherit Gaza nor her coasts, nor Ascalon nor her coasts, nor Accaron nor her coasts, nor Azotus nor the lands around it. (19) And the Lord was with Judas, and he inherited the mountain; for they were not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, for Rechab prevented them. (20) And they gave Chebron to Chaleb, as Moses said; and thence he inherited the three cities of the children of Enac. (21) But the children of Benjamin did not take the inheritance of the Jebusite who dwelt in Jerusalem; and the Jebusite dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day. (22) And the sons of Joseph, they also went up to Baethel; and the Lord was with them. (23) And they encamped and surveyed Baethel: and the name of the city before was Luza. (24) And the spies looked, and behold, a man went out of the city, and they took him; and they said to him, Shew us the way into the city, and we will deal mercifully with thee. (25) And he shewed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and his family. (26) And the man went into the land of Chettin, and built there a city, and called the name of it Luza; this is its name until this day. (27) And Manasse did not drive out the inhabitants of Baethsan, which is a city of Scythians, nor her towns, nor her suburbs; nor Thanac, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitant of Balac, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Magedo, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Jeblaam, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; and the Chananite began to dwell in this land. (28) And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that he made the Chananite tributary, but did not utterly drive them out. (29) And Ephraim did not drive out the Chananite that dwelt in Gazer; and the Chananite dwelt in the midst of him in Gazer, and became tributary. (30) And Zabulon did not drive out the inhabitants of Kedron, nor the inhabitants of Domana: and the Chananite dwelt in the midst of them, and became tributary to them. (31) And Aser did not drive out the inhabitants of Accho, and that people became tributary to him, nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor the inhabitants of Dalaph, nor Aschazi, nor Chebda, nor Nai, nor Ereo. (32) And Aser dwelt in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land, for he could not drive him out. (33) And Nephthali did not drive out the inhabitants of Baethsamys, nor the inhabitants of Baethanach; and Nephthali dwelt in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the land: but the inhabitants of Bethsamys and of Baetheneth became tributary to them. (34) And the Amorite drove out the children of Dan into the mountains, for they did not suffer them to come down into the valley. (35) And the Amorite began to dwell in the mountain of shells, in which are bears, and foxes, in Myrsinon, and in Thalabin; and the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon the Amorite, and he became tributary to them. (36) And the border of the Amorite was from the going up of Acrabin, from the rock and upwards.

2

(1) And an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the place of weeping, and to Baethel, and to the house of Israel, and said to them, Thus says the Lord, I brought you up out of Egypt, and I brought you into the land which I sware to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant that I have made with you. (2) And ye shall make no covenant with them that dwell in this land, neither shall ye worship their gods; but ye shall destroy their graven images, ye shall pull down their altars: but ye hearkened not to my voice, for ye did these things. (3) And I said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be for a distress to you, and their gods shall be to you for an offence. (4) And it came to pass when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. (5) And they named the name of that place Weepings; and they sacrificed there to the Lord. (6) And Joshua dismissed the people, and they went every man to his inheritance, to inherit the land. (7) And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that lived many days with Joshua, as many as knew all the great work of the Lord, what things he had wrought in Israel. (8) And Joshua the son of Naue, the servant of the Lord, died, a hundred and ten years old. (9) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, in Thamnathares, in mount Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaas. (10) And all that generation were laid to their fathers: and another generation rose up after them, who knew not the Lord, nor yet the work which he wrought in Israel. (11) And the children of Israel wrought evil before the Lord, and served Baalim. (12) And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and walked after other gods, of the gods of the nations round about them; and they worshipped them. (13) And they provoked the Lord, and forsook him, and served Baal and the Astartes. (14) And the Lord was very angry with Israel; and he gave them into the hands of the spoilers, and they spoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, and they could not any longer resist their enemies, (15) among whomsoever they went; and the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord spoke, and as the Lord sware to them; and he greatly afflicted them. (16) And the Lord raised up judges, and the Lord save them out of the hands of them that spoiled them: and yet they hearkened not to the judges, (17) for they went a whoring after other gods, and worshipped them; and they turned quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked to hearken to the words of the Lord; they did not so. (18) And because the Lord raised them up judges, so the Lord was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved at their groaning by reason of them that besieged them and afflicted them. (19) And it came to pass when the judge died, that they went back, and again corrupted themselves worse than their fathers to go after other gods to serve them an to worship them: they abandoned not their devices nor their stubborn ways. (20) And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and said, Forasmuch as this nation has forsaken my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not hearkened to my voice, (21) therefore I will not any more cast out a man of the nations before their face, which Joshua the son of Naue left in the land. And the Lord left them, (22) to prove Israel with them, whether they would keep the way of the Lord, to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or no. (23) So the Lord will leave these nations, so as not to cast them out suddenly; and he delivered them not into the hand of Joshua.

3

(1) And these are the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel with them, all that had not known the wars of Chanaan. (2) Only for the sake of the generations of Israel, to teach them war, only the men before them knew them not. (3) The five lordships of the Phylistines, and every Chananite, and the Sidonian, and the Evite who dwelt in Libanus from the mount of Aermon to Laboemath. (4) And this was done in order to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commands of the Lord, which he charged their fathers by the hand of Moses. (5) And the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chananite, and the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite. (6) And they took their daughters for wives to themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. (7) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (8) And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and sold them into the hand of Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers: and the children of Israel served Chusarsathaim eight years. (9) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord; and the Lord raised up a saviour to Israel, and he saved them, Gothoniel the son of Kenez, the brother of Chaleb younger than himself. (10) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war against Chusarsathaim: and the Lord delivered into his hand Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers, and his hand prevailed against Chusarsathaim. (11) And the land was quiet forty years; and Gothoniel the son of Kenez died. (12) And the children of Israel continued to do evil before the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglom king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil before the Lord. (13) And he gathered to himself all the children of Ammon and Amalec, and went and smote Israel, and took possession of the city of Palm-trees. (14) And the children of Israel served Eglom the king of Moab eighteen years. (15) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord; and he raised up to them a saviour, Aod the son of Gera a son of Jemeni, a man who used both hands alike: and the children of Israel sent gifts by his hand to Eglom king of Moab. (16) And Aod made himself a dagger of two edges, of a span long, and he girded it under his cloak upon his right thigh. (17) And he went, and brought the presents to Eglom king of Moab, and Eglom was a very handsome man. (18) And it came to pass when Aod had made an end of offering his gifts, that he dismissed those that brought the gifts. (19) And he himself returned from the quarries that are by Galgal; and Aod said, I have a secret errand to thee, O king! and Eglom said to him, Be silent: and he sent away from his presence all who waited upon him. (20) And Aod went in to him; and he sat in his own upper summer chamber quite alone; and Aod said, I have a message from God to thee, O king: and Eglom rose up from his throne near him. (21) And it came to pass as he arose, that Aod stretched forth his left hand, and took the dagger off his right thigh, and plunged it into his belly; (22) and drove in also the haft after the blade, and the fat closed in upon the blade, for he drew not out the dagger from his belly. (23) And Aod went out to the porch, and passed out by the appointed guards, and shut the doors of the chamber upon him, and locked them. (24) And he went out: and Eglom’s servants came, and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper chamber were locked; and they said, Does he not uncover his feet in the summer-chamber? (25) And they waited till they were ashamed, and, behold, there was no one that opened the doors of the upper chamber; and they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead upon the earth. (26) And Aod escaped while they were in a tumult, and no one paid attention to him; and he passed the quarries, and escaped to Setirotha. (27) And it came to pass when Aod came into the land of Israel, that he blew the horn in mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came down with him from the mountain, and he was before them. (28) And he said to them, Come down after me, for the Lord God has delivered our enemies, even Moab, into our hand; and they went down after him, and seized on the fords of Jordan before Moab, and he did not suffer a man to pass over. (29) And they smote Moab on that day about ten thousand men, every lusty person and every mighty man; and not a man escaped. (30) So Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest eighty years; and Aod judged them till he died. (31) And after him rose up Samegar the son of Dinach, and smote the Philistines to the number of six hundred men with a ploughshare such as is drawn by oxen; and he too delivered Israel.

4

(1) And the children of Israel continued to do evil against the Lord; and Aod was dead. (2) And the Lord sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin king of Chanaan, who ruled in Asor; and the chief of his host was Sisara, and he dwelt in Arisoth of the Gentiles. (3) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, because he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed Israel twenty years. (4) And Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, —she judged Israel at that time. (5) And she sat under the palm-tree of Debbora between Rama and Baethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel went up to her for judgment. (6) And Debbora sent and called Barac the son of Abineem out of Cades Nephthali, and she said to him, Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded thee? and thou shalt depart to mount Thabor, and shalt take with thyself ten thousand men of the sons of Nephthali and of the sons of Zabulon. (7) And I will bring to thee to the torrent of Kison Sisara the captain of the host of Jabin, and his chariots, and his multitude, and I will deliver them into thine hands. (8) And Barac said to her, If thou wilt go with me, I will go; and if thou wilt not go, I will not go; for I know not the day on which the Lord prospers his messenger with me. (9) And she said, I will surely go with thee; but know that thy honour shall not attend on the expedition on which thou goest, for the Lord shall sell Sisara into the hands of a women: and Debbora arose, and went with Barac out of Cades. (10) And Barac called Zabulon and Nephthali out of Cades, and there went up at his feet ten thousand men, and Debbora went up with him. (11) And Chaber the Kenite had removed from Caina, from the sons of Jobab the father-in-law of Moses, and pitched his tent by the oak of the covetous ones, which is near Kedes. (12) And it was told Sisara that Barac the son of Abineem was gone up to mount Thabor. (13) And Sisara summoned all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron and all the people with him, from Arisoth of the Gentiles to the brook of Kison. (14) And Debbora said to Barac, Rise up, for this is the day on which the Lord has delivered Sisara into thy hand, for the Lord shall go forth before thee: and Barac went down from mount Thabor, and ten thousand men after him. (15) And the Lord discomfited Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barac: and Sisara descended from off his chariot, and fled on his feet. (16) And Barac pursued after the chariots and after the army, into Arisoth of the Gentiles; and the whole army of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword, there was not one left. (17) And Sisara fled on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Chaber the Kenite his friend: for there was peace between Jabin king of Asor and the house of Chaber the Kenite. (18) And Jael went, out to meet Sisara, and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me, fear not: and he turned aside to her into the tent; and she covered him with a mantle. (19) And Sisara said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty: and she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him. (20) And Sisara said to her, Stand now by the door of the tent, and it shall come to pass if any man come to thee, and ask of thee, and say, Is there any man here? then thou shalt say, There is not. (21) And Jael the wife of Chaber took a pin of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him, and fastened the pin in his temple, and it went through to the earth, and he fainted away, and darkness fell upon him and he died. (22) And, behold, Barac was pursuing Sisara: and Jael went out to meet him, and he said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest: and he went in to her; and, behold, Sisara was fallen dead, and the pin was in his temple. (23) So God routed Jabin king of Chanaan in that day before the children of Israel. (24) And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin king of Chanaan, until they utterly destroyed Jabin king of Chanaan.

5

(1) And Debbora and Barac son of Abineem sang in that day, saying, (2) A revelation was made in Israel when the people were made willing: Praise ye the Lord. (3) Hear, ye kings, and hearken, rulers: I will sing, it is I who will sing to the Lord, it is I, I will sing a psalm to the Lord the god of Israel. (4) O Lord, in thy going forth on Seir, when thou wentest forth out of the land of Edom, the earth quaked and the heaven dropped dews, and the clouds dropped water. (5) The mountains were shaken before the face of the Lord Eloi, this Sina before the face of the Lord God of Israel. (6) In the days of Samegar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, they deserted the ways, and went in by-ways; they went in crooked paths. (7) The mighty men in Israel failed, they failed until Debbora arose, until she arose a mother in Israel. (8) They chose new gods; then the cities of rulers fought; there was not a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel. (9) My heart inclines to the orders given in Israel; ye that are willing among the people, bless the Lord. (10) Ye that mount a she-ass at noon-day, ye that sit on the judgment-seat, and walk by the roads of them that sit in judgment by the way; declare (11) ye that are delivered from the noise of disturbers among the drawers of water; there shall they relate righteous acts: O Lord, increase righteous acts in Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the cities. (12) Awake, awake, Debbora; awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barac, and lead thy captivity captive, son of Abineem. (13) Then went down the remnant to the strong, the people of the Lord went down for him among the mighty ones from me. (14) Ephraim rooted them out in Amalec, behind thee was Benjamin among thy people: the inhabitants of Machir came down with me searching out the enemy, and from Zabulon came they that draw with the scribe’s pen of record. (15) And princess in Issachar were with Debbora and Barac, thus she sent Barac on his feet in the valleys into the portions of Ruben; great pangs reached to the heart. (16) Why did they sit between the sheep-folds to hear the bleating of flocks for the divisions of Ruben? there were great searchings of heart. (17) Galaad is on the other side of Jordan where he pitched his tents; and why does Dan remain in ships? Aser sat down on the sea-coasts, and he will tabernacle at his ports. (18) The people Zabulon exposed their soul to death, and Nephthali came to the high places of their land. (19) Kings set themselves in array, then the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanaach at the water of Mageddo; they took no gift of money. (20) The stars from heaven set themselves in array, they set themselves to fight with Sisara out of their paths. (21) The brook of Kison swept them away, the ancient brook, the brook Kison: my mighty soul will trample him down. (22) When the hoofs of the horse were entangled, his mighty ones earnestly hasted (23) to curse Meroz: Curse ye it, said the angel of the Lord; cursed is every one that dwells in it, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to his help among the mighty. (24) Blessed among women be Jael wife of Chaber the Kenite; let her be blessed above women in tents. (25) He asked for water, she gave him milk in a dish; she brought butter of princes. (26) She stretched forth her left hand to the nail, and her right to the hand workman’s hammer, and she smote Sisara with it, she nailed through his head and smote him; she nailed through his temples. (27) He rolled down between her feet; he fell and lay between her feet; he bowed and fell: where he bowed, there he fell dead. (28) The mother of Sisara looked down through the window out of the loophole, saying, Why was his chariot ashamed? why did the wheels of his chariots tarry? (29) Her wise ladies answered her, and she returned answers to herself, (30) Will they not find him dividing the spoil? he will surely be gracious to every man: there are spoils of dyed garments for Sisara, spoils of various dyed garments, dyed embroidered garments, they are the spoils for his neck. (31) Thus let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: and they that love him shall be as the going forth of the sun in his strength. (32) And the land had rest forty years.

6

(1) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Madiam seven years (2) And the hand of Madiam prevailed against Israel: and the children of Israel made for themselves because of Madiam the caves in the mountains, and the dens, and the holes in the rocks. (3) And it came to pass when the children of Israel sowed, that Madiam and Amalec went up, and the children of the east went up together with them. (4) And they encamped against them, and destroyed their fruits until they came to Gaza; and they left not the support of life in the land of Israel, not even ox or ass among the herds. (5) For they and their stock came up, and their tents were with them, as the locust in multitude, and there was no number to them and their camels; and they came to the land of Israel, and laid it waste. (6) And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Madiam. (7) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord because of Madiam. (8) And the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel; and he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I am he that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and I brought you up out of the house of your bondage. (9) And I delivered you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all that afflicted you, and I cast them out before you; and I gave you their land. (10) And I said to you, I am the Lord your God: ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but ye hearkened not to my voice. (11) And an angel of the Lord came, and sat down under the fir tree, which was in Ephratha in the land of Joas father of Esdri; and Gedeon his son was threshing wheat in a wine-press in order to escape from the face of Madiam. (12) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty in strength. (13) And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: but if the Lord is with us, why have these evils found us? and where are all his miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? and now he has cast us out, and given us into the hand of Madiam. (14) And the angel of the Lord turned to him, and said, Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt save Israel out of the hand of Madiam: behold, I have sent thee. (15) And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: whereby shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasse, and I am the least in my father’s house. (16) And the angel of the Lord said to him, The Lord shall be with thee, and thou shalt smite Madiam as one man. (17) And Gedeon said to him, If now I have found mercy in thine eyes, and thou wilt do this day for me all that thou hast spoken of with me, (18) depart not hence until I come to thee, and I will bring forth an offering and offer it before thee: and he said, I will remain until thou return. (19) And Gedeon went in, and prepared a kid of the goats, and an ephah of fine flour unleavened; and he put the flesh in the basket, and poured the broth into the pot, and brought them forth to him under the turpentine tree, and drew nigh. (20) And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and put them on that rock, and pour out the broth close by: and he did so. (21) And the angel of the Lord stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire came up out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread, and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. (22) And Gedeon saw that he was an angel of the Lord; and Gedeon said, Ah, ah, Lord my God! for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. (23) And the Lord said to him, Peace be to thee, fear not, thou shalt not die. (24) And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it The peace of the Lord, until this day, as it is still in Ephratha of the father of Esdri. (25) And it came to pass in that night, that the Lord said to him, Take the young bullock which thy father has, even the second bullock of seven years old, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal which thy father has, and the grove which is by it thou shalt destroy. (26) And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God on the top of this Maozi in the ordering it, and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer up whole-burnt-offerings with the wood of the grove, which thou shalt destroy. (27) And Gedeon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord spoke to him: and it came to pass, as he feared the house of his father and the men of the city if he should do it by day, that he did it by night. (28) And the men of the city rose up early in the morning; and behold, the altar of Baal had been demolished, and the grove by it had been destroyed; and they saw the second bullock, which Gedeon offered on the altar that had been built. (29) And a man said to his neighbour, Who has done this thing? and they enquired and searched, and learnt that Gedeon the son of Joas had done this thing. (30) And the men of the city said to Joas, Bring out thy son, and let him die, because he has destroyed the altar of Baal, and because he has destroyed the grove that is by it. (31) And Gedeon the son of Joas said to all the men who rose up against him, Do ye now plead for Baal, or will ye save him? whoever will plead for him, let him be slain this morning: if he be a god let him plead for himself, because one has thrown down his altar. (32) And he called it in that day Jerobaal, saying, Let Baal plead thereby, because his altar has been thrown down. (33) And all Madiam, and Amalek, and the sons of the east gathered themselves together, and encamped in the valley of Jezrael. (34) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and he blew with the horn, and Abiezer came to help after him. (35) And Gedeon sent messengers into all Manasse, and into Aser, and into Zabulon, and into Nephthali; and he went up to meet them. (36) And Gedeon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, (37) behold, I put the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if there be dew on the fleece only, and drought on all the ground, I shall know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. (38) And it was so: and he rose up early in the morning, and wrung the fleece, and dew dropped from the fleece, a bowl full of water. (39) And Gedeon said to God, Let not, I pray thee, thine anger be kindled with me, and I will speak yet once; I will even yet make one trial more with the fleece: let now the drought be upon the fleece only, and let there be dew on all the ground. (40) And God did so in that night; and there was drought on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

7

(1) And Jerobaal rose early, the same is Gedeon, and all the people with him, and encamped at the fountain of Arad; and the camp of Madiam was to the north of him, reaching from Gabaathamorai, in the valley. (2) And the Lord said to Gedeon, The people with thee are many, so that I may not deliver Madiam into their hand, lest at any time Israel boast against me, saying, My hand has saved me. (3) And now speak in the ears of the people, saying, Who is afraid and fearful? let him turn and depart from mount Galaad: and there returned of the people twenty-two thousand, and ten thousand were left. (4) And the Lord said to Gedeon, The people is yet numerous; bring them down to the water, and I will purge them there for thee: and it shall come to pass that of whomsoever I shall say to thee, This one shall go with thee, even he shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say to thee, This one shall not go with thee, even he shall not go with thee. (5) And he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gedeon, Whosoever shall lap of the water with his tongue as if a dog should lap, thou shalt set him apart, and also whosoever shall bow down upon his knees to drink. (6) And the number of those that lapped with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed upon their knees to drink water. (7) And the Lord said to Gedeon, I will save you by the three hundred men that lapped, and I will give Madiam into thy hand; and all the rest of the people shall go every one to his place. (8) And they took the provision of the people in their hand, and their horns; and he sent away every man of Israel each to his tent, and he strengthened the three hundred; and the army of Madiam were beneath him in the valley. (9) And it came to pass in that night that the Lord said to him, Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into thy hand. (10) And if thou art afraid to go down, go down thou and thy servant Phara into the camp. (11) And thou shalt hear what they shall say, and afterwards thy hands shall be strong, and thou shalt go down into the camp: and he went down and Phara his servant to the extremity of the companies of fifty, which were in the camp. (12) And Madiam and Amalec and all the children of the east were scattered in the valley, as the locust for multitude; and there was no number to their camels, but they were as the sand on the seashore for multitude. (13) And Gedeon came, and behold a man was relating to his neighbour a dream, and he said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread rolling into the camp of Madiam, and it came as far as a tent, and smote it, and it fell, and it turned it up, and the tent fell. (14) And his neighbour answered and said, This is none other than the sword of Gedeon, son of Joas, a man of Israel: God has delivered Madiam and all the host into his hand. (15) And it came to pass when Gedeon heard the account of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped the Lord, and returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Rise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Madiam into our hand. (16) And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put horns in the hands of all, and empty pitchers, and torches in the pitchers: (17) and he said to them, Ye shall look at me, and so shall ye do; and behold, I will go into the beginning of the host, and it shall come to pass that as I do, so shall ye do. (18) And I will sound with the horn, and all ye with me shall sound with the horn round about the whole camp, and ye shall say, For the Lord and Gedeon. (19) And Gedeon and the hundred men that were with him came to the extremity of the army in the beginning of the middle watch; and they completely roused the guards, and sounded with the horns, and they broke the pitchers that were in their hands, (20) and the three companies sounded with the horns, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands their horns to sound with; and they cried out, A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon. (21) And every man stood in his place round about the host; and all the host ran, and sounded an alarm, and fled. (22) And they sounded with the three hundred horns; and the Lord set every man’s sword in all the host against his neighbour. (23) And the host fled as far as Bethseed Tagaragatha Abel-meula to Tabath; and the men of Israel from Nephthali, and from Aser, and from all Manasse, came to help, and followed after Madiam. (24) And Gedeon sent messengers into all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down to meet Madiam, and take to yourselves the water as far as Baethera and Jordan: and every man of Ephraim cried out, and they took the water before hand unto Baethera and Jordan. (25) And they took the princess of Madiam, even Oreb and Zeb; and they slew Oreb in Sur Oreb, and they slew Zeb in Jakephzeph; and they pursued Madiam, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon from beyond Jordan.

8

(1) And the men of Ephraim said to Gedeon, What is this that thou hast done to us, in that thou didst not call us when thou wentest to fight with Madiam? and they chode with him sharply. (2) And he said to them, What have I now done in comparison of you? is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? (3) The Lord has delivered into your hand the princes of Madiam, Oreb and Zeb; and what could I do in comparison of you? Then was their spirit calmed toward him, when he spoke this word. (4) And Gedeon came to Jordan, and went over, himself and the three hundred with him, hungry, yet pursuing. (5) And he said to the men of Socchoth, Give, I pray you, bread to feed this people that follow me; because they are faint, and behold, I am following after Zebee and Salmana, kings of Madiam. (6) And the princes of Socchoth said, Are the hands of Zebee and Salmana now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy host? (7) And Gedeon said, Therefore when the Lord gives Zebee and Salmana into my hand, then will I tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and the Barkenim. (8) And he went up thence to Phanuel, and spoke to them likewise: and the men of Phanuel answered him as the men of Socchoth had answered him. (9) And Gedeon said to the men of Phanuel, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower. (10) And Zebee and Salmana were in Carcar, and their host was with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of all the host of the aliens; and they that fell were a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew the sword. (11) And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents, eastward of Nabai and Jegebal; and he smote the host, and the host was secure. (12) And Zebee and Salmana fled; and he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Salmana, and discomfited all the army. (13) And Gedeon the son of Joas returned from the battle, down from the battle of Ares. (14) And he took prisoner a young lad of the men of Socchoth, and questioned him; and he wrote to him the names of the princes of Socchoth and of their elders, seventy-seven men. (15) And Gedeon came to the princes of Socchoth, and said, Behold Zebee and Salmana, about whom ye reproached me, saying, Are the hands of Zebee and Salmana now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are faint? (16) And he took the elders of the city with the thorns of the wilderness and the Barkenim, and with them he tore the men of the city. (17) And he overthrew the tower of Phanuel, and slew the men of the city. (18) And he said to Zebee and Salmana, Where are the men whom ye slew in Thabor? and they said, As thou, so were they, according to the likeness of the son of a king. (19) And Gedeon said, They were my brethren and the sons of my mother: as the Lord lives, if ye had preserved them alive, I would not have slain you. (20) And he said to Jether his first-born, Rise and slay them; but the lad drew not his sword, for he was afraid, for he was yet very young. (21) And Zebee and Salmana said, Rise thou and fall upon us, for thy power is as that of a man; and Gedeon arose, and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the round ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. (22) And the men of Israel said to Gedeon, Rule, my lord, over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son; for thou hast saved us out of the hand of Madiam. (23) And Gedeon said to them, I will not rule, and my son shall not rule among you; the Lord shall rule over you. (24) And Gedeon said to them, I will make a request of you, and do ye give me every man an earring out of his spoils: for they had golden earrings, for they were Ismaelites. (25) And they said, We will certainly give them: and he opened his garment, and each man cast therein an earring of his spoils. (26) And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked, was a thousand and seven hundred pieces of gold, besides the crescents, and the chains, and the garments, and the purple cloths that were on the kings of Madiam, and besides the chains that were on the necks of their camels. (27) And Gedeon made an ephod of it, an set it in his city in Ephratha; and all Israel went thither a whoring after it, and it became a stumbling-block to Gedeon and his house. (28) And Madiam, was straitened before the children of Israel, and they did not lift up their head any more; and the land had rest forty years in the days of Gedeon. (29) And Jerobaal the son of Joas went and sat in his house. (30) And Gedeon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives. (31) And his concubine was in Sychem, and she also bore him a son, and gave him the name Abimelech. (32) And Gedeon son of Joas died in his city, and he was buried in the sepulchre of Joas his father in Ephratha of Abi-Esdri. (33) And it came to pass when Gedeon was dead, that the children of Israel turned, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made for themselves a covenant with Baal that he should be their god. (34) And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hand of all that afflicted them round about. (35) And they did not deal mercifully with the house of Jerobaal, (the same is Gedeon) according to all the good which he did to Israel.

9

(1) And Abimelech son of Jerobaal went to Sychem to his mother’s brethren; and he spoke to them and to all the kindred of the house of his mother’s father, saying, (2) Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Sychem, saying, Which is better for you, that seventy men, even all the sons of Jerobaal, should reign over you, or that one man should reign over you? and remember that I am your bone and your flesh. (3) And his mother’s brethren spoke concerning him in the ears of all the men of Sychem all these words; and their heart turned after Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother. (4) And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith; and Abimelech hired for himself vain and cowardly men, and they went after him. (5) And he went to the house of his father to Ephratha, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men upon one stone; but Joatham the youngest son of Jerobaal was left, for he hid himself. (6) And all the men of Sicima, and all the house of Bethmaalo, were gathered together, and they went and made Abimelech king by the oak of Sedition, which was at Sicima. (7) And it was reported to Joatham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Garizin, and lifted up his voice, and wept, and said to them, Hear me, ye men of Sicima, and God shall hear you. (8) The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive, Reign over us. (9) But the olives said to them, Shall I leave my fatness, with which men shall glorify God, and go to be promoted over the trees? (10) And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come, reign over us. (11) But the fig-tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness an my good fruits, and go to be promoted over the trees? (12) And the trees said to the vine, Come, reign over us. (13) And the vine said to them, Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men, and go to be promoted over the trees? (14) Then all the trees said to the bramble, Come thou and reign over us. (15) And the bramble said to the trees, If ye in truth anoint me to reign over you, come, stand under my shadow; and if not, let fire come out from me and devour the cedars of Libanus. (16) And now, if ye have done it in truth and integrity, and have made Abimelech king, and if ye have wrought well with Jerobaal, and with his house, and if ye have done to him according to the reward of his hand, (17) as my father fought for you, and put his life in jeopardy, and delivered you out of the hand of Madiam; (18) and ye are risen up this day against the house of my father, and have slain his sons, being seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech the son of his bondwoman king over the men of Sicima, because he is your brother: (19) if then ye have done truly and faithfully with Jerobaal, and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice over you: (20) but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Sicima, and the house of Bethmaalo; and let fire come out from the men of Sicima and from the house of Bethmaalo, and devour Abimelech. (21) And Joatham fled, and ran away, and went as far as Baeer, and dwelt there out of the way of his brother Abimelech. (22) And Abimelech reigned over Israel three years. (23) And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Sicima; and the men of Sicima dealt treacherously with the house of Abimelech: (24) to bring the injury done to the seventy sons of Jerobaal, and to lay their blood upon their brother Abimelech, who slew them, and upon the men of Sicima, because they strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. (25) And the men of Sicima set liers in wait against him on the top of the mountains, and robbed every one who passed by them on the way; and it was reported to the king Abimelech. (26) And Gaal son of Jobel came, and his brethren, and passed by Sicima, and the men of Sicima trusted in him. (27) And they went out into the field, and gathered their grapes, and trod them, and made merry; and they brought the grapes into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. (28) And Gaal the son of Jobel said, Who is Abimelech, and who is the son of Sychem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerobaal, and is not Zebul his steward, his servant with the son of Emmor the father of Sychem? and why should we serve him? (29) And would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech, and I would say to him, Multiply thy host, and come out. (30) And Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Jobel, and he was very angry. (31) And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Jobel and his brethren are come to Sychem; and behold, they have besieged the city against thee. (32) And now rise up by night, thou and the people with thee, and lay wait in the field. (33) And it shall come to pass in the morning at sunrising, thou shalt rise up early and draw toward the city; and behold, he and the people with him will come forth against thee, and thou shalt do to him according to thy power. (34) And Abimelech and all the people with him rose up by night, and formed an ambuscade against Sychem in four companies. (35) And Gaal the son of Jobel went forth, and stood by the door of the gate of the city: and Abimelech and the people with him rose up from the ambuscade. (36) And Gaal the son of Jobel saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, a people comes down from the top of the mountains: and Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men. (37) And Gaal continued to speak and said, Behold, a people comes down westward from the part bordering on the middle of the land, and another company comes by the way of Helon Maonenim. (38) And Zebul said to him, And where is thy mouth as thou spokest, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this the people whom thou despisedst? go forth now, and set the battle in array against him. (39) And Gaal went forth before the men of Sychem, and set the battle in array against Abimelech. (40) And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled from before him; and many fell down slain as far as the door of the gate. (41) And Abimelech entered into Arema, and Zebul cast out Gaal and his brethren, so that they should not dwell in Sychem. (42) And it came to pass on the second day that the people went out into the field, and one brought word to Abimelech. (43) And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and formed an ambush in the field; and he looked, and, behold, the people went forth out of the city, and he rose up against them, and smote them. (44) And Abimelech and the chiefs of companies that were with him rushed forward, and stood by the door of the gate of the city; and the two other companies rushed forward upon all that were in the field, and smote them. (45) And Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and destroyed the city, and sowed it with salt. (46) And all the men of the tower of Sychem heard, and came to the gathering of Baethel-berith. (47) And it was reported to Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Sychem were gathered together. (48) And Abimelech went up to the mount of Selmon, and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a branch of a tree, and took it, and laid it on his shoulders; and said to the people that were with him, What ye see me doing, do quickly as I. (49) And they cut down likewise even every man a branch, and went after Abimelech, and laid them against the place of gathering, and burnt the place of gathering over them with fire; and they died, even all the men of the tower of Sicima, about a thousand men and women. (50) And Abimelech went out of Baethel-berith, and encamped against Thebes, and took it. (51) And there was a strong tower in the midst of the city; and thither all the men and the women of the city fled, and shut the door without them, and went up on the roof of the tower. (52) And Abimelech drew near to the tower, and they besieged it; and Abimelech drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. (53) And a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull. (54) And he cried out quickly to the young man his armour-bearer, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, lest at any time they should say, A woman slew him: and his young man thrust him through and he died. (55) And the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead; and they went each to his place. (56) So God requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he wrought against his father, in slaying his seventy brethren. (57) And all the wickedness of the men of Sychem God requited upon their head; and the curse of Joatham the son of Jerobaal came upon them.

10

(1) And after Abimelech Thola the son of Phua rose up to save Israel, being the son of his father’s brother, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Samir in mount Ephraim. (2) And he judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Samir. (3) And after him arose Jair of Galaad, and he judged Israel twenty-two years. (4) And he had thirty-two sons riding on thirty-two colts, and they had thirty-two cities; and they called them Jair’s towns until this day in the land of Galaad. (5) And Jair died, and was buried in Rhamnon. (6) And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Astaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Phylistines; and they forsook the Lord, and did not serve him. (7) And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and sold them into the hands of the Phylistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. (8) And they afflicted and bruised the children of Israel at that time eighteen years, all the children of Israel beyond Jordan in the land of the Amorite in Galaad. (9) And the children of Ammon went over Jordan to fight with Juda, and Benjamin, and with Ephraim; and the children of Israel were greatly afflicted. (10) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, because we have forsaken God, and served Baalim. (11) And the Lord said to the children of Israel, Did I not save you from Egypt and from the Amorite, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Phylistines, (12) and from the Sidonians, and Amalec, and Madiam, who afflicted you? and ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand? (13) Yet ye forsook me and served other gods; therefore I will not save you any more. (14) Go, and cry to the gods whom ye have chosen to yourselves, and let them save you in the time of your affliction. (15) And the children of Israel said to the Lord, We have sinned: do thou to us according to all that is good in thine eyes; only deliver us this day. (16) And they put away the strange gods from the midst of them, and served the Lord only, and his soul was pained for the trouble of Israel. (17) And the children of Ammon went up, and encamped in Galaad; and the children of Israel were gathered together and encamped on the hill. (18) And the people the princes of Galaad said every man to his neighbour, Who is he that shall begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall even be head over all that dwell in Galaad.

11

(1) And Jephthae the Galaadite was a mighty man; and he was the son of a harlot, who bore Jephthae to Galaad. (2) And the wife of Galaad bore him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up, and they cast out Jephthae, and said to him, Thou shalt not inherit in the house of our father, for thou art the son of a concubine. (3) And Jephthae fled from the face of his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and vain men gathered to Jephthae, and went out with him. (4) And it came to pass when the children of Ammon prepared to fight with Israel, (5) that the elders of Galaad went to fetch Jephthae from the land of Tob. (6) And they said to Jephthae, Come, and be our head, and we will fight with the sons of Ammon. (7) And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, Did ye not hate me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and banish me from you? and wherefore are ye come to me now when ye want me? (8) And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, Therefore have we now turned to thee, that thou shouldest go with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Galaad. (9) And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad, If ye turn me back to fight with the children of Ammon, and the Lord should deliver them before me, then will I be your head. (10) And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, The Lord be witness between us, if we shall not do according to thy word. (11) And Jephthae went with the elders of Galaad, and the people made him head and ruler over them: and Jephthae spoke all his words before the Lord in Massepha. (12) And Jephthae sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have I to do with thee, that thou hast come against me to fight in my land? (13) And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthae, Because Israel took my land when he went up out of Egypt, from Arnon to Jaboc, and to Jordan: now then return them peaceably and I will depart. (14) And Jephthae again sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, (15) and said to him, Thus says Jephthae, Israel took not the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; (16) for in their going up out of Egypt Israel went in the wilderness as far as the sea of Siph, and came to Cades. (17) And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I will pass, if it please thee, by thy land: and the king of Edom complied not: and Israel also sent to the king of Moab, and he did not consent; and Israel sojourned in Cades. (18) And they journeyed in the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab: and they came by the east of the land of Moab, an encamped in the country beyond Arnon, and came not within the borders of Moab, for Arnon is the border of Moab. (19) And Israel sent messengers to Seon king of the Amorite, king of Esbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, by thy land to our place. (20) And Seon did not trust Israel to pass by his coast; and Seon gathered all his people, and they encamped at Jasa; and he set the battle in array against Israel. (21) And the Lord God of Israel delivered Seon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote him; and Israel inherited all the land of the Amorite who dwelt in that land, (22) from Arnon and to Jaboc, and from the wilderness to Jordan. (23) And now the Lord God of Israel has removed the Amorite from before his people Israel, and shalt thou inherit his land? (24) Wilt thou not inherit those possessions which Chamos thy god shall cause thee to inherit; and shall not we inherit the land of all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you? (25) And now art thou any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him, (26) when Israel dwelt in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts, and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and wherefore didst thou not recover them in that time? (27) And now I have not sinned against thee, but thou wrongest me in preparing war against me: may the Lord the Judge judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. (28) But the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the words of Jephthae, which he sent to him. (29) And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthae, and he passed over Galaad, and Manasse, and passed by the watch-tower of Galaad to the other side of the children of Ammon. (30) And Jephthae vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, (31) then it shall come to pass that whosoever shall first come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, he shall be the Lord’s: I will offer him up for a whole-burnt-offering. (32) And Jephthae advanced to meet the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hand. (33) And he smote them from Aroer till one comes to Arnon, in number twenty cities, and as far as Ebelcharmim, with a very great destruction: and the children of Ammon were straitened before the children of Israel. (34) And Jephthae came to Massepha to his house; and behold, his daughter came forth to meet him with timbrels and dances; and she was his only child, he had not another son or daughter. (35) And it came to pass when he saw her, that he rent his garments, and said, Ah, ah, my daughter, thou hast indeed troubled me, and thou wast the cause of my trouble; and I have opened my mouth against thee to the Lord, and I shall not be able to return from it. (36) And she said to him, Father, hast thou opened thy mouth to the Lord? Do to me accordingly as the word went out of thy mouth, in that the Lord has wrought vengeance for thee on thine enemies of the children of Ammon. (37) And she said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my virginity, I and my companions. (38) And he said, Go: and he sent her away for two months; and she went, and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains. (39) And it came to pass at the end of the two months that she returned to her father; and he performed upon her his vow which he vowed; and she knew no man: (40) and it was an ordinance in Israel, That the daughters of Israel went from year to year to bewail the daughter of Jephthae the Galaadite for four days in a year.

12

(1) And the men of Ephraim assembled themselves, and passed on to the north, and said to Jephthae, Wherefore didst thou go over to fight with the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thy house over thee with fire. (2) And Jephthae said to them, I and my people and the children of Ammon were very much engaged in war; and I called for you, and ye did not save me out of their hand. (3) And I saw that thou wert no helper, and I put my life in my hand, and passed on to the sons of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand: and wherefore are ye come up against me this day to fight with me? (4) And Jephthae gathered all the men of Galaad, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Galaad smote Ephraim, because they that were escaped of Ephraim said, Ye are of Galaad in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasse. (5) And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No. (6) Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand. (7) And Jephthae judged Israel six years; and Jephthae the Galaadite died, and was buried in his city Galaad. (8) And after him Abaissan of Bethleem judged Israel. (9) And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent forth; and he brought in thirty daughters for his sons from without; and he judged Israel seven years. (10) And Abaissan died, and was buried in Bethleem. (11) And after him Ælom of Zabulon judged Israel ten years. (12) And Ælom of Zabulon died, and was buried in Ælom in the land of Zabulon. (13) And after him Abdon the son of Ellel, the Pharathonite, judged Israel. (14) And he had forty sons, and thirty grandsons, that rode upon seventy colts: and he judged Israel eight years. (15) And Abdon the son of Ellel, the Pharathonite, died, and was buried in Pharathon in the land of Ephraim in the mount of Amalec.

13

(1) And the children of Israel yet again committed iniquity before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Phylistines forty years. (2) And there was a man of Saraa, of the family of the kindred of Dan, and his name was Manoe, and his wife was barren, and bore not. (3) And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, thou art barren and hast not born; yet thou shalt conceive a son. (4) And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; (5) for behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines. (6) And the woman went in, and spoke to her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance was as of an angel of God, very dreadful; and I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name. (7) And he said to me, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; for the child shall be holy to God from the womb until the day of his death. (8) And Manoe prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord my lord, concerning the man of God whom thou sentest; let him now come to us once more, and teach us what we shall do to the child about to be born. (9) And the Lord heard the voice of Manoe, and the angel of God came yet again to the woman; and she sat in the field, and Manoe her husband was not with her. (10) And the woman hasted, and ran, and brought word to her husband, and said to him, Behold the man who came in the other day to me has appeared to me. (11) And Manoe arose and followed his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that spoke to the woman? and the angel said, I am. (12) And Manoe said, Now shall thy word come to pass: what shall be the ordering of the child, and our dealings with him? (13) And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, Of all things concerning which I spoke to the woman, she shall beware. (14) She shall eat of nothing that comes of the vine yielding wine, and let her not drink wine or strong liquor, and let her not eat anything unclean: all things that I have charged her she shall observe. (15) And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, Let us detain thee here, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats. (16) And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, If thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wouldest offer a whole-burnt-offering, to the Lord thou shalt offer it: for Manoe knew not that he was an angel of the Lord. (17) And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy word shall come to pass, we may glorify thee? (18) And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why dost thou thus ask after my name; whereas it is wonderful? (19) And Manoe took a kid of the goats and its meat-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord; and the angel wrought a distinct work, and Manoe and his wife were looking on. (20) And it came to pass when the flame went up above the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord went up in the flame; and Manoe and his wife were looking, and they fell upon their face to the earth. (21) And the angel appeared no more to Manoe and to his wife: then Manoe knew that this was an angel of the Lord. (22) And Manoe said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. (23) But his wife said to him, If the Lord were pleased to slay us, he would not have received of our hand a whole-burnt-offering and a meat-offering; and he would not have shewn us all these things, neither would he have caused us to hear all these things as at this time. (24) And the woman brought forth a son, and she called his name Sampson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. (25) And the Spirit of the Lord began to go out with him in the camp of Dan, and between Saraa and Esthaol.

14

(1) And Sampson went down to Thamnatha, and saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Philistines. (2) And he went up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Phylistines; and now take her to me for a wife. (3) And his father and his mother said to him, Are there no daughters of thy brethren, and is there not a woman of all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Sampson said to his father, Take her for me, for she is right in my eyes. (4) And his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought to be revenged on the Philistines: and at that time the Philistines lorded it over Israel. (5) And Sampson and his father and his mother went down to Thamnatha, and he came to the vineyard of Thamnatha; and behold, a young lion roared in meeting him. (6) And the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he crushed him as he would have crushed a kid of the goats, and there was nothing in his hands: and he told not his father and his mother what he had done. (7) And they went down and spoke to the woman, and she was pleasing in the eyes of Sampson. (8) And after some time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees, and honey were in the mouth of the lion. (9) And he took it into his hands, and went on eating, and he went to his father and his mother, and gave to them, and they did eat; but he told them not that he took the honey out of the mouth of the lion. (10) And his father went down to the woman, and Sampson made there a banquet for seven days, for so the young men are used to do. (11) And it came to pass when they saw him, that they took thirty guests, and they were with him. (12) And Sampson said to them, I propound you a riddle: if ye will indeed tell it me, and discover it within the seven days of the feast, I will you give thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment. (13) And if ye cannot tell it me, ye shall give me thirty napkins and thirty changes of apparel: and they said to him, Propound thy riddle, and we will hear it. (14) And he said to them, Meat came forth of the eater, and sweetness out of the strong: and they could not tell the riddle for three days. (15) And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they said to the wife of Sampson, Deceive now thy husband, and let him tell thee the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: did ye invite us to do us violence? (16) And Sampson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not; for the riddle which thou hast propounded to the children of my people thou hast not told me: and Sampson said to her, If I have not told it to my father and my mother, shall I tell it to thee? (17) And she wept before him the seven days, during which their banquet lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she troubled him; and she told it to the children of her people. (18) And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day, before sunrise, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? and Sampson said to them, If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye would not have known my riddle. (19) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully, and he went down to Ascalon, and destroyed of the inhabitants thirty men, and took their garments, and gave the changes of raiment to them that told the riddle; and Sampson was very angry, and went up to the house of his father. (20) And the wife of Sampson was given to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.

15

(1) And it came to pass after a time, in the days of wheat harvest, that Sampson visited his wife with a kid, and said, I will go in to my wife even into the chamber: but her father did not suffer him to go in. (2) And her father spoke, saying, I said that thou didst surely hate her, and I gave her to one of thy friends: is not her younger sister better than she? let her be to thee instead of her. (3) And Sampson said to them, Even for once am I guiltless with regard to the Philistines, in that I do mischief among them. (4) And Sampson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch between two tails, and fastened it. (5) And he set fire to the torches, and sent the foxes into the corn of the Philistines; and every thing was burnt from the threshing floor to the standing corn, and even to the vineyard and olives. (6) And the Philistines said, Who has done these things? and they said, Sampson the son-in-law of the Thamnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to one of his friends; and the Philistines went up, and burnt her and her father’s house with fire. (7) And Sampson said to them, Though ye may have dealt thus with her, verily I will be avenged of you, and afterwards I will cease. (8) And he smote them leg on thigh with a great overthrow; and went down and dwelt in a cave of the rock Etam. (9) And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Juda, and spread themselves abroad in Lechi. (10) And the men of Juda said, Why are ye come up against us? and the Philistines said, We are come up to bind Sampson, and to do to him as he has done to us. (11) And the three thousand men of Juda went down to the hole of the rock Etam, and they said to Sampson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? and what is this that thou hast done to us? and Sampson said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them. (12) And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee to deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines: and Sampson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. (13) And they spoke to him, saying, Nay, but we will only bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand, and will by no means slay thee: and they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him from that rock. (14) And they came to Lechi: and the Philistines shouted, and ran to meet him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as tow which is burnt with fire; and his bonds were consumed from off his hands. (15) And he found the jaw-bone of an ass that had been cast away, and he put forth his hand and took it, and smote with it a thousand men. (16) And Sampson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass I have utterly destroyed them, for with the jaw-bone of an ass I have smitten a thousand men. (17) And it came to pass when he ceased speaking, that he cast the jaw-bone out of his hand; and he called that place the Lifting of the jaw-bone. (18) And he was very thirsty, and wept before the Lord, and said, Thou hast been well pleased to grant this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant, and new shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? (19) And God broke open a hollow place in the jaw, and there came thence water, and he drank; and his spirit returned and he revived: therefore the name of the fountain was called ‘The well of the invoker,’ which is in Lechi, until this day. (20) And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16

(1) And Sampson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her. (2) And it was reported to the Gazites, saying, Sampson is come hither: and they compassed him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and they were quiet all the night, saying, Let us wait till the dawn appear, and we will slay him. (3) And Sampson slept till midnight, and rose up at midnight, and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city with the two posts, and lifted them up with the bar, and laid them on his shoulders, and he went up to the top of the mountain that is before Chebron, and laid them there. (4) And it came to pass after this that he loved a woman in Alsorech, and her name was Dalida. (5) And the princess of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Beguile him, and see wherein his great strength is, and wherewith we shall prevail against him, and bind him to humble him; and we will give thee each eleven hundred pieces of silver. (6) And Dalida said to Sampson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein is thy great strength, and wherewith thou shalt be bound that thou mayest be humbled. (7) And Sampson said to her, If they bind me with seven moist cords that have not been spoiled, then shall I be weak and be as one of ordinary men. (8) And the princess of the Philistines brought to her seven moist cords that had not been spoiled, and she bound him with them. (9) And the liers in wait remained with her in the chamber; and she said to him, the Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he broke the cords as if any one should break a thread of tow when it has touched the fire, and his strength was not known. (10) And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold, thou hast cheated me, and told me lies; now then tell me wherewith thou shalt be bound. (11) And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes with which work has not been done, then shall I be weak, and shall be as another man. (12) And Dalida took new ropes, and bound him with them, and the liers in wait came out of the chamber, and she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he broke them off his arms like a thread. (13) And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold, thou hast deceived me, and told me lies; tell me, I intreat thee, wherewith thou mayest be bound: and he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web, and shouldest fasten them with the pin into the wall, then shall I be weak as another man. (14) And it came to pass when he was asleep, that Dalida took the seven locks of his head, and wove them with the web, and fastened them with the pin into the wall, and she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he awoke out of his sleep, and carried away the pin of the web out of the wall. (15) And Dalida said to Sampson, How sayest thou, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? this third time thou hast deceived me, and hast not told me wherein is thy great strength. (16) And it came to pass as she pressed him sore with her words continually, and straitened him, that his spirit failed almost to death. (17) Then he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come upon my head, because I have been a holy one of God from my mother’s womb; if then I should be shaven, my strength will depart from me, and I shall be weak, and I shall be as all other men. (18) And Dalida saw that he told her all his heart, and she sent and called the princess of the Philistines, saying, Come up yet this once; for he has told me all his heart. And the chiefs of the Philistines went up to her, and brought the money in their hands. (19) And Dalida made Sampson sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and he shaved the seven locks of his head, and she began to humble him, and his strength departed from him. (20) And Dalida said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at former times, and shake myself; and he knew not that the Lord was departed from him. (21) And the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground in the prison-house. (22) And the hair of his head began to grow as before it was shaven. (23) And the chiefs of the Philistines met to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to make merry; and they said, God has given into our hand our enemy Sampson. (24) And the people saw him, and sang praises to their god; for our god, said they, has delivered into our hand our enemy, who wasted our land, and who multiplied our slain. (25) And when their heart was merry, then they said, Call Sampson out of the prison-house, and let him play before us: and they called Sampson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they smote him with the palms of their hands, and set him between the pillars. (26) And Sampson said to the young man that held his hand, Suffer me to feel the pillars on which the house rests, and I will stay myself upon them. (27) And the house was full of men and woman, and there were all the chiefs of the Philistines, and on the roof were about three thousand men and woman looking at the sports of Sampson. (28) And Sampson wept before the Lord, and said, O Lord, my lord, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, O God, yet this once, and I will requite one recompense to the Philistines for my two eyes. (29) And Sampson took hold of the two pillars of the house on which the house stood, and leaned on them, and laid hold of one with his right hand, and the other with his left. (30) And Sampson said, Let my wife perish with the Philistines: and he bowed himself mightily; and the house fell upon the princes, and upon all the people that were in it: and the dead whom Sampson slew in his death were more than those whom he slew in his life. (31) And his brethren and his father’s house went down, and they took him; and they went up and buried him between Saraa and Esthaol in the sepulchre of his father Manoe; and he judged Israel twenty years.

17

(1) And there was a man of mount Ephraim, and his name was Michaias. (2) And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver which thou tookest of thyself, and about which thou cursedst me, and spokest in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it: and his mother said, Blessed be my son of the Lord. (3) And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I had wholly consecrated the money to the Lord out of my hand for my son, to make a graven and a molten image, and now I will restore it to thee. (4) But he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to a silversmith, and he made it a graven and a molten image; and it was in the house of Michaias. (5) And the house of Michaias was to him the house of God, and he made an ephod and theraphin, and he consecrated one of his sons, and he became to him a priest. (6) And in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (7) And there was a young man in Bethleem of the tribe of Juda, and he was a Levite, and he was sojourning there. (8) And the man departed from Bethleem the city of Juda to sojourn in whatever place he might find; and he came as far as mount Ephraim, and to the house of Michaias to accomplish his journey. (9) And Michaias said to him, Whence comest thou? and he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethleem Juda, and I go to sojourn in any place I may find. (10) And Michaias said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest; and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a change of raiment, and thy living. (11) And the Levite went and began to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. (12) And Michaias consecrated the Levite, and he became to him a priest, and he was in the house of Michaias. (13) And Michaias said, Now I know that the Lord will do me good, because a Levite has become my priest.

18

(1) In those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the tribe of Dan sought for itself an inheritance to inhabit, because no inheritance had fallen to it until that day in the midst of the tribes of the children of Israel. (2) And the sons of Dan sent from their families five men of valour, from Saraa and from Esthaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, Go and search out the land. And they came as far as the mount of Ephraim to the house of Michaias and they lodged there, (3) in the house of Michaias, and they recognised the voice of the young man the Levite, and turned in thither; and said to him, Who brought thee in hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? (4) And he said to them, Thus and thus did Michaias to me, and he hired me, and I became his priest (5) And they said to him, Enquire now of God, and we shall know whether our way will prosper, on which we are going. (6) And the priest said to them, Go in peace; your way in which ye go, is before the Lord. (7) And the five men went on, and came to Laisa; and they saw the people in the midst of it dwelling securely, at ease as is the manner of the Sidonians, and there is no one perverting or shaming a matter in the land, no heir extorting treasures; and they are far from the Sidonians, and they have no intercourse with any one. (8) And the five men came to their brethren to Saraa and Esthaol, and said to their brethren, Why sit ye here idle? (9) And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good, yet ye are still: delay not to go, an to enter in to possess the land. (10) And whensoever ye shall go, ye shall come in upon a people secure, and the land is extensive, for God has given it into your hand; a place where there is no want of anything that the earth affords. (11) And there departed thence of the families of Dan, from Saraa and from Esthaol, six hundred men, girded with weapons of war. (12) And they went up, and encamped in Cariathiarim in Juda; therefore it was called in that place the camp of Dan, until this day: behold, it is behind Cariathiarim. (13) And they went on thence to the mount of Ephraim, and came to the house of Michaias. (14) And the five men who went to spy out the land of Laisa answered, and said to their brethren, Ye know that there is in this place an ephod, and theraphin, and a graven and a molten image; and now consider what ye shall do. (15) And they turned aside there, and went into the house of the young man, the Levite, even into the house of Michaias, and asked him how he was. (16) And the six hundred men of the sons of Dan who were girded with their weapons of war stood by the door of the gate. (17) And the five men who went to spy out the land went up, and entered into the house of Michaias, and the priest stood. (18) And they took the graven image, and the ephod, and the theraphin, and the molten image; and the priest said to them, What are ye doing? (19) And they said to him, Be silent, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be the priest of the house of one man, or to be the priest of a tribe and house for a family of Israel? (20) And the heart of the priest was glad, and he took the ephod, and the theraphin, and the graven image, and the molten image, and went in the midst of the people. (21) So they turned and departed, and put their children and their property and their baggage before them. (22) They went some distance from the house of Michaias, and, behold, Michaias and the men in the houses near Michaias’ house, cried out, and overtook the children of Dan. (23) And the children of Dan turned their face, and said to Michaias, What is the matter with thee that thou hast cried out? (24) And Michaias said, Because ye have taken my graven image which I made, and my priest, and are gone; and what have I remaining? and what is this that ye say to me, Why criest thou? (25) And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest angry men run upon thee, and take away thy life, and the lives of thy house. (26) And the children of Dan went their way; and Michaias saw that they were stronger than himself, and he returned to his house. (27) And the children of Dan took what Michaias had made, and the priest that he had, and they came to Laisa, to a people quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. (28) And there was no deliverer, because the city is far from the Sidonians, and they have no intercourse with men, and it is in the valley of the house of Raab; and they built the city, and dwelt in it. (29) And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and the name of the city was Ulamais before. (30) And the children of Dan set up the graven image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gerson son of Manasse, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan till the time of the carrying away of the nation. (31) And they set up for themselves the graven image which Michaias made, all the days that the house of God was in Selom; and it was so in those days that there was no king in Israel.

19

(1) And there was a Levite sojourning in the sides of mount Ephraim, and he took to himself a concubine from Bethleem Juda. (2) And his concubine departed from him, and went away from him to the house of her father to Bethleem Juda, and she was there four months. (3) And her husband rose up, and went after her to speak kindly to her, to recover her to himself; and he had his young man with him, and a pair of asses; and she brought him into the house of her father; and the father of the damsel saw him, and was well pleased to meet him. (4) And his father-in-law, the father of the damsel, constrained him, and he stayed with him for three days; and they ate and drank, and lodged there. (5) And it came to pass on the fourth day that they rose early, and he stood up to depart; and the father of the damsel said to his son-in-law, Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards ye shall go. (6) So they two sat down together and ate and drank: and the father of the damsel said to her husband, Tarry now the night, and let thy heart be merry. (7) And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law constrained him, and he stayed and lodged there. (8) And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the father of the damsel said, Strengthen now thine heart, and quit thyself as a soldier till the day decline; and the two ate. (9) And the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine, and his young man; but his father-in-law the father of the damsel said to him, Behold now, the day has declined toward evening; lodge here, an let thy heart rejoice; and ye shall rise early to-morrow for your journey, and thou shalt go to thy habitation. (10) But the man would not lodge there, but he arose and departed, and came to the part opposite Jebus, (this is Jerusalem,) and there was with him a pair of asses saddled, and his concubine was with him. (11) And they came as far as Jebus: and the day had far advanced, and the young man said to his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us lodge in it. (12) And his master said to him, We will not turn aside to a strange city, where there is not one of the children of Israel, but we will pass on as far as Gabaa. (13) And he said to his young man, Come, and let us draw nigh to one of the places, and we will lodge in Gabaa or in Rama. (14) And they passed by and went on, and the sun went down upon them near to Gabaa, which is in Benjamin. (15) And they turned aside thence to go in to lodge in Gabaa; and they went in, and sat down in the street of the city, and there was no one who conducted them into a house to lodge. (16) And behold, an old man came out of the field from his work in the evening; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gabaa, and the men of the place were sons of Benjamin. (17) And he lifted up his eyes, and saw a traveller in the street of the city; and the old man said to him, Whither goest thou, and whence comest thou? (18) And he said to him, We are passing by from Bethleem Juda to the sides of mount Ephraim: I am from thence, and I went as far as Bethleem Juda, and I am going home, and there is no man to take me into his house. (19) Yet is there straw and food for our asses, and bread and wine for me and my handmaid and the young man with thy servants; there is no want of anything. (20) And the old man said, Peace be to thee; only be every want of thine upon me, only do thou by no means lodge in the street. (21) And he brought him into his house, and made room for his asses; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank. (22) And they were comforting their heart, when, behold, the men of the city, sons of transgressors, compassed the house, knocking at the door: and they spoke to the old man the owner of the house, saying, Bring out the man who came into thy house, that we may know him. (23) And the master of the house came out to them, and said, Nay, brethren, do not ye wrong, I pray you, after this man has come into my house; do not ye this folly. (24) Behold my daughter a virgin, and the man’s concubine: I will bring them out, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes; but to this man do not this folly. (25) But the men would not consent to hearken to him; so the man laid hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they knew her, and abused her all night till the morning, and let her go when the morning dawned. (26) And the woman came toward morning, and fell down at the door of the house where her husband was, until it was light. (27) And her husband rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went forth to go on his journey; and, behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down by the doors of the house, and her hands were on the threshold. (28) And he said to her, Rise, and let us go; and she answered not, for she was dead: and he took her upon his ass, and went to his place. (29) And he took his sword, and laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve parts, and sent them to every coast of Israel. (30) And it was so, that every one who saw it said, Such a day as this has not happened nor has been seen from the day of the going up of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt until this day: take ye counsel concerning it, and speak.

20

(1) And all the children of Israel went out, and all the congregation was gathered as one man, from Dan even to Bersabee, and in the land of Galaad, to the Lord at Massepha. (2) And all the tribes of Israel stood before the Lord in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. (3) And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Massepha: and the children of Israel came and said, Tell us, where did this wickedness take place? (4) And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I and my concubine went to Gabaa of Benjamin to lodge. (5) And the men of Gabaa rose up against me, and compassed the house by night against me; they wished to slay me, and they have humbled my concubine, and she is dead. (6) And I laid hold of my concubine, and divided her in pieces, and sent the parts into every coast of the inheritance of the children of Israel; for they have wrought lewdness and abomination in Israel. (7) Behold, all ye are children of Israel; and consider and take counsel here among yourselves. (8) And all the people rose up as one man, saying, No one of us shall return to his tent, and no one of us shall return to his house. (9) And now this is the thing which shall be done in Gabaa; we will go up against it by lot. (10) Moreover we will take ten men for a hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred for a thousand, and a thousand for ten thousand, to take provision, to cause them to come to Gabaa of Benjamin, to do to it according to all the abomination, which they wrought in Israel. (11) And all the men of Israel were gathered to the city as one man. (12) And the tribes of Israel sent men through the whole tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness that has been wrought among you? (13) Now then give up the men the sons of transgressors that are in Gabaa, and we will put them to death, and purge out wickedness from Israel: but the children of Benjamin consented not to hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel. (14) And the children of Benjamin were gathered from their cities to Gabaa, to go forth to fight with the children of Israel. (15) And the children of Benjamin from their cities were numbered in that day, twenty-three thousand, every man drawing a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men of all the people, able to use both hands alike; (16) All these could sling with stones at a hair, and not miss. (17) And the men of Israel, exclusive of Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword; all these were men of war. (18) And they arose and went up to Baethel, and enquired of God: and the children of Israel said, Who shall go up for us first to fight with the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Juda shall go up first as leader. (19) And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gabaa. (20) And they went out, all the men of Israel, to fight with Benjamin, and engaged with them at Gabaa. (21) And the sons of Benjamin went forth from Gabaa, and they destroyed in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men down to the ground. (22) And the men of Israel strengthened themselves, and again engaged in battle in the place where they had engaged on the first day. (23) And the children of Israel went up, and wept before the Lord till evening, and enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we again draw nigh to battle with our brethren the children of Benjamin? and the Lord said, Go up against them. (24) And the children of Israel advanced against the children of Benjamin on the second day. (25) And the children of Benjamin went forth to meet them from Gabaa on the second day, and destroyed of the children of Israel yet further eighteen thousand men down to the ground: all these drew sword. (26) And the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Baethel; and they wept, and sat there before the Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered whole-burnt-offerings and perfect sacrifices, before the Lord, (27) for the ark of the Lord God was there in those days, (28) and Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days; and the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we yet again go forth to fight with our brethren the sons of Benjamin? and the Lord said, Go up, to-morrow I will give them into your hands. (29) And the children of Israel set an ambush against Gabaa round about it. (30) And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and arrayed themselves against Gabaa as before. (31) And the children of Benjamin went out to meet the people, and were all drawn out of the city, and began to smite and slay the people as before in the roads, whereof one goes up to Baethel, and one to Gabaa in the field, about thirty men of Israel. (32) And the children of Benjamin said, They fall before us as at the first: but the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them out from the city into the roads; and they did so. (33) And all the men rose up out of their places, and engaged in Baal Thamar; and the liers in wait of Israel advanced from their place from Maraagabe. (34) And there came over against Gabaa ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel; and the fight was severe; and they knew not that evil was coming upon them. (35) And the Lord smote Benjamin before the children of Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin in that day a hundred and twenty-five thousand men: all these drew sword. (36) And the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten; and the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted in the ambuscade which they had prepared against Gabaa. (37) And when they retreated, then the liers in wait rose up, and they moved toward Gabaa, and the whole ambush came forth, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword. (38) And the children of Israel had a signal of battle with the liers in wait, that they should send up a signal of smoke from the city. (39) And the children of Israel saw that the liers in wait had seized Gabaa, and they stood in line of battle; and Benjamin began to smite down wounded ones among the men of Israel about thirty men; for they said, Surely they fall again before us, as in the first battle. (40) And the signal went up increasingly over the city as a pillar of smoke; and Benjamin looked behind him, and behold the destruction of the city went up to heaven. (41) And the men of Israel turned back, and the men of Benjamin hasted, because they saw that evil had come upon them. (42) And they turned to the way of the wilderness from before the children of Israel, and fled: but the battle overtook them, and they from the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. (43) And they cut down Benjamin, and pursued him from Nua closely till they came opposite Gabaa on the east. (44) And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men: all these were men of might. (45) And the rest turned, and fled to the wilderness to the rock of Remmon; and the children of Israel picked off of them five thousand men; and the children of Israel went down after them as far as Gedan, and they smote of them two thousand men. (46) And all that fell of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men that drew sword in that day: all these were men of might. (47) And the rest turned, and fled to the wilderness to the rock of Remmon, even six hundred men; and they sojourned four months in the rock of Remmon. (48) And the children of Israel returned to the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword from the city of Methla, even to the cattle, and every thing that was found in all the cities: and they burnt with fire the cities they found.

21

(1) Now the children of Israel swore in Massephath, saying, No man of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife. (2) And the people came to Baethel, and sat there until evening before God: and they lifted up their voice and wept with a great weeping; (3) and said, Wherefore, O Lord God of Israel, has this come to pass, that to-day one tribe should be counted as missing from Israel? (4) And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose up early, and built there an altar, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace offerings. (5) And the children of Israel said, Who of all the tribes of Israel, went not up in the congregation to the Lord? for there was a great oath concerning those who went not up to the Lord to Massephath, saying, He shall surely be put to death. (6) And the children of Israel relented toward Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day one tribe is cut off from Israel. (7) What shall we do for wives for the rest that remain? whereas we have sworn by the Lord, not to give them of our daughters for wives. (8) And they said, What one man is there of the tribes of Israel, who went not up to the Lord to Massephath? and, behold, no man came to the camp from Jabis Galaad to the assembly. (9) And the people were numbered, and there was not there a man from the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad. (10) And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the strongest, and they charged them, saying, Go ye and smite the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad with the edge of the sword. (11) And this shall ye do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man ye shall devote to destruction, but the virgins ye shall save alive: and they did so. (12) And they found among the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to Selom in the land of Chanaan. (13) And all the congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin in the rock Remmon, and invited them to make peace. (14) And Benjamin returned to the children of Israel at that time, and the children of Israel gave them the women whom they had save alive of the daughters of Jabis Galaad; and they were content. (15) And the people relented for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. (16) And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin. (17) And they said, There must be an inheritance of them that are escaped of Benjamin; and so a tribe shall not be destroyed out of Israel. (18) For we shall not be able to give them wives of our daughters, because we swore among the children of Israel, saying, Cursed is he that gives a wife to Benjamin. (19) And they said, Lo! now there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in Selom, which is on the north of Baethel, eastward on the way that goes up from Baethel to Sychem, and from the south of Lebona. (20) And they charged the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; (21) and ye shall see; and lo! if there come out the daughters of the inhabitants of Selom to dance in dances, then shall ye go out of the vineyards and seize for yourselves every man a wife of the daughters of Selom, and go ye into the land of Benjamin. (22) And it shall come to pass, when their fathers or their brethren come to dispute with us, that we will say to them, Grant them freely to us, for we have not taken every man his wife in the battle: because ye did not give to them according to the occasion, ye transgressed. (23) And the children of Benjamin did so; and they took wives according to their number from the dancers whom they seized: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them. (24) And the children of Israel went thence at that time every man to his tribe and his kindred; and they went thence every man to his inheritance. (25) And in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own sight.

Ruth

1 2 3 4

1

(1) And it came to pass when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: and a man went from Bethleem Juda to sojourn in the land of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. (2) And the man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name Noemin, and the names of his two sons Maalon and Chelaion, Ephrathites of Bethleem of Juda: and they came to the land of Moab, and remained there. (3) And Elimelech the husband of Noemin died; and she was left, and her two sons. (4) And they took to themselves wives, women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpha, and the name of the second Ruth; and they dwelt there about ten years. (5) And both Maalon and Chelaion died also; and the woman was left of her husband and her two sons. (6) And she rose up and her two daughters-in-law, and they returned out of the country of Moab, for she heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people to give them bread. (7) And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her: and they went by the way to return to the land of Juda. (8) And Noemin said to her daughter-in-law, Go now, return each to the house of her mother: the Lord deal mercifully with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. (9) The Lord grant you that ye may find rest each of you in the house of her husband: and she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. (10) And they said to her, We will return with thee to thy people. (11) And Noemin said, Return now, my daughters; and why do ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb to be your husbands? (12) Turn now, my daughters, for I am too old to be married: for I said, Suppose I were married, and should bear sons; (13) would ye wait for them till they should be grown? or would ye refrain from being married for their sakes? Not so, my daughters; for I am grieved for you, that the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me. (14) And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpha kissed her mother-in-law and returned to her people; but Ruth followed her. (15) And Noemin said to Ruth, Behold, thy sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods; turn now thou also after thy sister-in-law. (16) And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee; for whithersoever thou goest, I will go, and wheresoever thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. (17) And wherever thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if I leave thee, for death only shall divide between me and thee. (18) And Noemin seeing that she was determined to go with her, ceased to speak to her any more. (19) And they went both of them until they came to Bethleem: and it came to pass, when they arrived at Bethleem, that all the city rang with them, and they said, Is this Noemin? (20) And she said to them, Nay, do not call me Noemin; call me ‘Bitter,’ for the Mighty One has dealt very bitterly with me. (21) I went out full, and the Lord has brought me back empty: and why call ye me Noemin, whereas the Lord has humbled me and the Mighty One has afflicted me? (22) So Noemin and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, returned from the country of Moab; and they came to Bethleem in the beginning of barley harvest.

2

(1) And Noemin had a friend an acquaintance of her husband, and the man was a mighty man of the kindred of Elimelech, and his name was Booz. (2) And Ruth the Moabitess said to Noemin, Let me go now to the field, and I will glean among the ears behind the man with whomsoever I shall find favour: and she said to her, Go, daughter. (3) And she went; and came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers; and she happened by chance to come on a portion of the land of Booz, of the kindred of Elimelech. (4) And, behold, Booz came from Bethleem, and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you: and they said to him, The Lord bless thee. (5) And Booz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose is this damsel? (6) And his servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel who returned with Noemin out of the land of Moab. (7) And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers: and she came and stood from morning till evening, and rested not even a little in the field. (8) And Booz said to Ruth, Hast thou not heard, my daughter? go not to glean in another field; and depart not thou hence, join thyself here with my damsels. (9) Let thine eyes be on the field where my men shall reap, and thou shalt go after them: behold, I have charged the young men not to touch thee: and when you shalt thirst, then thou shalt go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men shall have drawn. (10) And she fell upon her face, and did reverence to the ground, and said to him, How is it that I have found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take notice of me, whereas I am a stranger? (11) And Booz answered and said to her, It has fully been told me how thou hast dealt with thy mother-in-law after the death of thy husband; and how thou didst leave thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and camest to a people whom thou knewest not before. (12) The Lord recompense thy work; may a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, to whom thou hast come to trust under his wings. (13) And she said, Let me find grace in thy sight, my lord, because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken kindly to thy handmaid, and behold, I shall be as one of thy servants. (14) And Booz said to her, Now it is time to eat; come hither, and thou shalt eat of the bread, and thou shalt dip thy morsel in the vinegar: and Ruth sat by the side of the reapers: and Booz handed her meal, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left. (15) And she rose up to glean; and Booz charged his young men, saying, Let her even glean among the sheaves, and reproach her not. (16) And do ye by all means carry it for her, and ye shall surely let fall for her some of that which is heaped up; and let her eat, and glean, and rebuke her not. (17) So she gleaned in the field till evening, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barely. (18) And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and Ruth brought forth and gave to her the food which she had left from what she had been satisfied with. (19) And her mother-in-law said to her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day, and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that took notice of thee. And Ruth told her mother-in-law where she had wrought, and said, The name of the man with whom I wrought to-day is Booz. (20) And Noemin said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed is he of the Lord, because he has not failed in his mercy with the living and with the dead: and Noemin said to her, The man is near akin to us, he is one of our relations. (21) And Ruth said to her mother-in-law, Yea, he said also to me, Keep close to my damsels, until the men shall have finished all my reaping. (22) And Noemin said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is well, daughter, that thou wentest out with his damsels; thus they shall not meet thee in another field. (23) And Ruth joined herself to the damsels of Booz to glean until they had finished the barley-harvest and the wheat-harvest.

3

(1) And she lodged with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? (2) And now is not Booz our kinsman, with whose damsels thou wast? behold, he winnows barley this night in the floor. (3) But do thou wash, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go up to the threshing-floor: do not discover thyself to the man until he has done eating and drinking. (4) And it shall come to pass when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he lies down, and shalt come and lift up the covering of his feet, and shalt lie down; and he shall tell thee what thou shalt do. (5) And Ruth said to her, All that thou shalt say, I will do. (6) And she went down to the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law enjoined her. (7) And Booz ate and drank, and his heart was glad, and he came to lie down by the side of the heap of corn; and she came secretly, and lifted up the covering of his feet. (8) And it came to pass at midnight that the man was amazed, and troubled, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. (9) And he said, Who art thou? and she said, I am thine handmaid Ruth; spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art a near relation. (10) And Booz said, Blessed be thou of the Lord God, my daughter, for thou hast made thy latter kindness greater than the former, in that thou followest not after young men, whether any be poor or rich. (11) And now fear not, my daughter, whatever thou shalt say I will do to thee; for all the tribe of my people knows that thou art a virtuous woman. (12) And now I am truly akin to thee; nevertheless there is a kinsman nearer than I. (13) Lodge here for the night, and it shall be in the morning, if he will do the part of a kinsman to thee, well—let him do it: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, I will do the kinsman’s part to thee, as the Lord lives; lie down till the morning. (14) And she lay at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before a man could know his neighbour; and Booz said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. (15) And he said to her, Bring the apron that is upon thee: and she held it, and he measured six measures of barley, and put them upon her, and she went into the city. (16) And Ruth went in to her mother-in-law, and she said to her, My daughter! and Ruth told her all that the man had done to her. (17) And she said to her, He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law. (18) And she said, Sit still, my daughter, until thou shalt know how the matter will fall out; for the man will not rest until the matter be accomplished this day.

4

(1) And Booz went up to the gate, and sat there; and behold, the relative passed by, of whom Booz spoke: and Booz said to him, Turn aside, sit down here, such a one: and he turned aside and sat down. (2) And Booz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and they sat down. (3) And Booz said to the relative, The matter regards the portion of the field which was our brother Elimelech’s which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the land of Moab; (4) and I said, I will inform thee, saying, Buy it before those that sit, and before the elders of my people: if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, tell me, and I shall know; for there is no one beside thee to do the office of a kinsman, and I am after thee: and he said, I am here, I will redeem it. (5) And Booz said, In the day of thy buying the field of the hand of Noemin and of Ruth the Moabitess the wife of the deceased, thou must also buy her, so as to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. (6) And the kinsman said, I shall not be able to redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; do thou redeem my right for thyself, for I shall not be able to redeem it. (7) And this was in former time the ordinance in Israel for redemption, and for a bargain, to confirm every word: A man loosed his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour that redeemed his right; and this was a testimony in Israel. (8) And the kinsman said to Booz, Buy my right for thyself: and he took off his shoe and gave it to him. (9) And Booz said to the elders and to all the people, Ye are this day witnesses, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that belonged to Chelaion and Maalon, of the hand of Noemin. (10) Moreover I have bought for myself for a wife Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Maalon, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance; so the name of the dead shall not be destroyed from among his brethren, and from the tribe of his people: ye are this day witnesses. (11) And all the people who were in the gate said, We are witnesses: and the elders said, The Lord make thy wife who goes into thy house, as Rachel and as Lia, who both together built the house of Israel, and wrought mightily in Ephratha, and there shall be a name to thee in Bethleem. (12) And let thy house be as the house of Phares, whom Thamar bore to Juda, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this handmaid. (13) And Booz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her; and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. (14) And the woman said to Noemin, Blessed is the Lord, who has not suffered a redeemer to fail thee this day, even to make thy name famous in Israel. (15) And he shall be to thee a restorer of thy soul, and one to cherish thy old age; for thy daughter-in-law which has loved thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, has born him. (16) And Noemin took the child and laid it in her bosom, and became a nurse to it. (17) And the neighbours gave it a name, saying, A son has been born to Noemin; and they called his name Obed; this is the father of Jessae the father of David. (18) And these are the generations of Phares: Phares begot Esrom: (19) Esrom begot Aram; and Aram begot Aminadab. (20) And Aminadab begot Naasson; and Naasson begot Salmon. (21) And Salmon begot Booz; and Booz begot Obed. (22) And Obed begot Jessae; and Jessae begot David.

First Samuel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

1

(1) There was a man of Armathaim Sipha, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Helkana, a son of Jeremeel the son of Elias the son of Thoke, in Nasib Ephraim. (2) And he had two wives; the name of the one was Anna, and the name of the second Phennana. And Phennana had children, but Anna had no child. (3) And the man went up from year to year from his city, from Armathaim, to worship and sacrifice to the Lord God of Sabaoth at Selom: and there were Heli and his two sons Ophni and Phinees, the priests of the Lord. (4) And the day came, and Helkana sacrificed, and gave portions to his wife Phennana and her children. (5) And to Anna he gave a prime portion, because she had no child, only Helkana loved Anna more than the other; but the Lord had closed her womb. (6) For the Lord gave her no child in her affliction, and according to the despondency of her affliction; and she was dispirited on this account, that the Lord shut up her womb so as not to give her a child. (7) So she did year by year, in going up to the house of the Lord; and she was dispirited, and wept, and did not eat. (8) And Helkana her husband said to her, Anna: and she said to him, Here am I, my lord: and he said to her, What ails thee that thou weepest? and why dost thou not eat? and why does thy heart smite thee? am I not better to thee than ten children? (9) And Anna rose up after they had eaten in Selom, and stood before the Lord: and Heli the priest was on a seat by the threshold of the temple of the Lord. (10) And she was very much grieved in spirit, and prayed to the Lord, and wept abundantly. (11) And she vowed a vow to the Lord, saying, O Lord God of Sabaoth, if thou welt indeed look upon the humiliation of thine handmaid, and remember me, and give to thine handmaid a man-child, then will I indeed dedicate him to thee till the day of his death; and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and no razor shall come upon his head. (12) And it came to pass, while she was long praying before the Lord, that Heli the priest marked her mouth. (13) And she was speaking in her heart, and her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: and Heli accounted her a drunken woman. (14) And the servant of Heli said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? take away thy wine from thee, and go out from the presence of the Lord. (15) And Anna answered and said, Nay, my lord, I live in a hard day, and I have not drunk wine or strong drink, and I pour out my soul before the Lord. (16) Count not thy handmaid for a pestilent woman, for by reason of the abundance of my importunity I have continued my prayer until now. (17) And Heli answered and said to her, Go in peace: the God of Israel give thee all thy petition, which thou hast asked of him. (18) And she said, Thine handmaid has found favour in thine eyes: and the woman went her way, and entered into her lodging, and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was no more sad. (19) And they rise early in the morning, and worship the Lord, and they go their way: and Helkana went into his house at Armathaim, and knew his wife Anna; and the Lord remembered her, and she conceived. (20) And it came to pass when the time was come, that she brought forth a son, and called his name Samuel, and said, Because I asked him of the Lord God of Sabaoth. (21) And the man Helkana and all his house went up to offer in Selom the yearly sacrifice, and his vows, and all the tithes of his land. (22) But Anna did not go up with him, for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child goes up, when I have weaned him, and he shall be presented before the Lord, and he shall abide there continually. (23) And Helkana her husband said to her, Do that which is good in thine eyes, abide still until thou shalt have weaned him; but may the Lord establish that which comes out of thy mouth: and the woman tarried, and suckled her son until she had weaned him. (24) And she went up with him to Selom with a calf of three years old, and loaves, and an ephah of fine flour, and a bottle of wine: and she entered into the house of the Lord in Selom, and the child with them. (25) And they brought him before the Lord; and his father slew his offering which he offered from year to year to the Lord; and he brought near the child, and slew the calf; and Anna the mother of the child brought him to Heli. (26) And she said, I pray thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, I am the woman that stood in thy presence with thee while praying to the Lord. (27) For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my request that I asked of him. (28) And I lend him to the Lord all his days that he lives, a loan to the Lord: and she said,

2

(1) My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I have rejoiced in thy salvation. (2) For there is none holy as the Lord, and there is none righteous as our God; there is none holy besides thee. (3) Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs. (4) The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength. (5) They that were full of bread are brought low; and the hungry have forsaken the land; for the barren has born seven, and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble. (6) The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and brings up. (7) The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; he brings low, and lifts up. (8) He lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises the needy from the dunghill; to seat him with the princes of the people, and causing them to inherit the throne of glory: (9) granting his petition to him that prays; and he blesses the years of the righteous, for by strength cannot man prevail. (10) The Lord will weaken his adversary; the Lord is holy. Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth; but let him that boasts boast in this, to understand and know the Lord, and to execute judgment and justice in the midst of the earth. The Lord has gone up to the heavens, and has thundered: he will judge the extremities of the earth, and he gives strength to our kings, and will exalt the horn of his Christ. And she left him there before the Lord, (11) and departed to Armathaim: and the child ministered in the presence of the Lord before Heli the priest. (12) And the sons of Heli the priest were evil sons, not knowing the Lord. (13) And the priest’s claim from every one of the people that sacrificed was this: the servant of the priest came when the flesh was in seething, and a flesh-hook of three teeth was in his hand. (14) And he struck it into the great caldron, or into the brazen vessel, or into the pot, and whatever came up with the flesh-hook, the priest took for himself: so they did to all Israel that came to sacrifice to the Lord in Selom. (15) And before the fat was burnt for a sweet savour, the servant of the priest would come, and say to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, and I will by no means take of thee sodden flesh out of the caldron. (16) And if the man that sacrificed said, First let the fat be burned, as it is fit, and take for thyself of all things which thy soul desires: then he would say, Nay, for thou shalt give it me now; and if not I will take it by force. (17) So the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for they set at nought the offering of the Lord. (18) And Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girt with a linen ephod. (19) And his mother made him a little doublet, and brought it to him from year to year, in her going up in company with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. (20) And Heli blessed Helcana and his wife, saying The Lord recompense to thee seed of this woman, in return for the loan which thou hast lent to the Lord: and the man returned to his place. (21) And the Lord visited Anna, and she bore yet three sons, and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord. (22) And Heli was very old, and he heard what his sons did to the children of Israel. (23) And he said to them, Why do ye according to this thing, which I hear from the mouth of all the people of the Lord? (24) Nay my sons, for the report which I hear is not good; do not so, for the reports which I hear are not good, so that the people do not serve God. (25) If a man should at all sin against another, then shall they pray for him to the Lord; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? But they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord would by all means destroy them. (26) And the child Samuel advanced, and was in favour with God and with men. (27) And a man of God came to Heli, and said, Thus says the Lord, I plainly revealed myself to the house of thy father, when they were servants in Egypt to the house of Pharao. (28) And I chose the house of thy father out of all the tribes of Israel to minister to me in the priest’s office, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense, and to wear an ephod. And I gave to the house of thy father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel for food. (29) And wherefore hast thou looked upon my incense-offering and my meat-offering with a shameless eye, and hast honoured thy sons above me, so that they should bless themselves with the first-fruits of every sacrifice of Israel before me? (30) Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel, I said, Thy house and the house of thy father shall pass before me for ever: but now the Lord says, That be far from me; for I will only honour them that honour me, and he that sets me at nought shall be despised. (31) Behold, the days come when I will destroy thy seed and the seed of thy father’s house. (32) And thou shalt not have an old man in my house for ever. (33) And if I do not destroy a man of thine from my altar, it shall be that his eyes may fail and his soul may perish; and every one that remains in thy house shall fall by the sword of men. (34) And this which shall come upon thy two sons Ophni and Phinees shall be a sign to thee; in one day they shall both die. (35) And I will raise up to myself a faithful priest, who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Christ for ever. (36) And it shall come to pass that he that survives in thy house, shall come to do obeisance before him for a little piece of silver, saying, Put me into one of thy priest’s offices to eat bread.

3

(1) And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli the priest: and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no distinct vision. (2) And it came to pass at that time that Heli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes began to fail, and could not see. (3) And the lamp of God was burning before it was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where was the ark of God. (4) And the Lord called, Samuel, Samuel; and he said, Behold, here am I. (5) And he ran to Heli, and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me: and he said, I did not call thee; return, go to sleep; and he returned and went to sleep. (6) And the Lord called again, Samuel, Samuel: and he went to Heli the second time, and said, Behold here am I, for thou didst call me: and he said, I called thee not; return, go to sleep. (7) And it was before Samuel knew the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was revealed to him. (8) And the Lord called Samuel again for the third time: and he arose and went to Heli, and said, Behold, I am here, for thou didst call me: and Heli perceived that the Lord had called the child. (9) And he said, Return, child, go to sleep; and it shall come to pass if he shall call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak for thy servant hears: and Samuel went and lay down in his place. (10) And the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears. (11) And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears shall tingle. (12) In that day I will raise up against Heli all things that I have said against his house; I will begin, and I will make an end. (13) And I have told him that I will be avenged on his house perpetually for the iniquities of his sons, because his sons spoke evil against God, and he did not admonish them. (14) And it shall not go on so; I have sworn to the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned for with incense or sacrifices for ever. (15) And Samuel slept till morning, and rose early in the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to tell Heli the vision. (16) And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, my son; and he said, Behold, here am I. (17) And he said, What was the word that was spoken to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: may God do these things to thee, and more also, if thou hide from me any thing of all the words that were spoken to thee in thine ears. (18) And Samuel reported all the words, and hid them not from him. And Heli said, He is the Lord, he shall do that which is good in his sight. (19) And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words to the ground. (20) And all Israel knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel was faithful as a prophet to the Lord. (21) And the Lord manifested himself again in Selom, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel; and Samuel was accredited to all Israel as a prophet to the Lord from one end of the land to the other: and Heli was very old, and his sons kept advancing in wickedness, and their way was evil before the Lord.

4

(1) And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together against Israel to war; and Israel went out to meet them and encamped at Abenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphec. (2) And the Philistines prepare to fight with Israel, and the battle was turned against them; and the men of Israel fell before the Philistines, and there were smitten in the battle in the field four thousand men. (3) And the people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said, Why has the Lord caused us to fall this day before the Philistines? let us take the ark of our God out of Selom, and let it proceed from the midst of us, and it shall save us from the hand of our enemies. (4) And the people sent to Selom, and they take thence the ark of the Lord who dwells between the cherubs: and both the sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were with the ark. (5) And it came to pass when the ark of the Lord entered into the camp, that all Israel cried out with a loud voice, and the earth resounded. (6) And the Philistines heard the cry, and the Philistines said, What is this great cry in the camp of the Hebrews: and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. (7) And the Philistines feared, and said, These are the Gods that are come to them into the camp. (8) Woe to us, O Lord, deliver us to-day for such a thing has not happened aforetime: woe to us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote Egypt with every plague, and in the wilderness. (9) Strengthen yourselves and behave yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews as they have served us, but be ye men and fight with them. (10) And they fought with them; and the men of Israel fall, and they fled every man to his ten; and there was a very great slaughter; and there fell of Israel thirty thousand fighting men. (11) And the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Heli, Ophni, and Phinees, died. (12) And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and he came to Selom on that day: and his clothes were rent, and earth was upon his head. (13) And he came, an behold, Heli was upon the seat by the gate looking along the way, for his heart was greatly alarmed for the ark of God: and the man entered into the city to bring tidings; and the city cried out. (14) And Heli heard the sound of the cry, and said, What is the voice of this cry? and the men hasted and went in, and reported to Heli. (15) Now Heli was ninety years old, and his eyes were fixed, and he saw not. (16) And Heli said to them that stood round about him, What is the voice of this sound? And the man hasted and advanced to Heli, and said to him, I am he that is come out of the camp, and I have fled from the battle to-day: and Heli said, What is the even, my son? (17) And they young man answered and said, The men of Israel fled from the face of the Philistines, and there was a great slaughter among the people, and both thy sons are dead, and the ark of God is taken. (18) And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from the seat backward near the gate, and his back was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy: and he judged Israel twenty years. (19) And his daughter-in-law the wife of Phinees was with child, about to bring forth; and she heard the tidings, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead; and she wept and was delivered, for her pains came upon her. (20) And in her time she was at the point of death; and the women that stood by her, said to her, Fear not, for thou hast born a son: but she answered not, and her heart did not regard it. (21) And she called the child Uaebarchaboth, because of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law, and because of her husband. (22) And they said, The glory of Israel is departed, forasmuch as the ark of the Lord is taken.

5

(1) And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Abenezer to Azotus. (2) And the Philistines took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. (3) And the people of Azotus rose early, and entered into the house of Dagon; and looked, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord: and they lifted up Dagon, and set him in his place. And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he plagued them, and he smote them in their secret parts, Azotus and her coasts. (4) And it came to pass when they rose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off each before the threshold, and both the wrists of his hands had fallen on the floor of the porch; only the stump of Dagon was left. (5) Therefore the priests of Dagon, and every one that enters into the house of Dagon, do not tread upon the threshold of the house of Dagon in Azotus until this day, for they step over. (6) And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon Azotus, and he brought evil upon them, and it burst out upon them into the ships, and mice sprang up in the midst of their country, and there was a great and indiscriminate mortality in the city. (7) And the men of Azotus saw that it was so, and they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god. (8) And they send and gather the lords of the Philistines to them, and say, What shall we do to the ark of the God of Israel? and the Gittites say, Let the ark of God come over to us; and the ark of the God of Israel came to Geth. (9) And it came to pass after it went about to Geth, that the hand of the Lord comes upon the city, a very great confusion; and he smote the men of the city small and great, and smote them in their secret parts: and the Gittites made to themselves images of emerods. (10) And they send away the ark of God to Ascalon; and it came to pass when the ark of God went into Ascalon, that the men of Ascalon cried out, saying, Why have ye brought back the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people? (11) And they send and gather the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it lodge in its place; and let it not slay us and our people. (12) For there was a very great confusion in all the city, when the ark of the God of Israel entered there; and those, who lived and died not were smitten with emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

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(1) And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and their land brought forth swarms of mice. (2) And the Philistines call their priests, and their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place. (3) And they said, If ye send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague; and then shall ye be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you: should not his hand be thus stayed from off you? (4) And they say, What is the offering for the plague which we shall return to it? and they said, (5) According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden emerods, for the plague was on you, and on your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the mice that destroy your land: and ye shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. (6) And why do ye harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? was it not so when he mocked them, that they let the people go, and they departed? (7) And now take wood and make a new wagon, and take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their calves; and do ye yoke the cows to the wagon, and lead away the calves from behind them home. (8) And ye shall take the ark and put it on the wagon; and ye shall restore to it the golden articles for the trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and ye shall let it go, and sent it away, and ye shall depart. (9) And ye shall see, if it shall go the way of its coasts along by Baethsamys, he has brought upon us this great affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not touched us, but this is a chance which has happened to us. (10) And the Philistines did so; and they took two cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon, and shut up their calves at home. (11) And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon. (12) And the cows went straight on the way to the way of Baethsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Baethsamys. (13) And the men of Baethsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it. (14) And the waggon entered into the field of Osee, which was in Baethsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. (15) And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed them on the great stone, and the men of Baethsamys offered whole-burnt-offerings and meat offerings on that day to the Lord. (16) And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day. (17) And these are the golden emerods which the lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one. (18) And the golden mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, from the fenced city to the village of the Pherezite, and to the great stone, on which they placed the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that was in the field of Osee the Baethsamysite. (19) And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with the men of Baethsamys, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and the Lord smote among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the Lord had inflicted on the people, a very great plague. (20) And the men of Baethsamys said, Who shall be able to pass before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall the ark of the Lord go up from us? (21) And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, go down and take it home to yourselves.

7

(1) And the men of Cariathiarim come, and bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord: and they bring it into the house of Aminadab in the hill; and they sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the covenant of the Lord. (2) And it came to pass from the time that the ark was in Cariathiarim, the days were multiplied, and the time was twenty years; and all the house of Israel looked after the Lord. (3) And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do with all your heart return to the Lord, take away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the groves, and prepare your hearts to serve the Lord, and serve him only; and he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. (4) And the children of Israel took away Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only. (5) And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Massephath, and I will pray for you to the Lord. (6) And they were gathered together to Massephath, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned before the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Massephath. (7) And the Philistines heard that all the children of Israel were gathered together to Massephath: and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel: and the children of Israel heard, and they feared before the Philistines. (8) And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the Lord thy God for us, and he shall save us out of the hand of the Philistines. (9) And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it up as a whole-burnt-offering with all the people to the Lord: and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. (10) And Samuel was offering the whole-burnt-offering; and the Philistines drew near to war against Israel; and the Lord thundered with a mighty sound in that day upon the Philistines, and they were confounded and overthrown before Israel. (11) And the men of Israel went forth out of Massephath, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them to the parts under Baethchor. (12) And Samuel took a stone, and set it up between Massephath and the old city; and he called the name of it Abenezer, stone of the helper; and he said, Hitherto has the Lord helped us. (13) So the Lord humbled the Philistines, and they did not anymore come into the border of Israel; and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. (14) And the cities which the Philistines took from the children of Israel were restored; and they restored them to Israel from Ascalon to Azob: and they took the coast of Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; and there was peace between Israel and the Amorite. (15) And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (16) And he went year by year, and went round Baethel, and Galgala, and Massephath; and he judged Israel in all these consecrated places. (17) And his return was to Armathaim, because there was his house; and there he judged Israel, and built there an altar to the Lord.

8

(1) And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. (2) And these are the names of his sons; Joel the first-born, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee. (3) And his sons did not walk in his way; and they turned aside after gain, and took gifts, and perverted judgments. (4) And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel, (5) and they said to him, Behold, thou art grown old, and thy sons walk not in thy way; and now set over us a king to judge us, as also the other nations have. (6) And the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the Lord. (7) And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear the voice of the people, in whatever they shall say to thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me from reigning over them. (8) According to all their doings which they have done to me, from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day, even as they have deserted me, and served other gods, so they do also to thee. (9) And now hearken to their voice; only thou shalt solemnly testify to them, and thou shalt describe to them the manner of the king who shall reign over them. (10) And Samuel spoke every word of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king. (11) And he said, This shall be the manner of the king that shall rule over you: he shall take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and among his horsemen, and running before his chariots, (12) and his manner shall be to make them to himself captains of hundreds and captains of thousands; and to reap his harvest, and gather his vintage, and prepare his instruments of war, and the implements of his chariots. (13) And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. (14) And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your good oliveyards, and give them to his servants. (15) And he will take the tithe of your seeds and your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs, and to his servants. (16) And he will take your servants, and your handmaids, and your good herds and your asses, and will take the tenth of them for his works. (17) And he will tithe your flocks; and ye shall be his servants. (18) And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen to yourselves, and the Lord shall not hear you in those days, because ye have chosen to yourselves a king. (19) But the people would not hearken to Samuel; and they said to him, Nay, but there shall be a king over us. (20) An we also will be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and shall go out before us, and fight our battles. (21) And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and spoke them in the ears of the Lord. (22) And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice, and appoint them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let each man depart to his city.

9

(1) And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kis, the son of Abiel, the son of Jared, the son of Bachir, the son of Aphec, the son of a Benjamite, a man of might. (2) And this man had a son, and his name was Saul, of great stature, a goodly man; and there was not among the sons of Israel a goodlier than he, high above all the people from his shoulders and upward. (3) And the asses of Kis the father of Saul were lost; and Kis said to Saul his son, Take with thee one of the young men, and arise ye, and go seek the asses. (4) And they went through mount Ephraim, and they went through the land of Selcha, and found them not: and they passed through the land of Segalim, and they were not there: and they passed through the land of Jamin, and found them not. (5) And when they came to Siph, then Saul said to his young man that was with him, Come and let us return, lest my father leave the asses, and take care for us. (6) And the young man said to him, Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is of high repute; all that he shall speak will surely come to pass: now then let us go, that he may tell us our way on which we have set out. (7) And Saul said to his young man that was with him, Lo, then, we will go; but what shall we bring the man of God? for the loaves are spent out of our vessels, and we have nothing more with us that belongs to us to bring to the man of God. (8) And the young man answered Saul again, and said, Behold, there is found in my hand a fourth part of a shekel of silver; and thou shalt give it to the man of God, and he shall tell us our way. (9) Now before time in Israel every one in going to enquire of God said, Come and let us go to the seer; for the people beforetime called the prophet, the seer. (10) And Saul said to his servant, Well said, come and let us go: and they went to the city where the man of God was. (11) As they went up the ascent to the city, they find damsels come out to draw water, and they say to them, Is the seer here? (12) And the virgins answered them, and they say to them, He is: behold, he is before you: now he is coming to the city, because of the day, for to-day there is a sacrifice for the people in Bama. (13) As soon as ye shall enter into the city, so shall ye find him in the city, before he goes up to Bama to eat; for the people will not eat until he comes in, for he blesses the sacrifice, and afterwards the guests eat; now then go up, for ye shall find him because of the holiday. (14) And they go up to the city; and as they were entering into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel came out to meet them, to go up to Bama. (15) And the Lord uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came to him, saying, (16) At this time to-morrow I will send to thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon the humiliation of my people, for their cry is come unto me. (17) And Samuel looked upon Saul, and the Lord answered him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee, this one shall rule over my people. (18) And Saul drew near to Samuel into the midst of the city, and said, Tell me now which is the house of the seer? (19) And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am he: go up before me to Bama, and eat with me to-day, and I will send thee away in the morning, and I will tell thee all that is in thine heart. (20) And concerning thine asses that have been lost now these three days, care not for them, for they are found. And to whom does the excellency of Israel belong? does it not to thee and to thy father’s house? (21) And Saul answered and said, Am not I the son of a Benjamite, the least tribe of the people of Israel? and of the least family of the whole tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken to me according to this word? (22) And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them to the inn, and set them there a place among the chief of those that were called, about seventy men. (23) And Samuel said to the cook, Give me the portion which I gave thee, which I told thee to set by thee. (24) Now the cook had boiled the shoulder, and he set it before Saul; and Samuel said to Saul, Behold that which is left: set before thee, an eat; for it is set thee for a testimony in preference to the others; take of it: and Saul ate with Samuel on that day. (25) And he went down from Bama into the city; and they prepared a lodging for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. (26) An it came to pass when the morning dawned, that Samuel called Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will dismiss thee. And Saul arose, and he and Samuel went out. (27) As they went down to a part of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Speak to the young man, and let him pass on before us; and do thou stand as to-day, and hearken to the word of God.

10

(1) And Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said to him, Has not the Lord anointed thee for a ruler over his people, over Israel? and thou shalt rule among the people of the Lord, and thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies; and this shall be the sign to thee that the Lord has anointed thee for a ruler over his inheritance. (2) As soon as thou shalt have departed this day from me, thou shalt find two men by the burial-place of Rachel on the mount of Benjamin, exulting greatly; and they shall say to thee, The asses are found which ye went to seek; and, behold, thy father has given up the matter of the asses, and he is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? (3) And thou shalt depart thence, and shalt go beyond that as far as the oak of Thabor, and thou shalt find there three men going up to God to Baethel, one bearing three kids, and another bearing three vessels of bread, and another bearing a bottle of wine. (4) And they shall ask thee how thou doest, and shall give thee two presents of bread, and thou shall receive them of their hand. (5) And afterward thou shalt go to the hill of God, where is the encampment of the Philistines; there is Nasib the Philistine: an it shall come to pass when ye shall have entered into the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the Bama; and before them will be lutes, and a drum, and a pipe, and a harp, and they shall prophesy. (6) And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. (7) And it shall come to pass when these signs shall come upon thee, —then do thou whatsoever thy hand shall find, because God is with thee. (8) And thou shalt go down in front of Galgal, and behold, I come down to thee to offer a whole-burnt-offering and peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait until I shall come to thee, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do. (9) And it came to pass when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass in that day. (10) And he comes thence to the hill, and behold a band of prophets opposite to him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them. (11) And all that had known him before came, and saw, and behold, he was in the midst of the prophets: and the people said every one to his neighbour, What is this that has happened to the son of Kis? is Saul also among the prophets? (12) And one of them answered and said, And who is his father? and therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? (13) And he ceased prophesying, and comes to the hill. (14) And his kinsman said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? and they said, To seek the asses; and we saw that they were lost, and we went in to Samuel. (15) And his kinsman said to Saul, Tell me, I pray thee, What did Samuel say to thee? (16) And Saul said to his kinsman, he verily told me that the asses were found. But the matter of the kingdom he told him not. (17) And Samuel summoned all the people before the Lord to Massephath. (18) And he said to the children of Israel, Thus has the Lord God of Israel spoken, saying, I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and out of all the kingdoms that afflicted you. (19) And ye have this day rejected God, who is himself your Deliverer out of all your evils and afflictions; and ye said, Nay, but thou shalt set a king over us: and now stand before the Lord according to your tribes, and according to your families. (20) And Samuel brought nigh all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is taken by lot. (21) And he brings near the tribe of Benjamin by families, and the family of Mattari is taken by lot: and they bring near the family of Mattari, man by man, and Saul the son of Kis is taken; and he sought him, but he was not found. (22) And Samuel asked yet again of the Lord, Will the man come hither? and the Lord said, Behold, he is hid among the stuff. (23) And he ran and took him thence, and he set him in the midst of the people; and he was higher than all the people by his shoulders and upwards. (24) And Samuel said to all the people, Have ye seen whom the Lord has chosen to himself, that there is none like to him among you all? And all the people took notice, and said, Let the king live! (25) And Samuel told the people the manner of the king, and wrote it in a book, and set it before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the people, and each went to his place. (26) And Saul departed to his house to Gabaa; and there went with Saul mighty men whose hearts God had touched. (27) But evil men said, Who is this man that shall save us? and they despised him, and brought him no gifts.

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(1) And it came to pass about a month after this, that Naas the Ammanite went up, and encamped against Jabis Galaad: and all the men of Jabis said to Naas the Ammanite, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. (2) Naas the Ammanite said to them, On these terms will I make a covenant with you, that I should put out all your right eyes, and I will lay a reproach upon Israel. (3) And the men of Jabis say to him, Allow us seven days, and we will send messengers into all the coasts of Israel: if there should be no one to deliver us, we will come out to you. (4) And the messengers came to Gabaa to Saul, and they speak the words into the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept. (5) And, behold, Saul came after the early morning out of the field: and Saul said, Why does the people week? and they tell him the words of the men of Jabis. (6) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled against them. (7) And he took two cows, and cut them in pieces, and sent them into all the coasts of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoso comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall they do to his oxen: and a transport from the Lord came upon the people of Israel, and they came out to battle as one man. (8) And he reviews them at Bezec in Bama, every man of Israel six hundred thousand, and the men of Juda seventy thousand. (9) And he said to the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabis, To-morrow ye shall have deliverance when the sun is hot; and the messengers came to the city, and told the men of Jabis, and they rejoiced. (10) And the men of Jabis said to Naas the Ammanite, To-morrow we will come forth to you, and ye shall do to us what seems good in your sight. (11) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Saul divided the people into three companies, and they go into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and they smote the children of Ammon until the day was hot; at it came to pass that those who were left were scattered, and there were not left among them two together. (12) And the people said to Samuel, Who has said that Saul shall not reign over us? Give up the men, and we will put them to death. (13) And Saul said, No man shall die this day, for to-day the Lord has wrought deliverance in Israel. (14) And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, Let us go to Galgala, and there renew the kingdom. (15) And all the people went to Galgala, and Samuel anointed Saul there to be king before the Lord in Galgala, and there he offered meat-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord: and Samuel and all Israel rejoiced exceedingly.

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(1) And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all things that ye have said to me, and I have set a king over you. (2) And now, behold, the king goes before you; and I am grown old and shall rest; and, behold, my sons are among you; and, behold, I have gone about before you from my youth to this day. (3) Behold, here am I, answer against me before the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom of you have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, even to a sandal? bear witness against me, and I will make restitution to you. (4) And they said to Samuel, Thou hast not injured us, and thou hast not oppressed us; and thou hast not afflicted us, and thou hast not taken anything from any one’s hand. (5) And Samuel said to the people, The Lord is witness among you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand: and they said, He is witness. (6) And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, The Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron is witness, who brought our fathers up out of Egypt. (7) And now stand still, and I will judge you before the Lord; and I will relate to you all the righteousness of the Lord, the things which he has wrought among you and your fathers. (8) When Jacob and his sons went into Egypt, and Egypt humbled them, then our fathers cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he made them to dwell in this place. (9) And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hands of Sisara captain of the host of Jabis king of Asor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab; and he fought with them. (10) And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and the groves: and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. (11) And he sent Jerobaal, and Barac, and Jephthae, and Samuel, and rescued us out of the hand of our enemies round about, and ye dwelt in security. (12) And ye saw that Naas king of the children of Ammon came against you, and ye said, Nay, none but a king shall reign over us; whereas the Lord our God is our king. (13) And now behold the king whom ye have chosen; and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. (14) If ye should fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not resist the mouth of the Lord, and ye and your king that reigns over you should follow the Lord, well. (15) But if ye should not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and ye should resist the mouth of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be upon you and upon your king. (16) And now stand still, and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. (17) Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; and know ye and see, that your wickedness is great which ye have wrought before the Lord, having asked for yourselves a king. (18) And Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunders and rain in that day; and all the people feared greatly the Lord and Samuel. (19) And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, and let us not die; for we have added to all our sins this iniquity, in asking for us a king. (20) And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have indeed wrought all this iniquity; only turn not from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart. (21) And turn not aside after the gods that are nothing, who will do nothing, and will not deliver you, because they are nothing. (22) For the Lord will not cast off his people for his great name’s sake, because the Lord graciously took you to himself for a people. (23) And far be it from me to sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will serve the Lord, and shew you the good and the right way. (24) Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with all your heart, for ye see what great things he has wrought with you. (25) But if ye continue to do evil, then shall ye and your king be consumed.

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(1) (2) And Saul chooses for himself three thousand men of the men of Israel: and there were with Saul two thousand who were in Machmas, and in mount Baethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gabaa of Benjamin: and he sent the rest of the people every man to his tent. (3) And Jonathan smote Nasib the Philistine that dwelt in the hill; and the Philistines hear of it, and Saul sounds the trumpet through all the land, saying, The servants have despised us. (4) And all Israel heard say, Saul has smitten Nasib the Philistine; now Israel had been put to shame before the Philistines; and the children of Israel went up after Saul in Galgala. (5) And the Philistines gather together to war with Israel; and then come up against Israel thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand by the seashore for multitude: and they come up, and encamp in Machmas, opposite Baethoron southward. (6) And the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait so that they could not draw nigh, and the people hid themselves in caves, and sheepfolds, and rocks, and ditches, and pits. (7) And they that went over went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Galaad: and Saul was yet in Galgala, and all the people followed after him in amazement. (8) And he continued seven days for the appointed testimony, as Samuel told him, and Samuel came not to Galgala, and his people were dispersed from him. (9) And Saul said, Bring hither victims, that I may offer whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and he offered the whole-burnt-offering. (10) And it came to pass when he had finished offering the whole-burnt-offering, that Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet him, and to bless him. (11) And Samuel said, What hast thou done? and Saul said, Because I saw how the people were scattered from me, and thou was not present as thou purposedst according to the set time of the days, and the Philistines were gathered to Machmas. (12) Then I said, Now will the Philistines come down to me to Galgala, and I have not sought the face of the Lord: so I forced myself and offered the whole-burnt-offering. (13) And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; for thou hast not kept my command, which the Lord commanded thee, as now the Lord would have confirmed thy kingdom over Israel for ever. (14) But now thy kingdom shall not stand to thee, and the Lord shall seek for himself a man after his own heart; and the Lord shall appoint him to be a ruler over his people, because thou hast not kept all that the Lord commanded thee. (15) And Samuel arose, and departed from Galgala, and the remnant of the people went after Saul to meet him after the men of war, when they had come out of Galgala to Gabaa of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were found with him, about six hundred men. (16) And Saul and Jonathan his son, and the people that were found with them, halted in Gabaa, of Benjamin; and they wept: and the Philistines had encamped in Machmas. (17) And men came forth to destroy out of the land of the Philistines in three companies; one company turning by the way of Gophera toward the land of Sogal, (18) and another company turning the way of Baethoron, and another company turning by the way of Gabae that turns aside to Gai of Sabim. (19) And there was not found a smith in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make themselves sword or spear. (20) And all Israel went down to the Land of the Philistines to forge every one his reaping-hook and his tool, and every one his axe and his sickle. (21) And it was near the time of vintage: and their tools were valued at three shekels for a plough-share, and there was the same rate for the axe and the sickle. (22) And it came to pass in the days of the war of Machmas, that there was not a sword or spear found in the hand of all the people, that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and Jonathan his son was there found. (23) And there went out some from the camp of the Philistines to the place beyond Machmas.

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(1) And when a certain day arrived, Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armour, Come, and let us go over to Messab of the Philistines that is on the other side yonder; but he told not his father. (2) And Saul sat on the top of the hill under the pomegranate tree that is in Magdon, and there were with him about six hundred men. (3) And Achia son of Achitob, the brother of Jochabed the son of Phinees, the son of Heli, was the priest of God in Selom wearing an ephod: and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. (4) And in the midst of the passage whereby Jonathan sought to pass over to the encampment of the Philistines, there was both a sharp rock on this side, and a sharp rock on the other side: the name of the one was Bases, and the name of the other Senna. (5) The one way was northward to one coming to Machmas, and the other way was southward to one coming to Gabae. (6) And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour, Come, let us go over to Messab of these uncircumcised, if peradventure the Lord may do something for us; for the Lord is not straitened to save by many or by few. (7) And his armour-bearer said to him, Do all that thine heart inclines toward: behold, I am with thee, my heart is as thy heart. (8) And Jonathan said, Behold, we will go over to the men, and will come down suddenly upon them. (9) If they should say thus to us, Stand aloof there until we shall send you word; then we will stand still by ourselves, and will not go up against them. (10) But if they should say thus to us, Come up to us; then will we go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us. (11) And they both went in to Messab of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of their Caves, where they had hidden themselves. (12) And the men of Messab answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing: and Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel. (13) And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet, and his armour-bearer with him; and they looked on the face of Jonathan, and he smote them, and his armour-bearer did smite them after him. (14) And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer effected was twenty men, with darts and slings, and pebbles of the field. (15) And there was dismay in the camp, and in the field; and all the people in Messab, and the spoilers were amazed; and they would not act, and the land was terror-struck, and there was dismay from the lord. (16) And the watchmen of Saul beheld in Gabaa of Benjamin, and, behold, the army was thrown into confusion on every side. (17) And Saul said to the people with him, Number yourselves now, and see who has gone out from you: and they numbered themselves, and behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not found. (18) And Saul said to Achia, Bring the ephod; for he wore the ephod in that day before Israel. (19) And it came to pass while Saul was speaking to the priest, that the sound in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase greatly; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hands. (20) And Saul went up and all the people that were with him, and they come to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his neighbour, a very great confusion. (21) And the servants who had been before with the Philistines, who had gone up to the army, turned themselves also to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. (22) And all the Israelites who were hidden in mount Ephraim heard also that the Philistines fled; and they also gather themselves after them to battle: and the Lord saved Israel in that day; and the war passed through Bamoth; and all the people with Saul were about ten thousand men. (23) And the battle extended itself to every city in the mount Ephraim. (24) And Saul committed a great trespass of ignorance in that day, and he lays a curse on the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat bread before the evening; so I will avenge myself on my enemy: and none of the people tasted bread, though all the land was dining. (25) And Jaal was a wood abounding in swarms of bees on the face of the ground. (26) And the people went into the place of the bees, and, behold, they continued speaking; and, behold, there was none that put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath of the Lord. (27) And Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he reached forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, an dipped it into the honeycomb, and returned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes recovered their sight. (28) And one of the people answered and said, Thy father solemnly adjured the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat bread to-day. And the people were very faint, (29) and Jonathan knew it, and said, My father has destroyed the land: see how my eyes have received sight now that I have tasted a little of this honey. (30) Surely if the people had this day eaten freely of the spoils of their enemies which they found, the slaughter among the Philistines would have been greater. (31) And on that day he smote some of the Philistines in Machmas; and the people were very weary. (32) And the people turned to the spoil; and the people took flocks, and herds, and calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people ate with the blood. (33) And it was reported to Saul, saying, The people have sinned against the Lord, eating with the blood: and Saul said, Out of Getthaim roll a great stone to me hither. (34) And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them to bring hither every one his calf, and every one his sheep: and let them slay it on this stone and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood: and the people brought each one that which was in his hand, and they slew them there. (35) And Saul built an altar there to the Lord: this was the first altar that Saul built to the Lord. (36) And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines this night, and let us plunder among them till the day break, and let us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in thy sight: and the priest said, let us draw nigh hither to God. (37) And Saul enquired of God, If I go down after the Philistines, wilt thou deliver them into the hands of Israel? And he answered him not in that day. (38) And Saul said, Bring hither all the chiefs of Israel, and know and see by whom this sin has been committed this day. (39) For as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, if answer should be against my son Jonathan, he shall surely die. And there was no one that answered out of all the people. (40) And he said to all the men of Israel, Ye shall be under subjection, and I an Jonathan my son will be under subjection: and the people said to Saul, Do that which is good in thy sight. (41) And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel, why hast thou not answered thy servant this day? is the iniquity in me, or in Jonathan my son? Lord God of Israel, give clear manifestations; and if the lot should declare this, give, I pray thee, to thy people of Israel, give, I pray, holiness. And Jonathan and Saul are taken, and the people escaped. (42) And Saul said, Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan: whomsoever the Lord shall cause to be taken by lot, let him die: and the people said to Saul, This thing is not to be done: and Saul prevailed against the people, and they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son, and Jonathan is taken by lot. (43) And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done: and Jonathan told him, and said, I did indeed taste a little honey, with the end of my staff that was in my hand, and, lo! I am to die. (44) And Saul said to him, God do so to me, and more also, thou shalt surely die to-day. (45) And the people said to Saul, Shall he that has wrought this great salvation in Israel be put to death this day? As the Lord lives, there shall not fall to the ground one of the hairs of his head; for the people of God have wrought successfully this day. And the people prayed for Jonathan in that day, and he died not. (46) And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines departed to their place. (47) And Saul received the kingdom, by lot he inherits the office of ruling over Israel: and he fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against the children of Edom, and against Baethaeor, and against the king of Suba, and against the Philistines: whithersoever he turned, he was victorious. (48) And he wrought valiantly, and smote Amalec, and rescued Israel out of the hand of them that trampled on him. (49) And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jessiu, and Melchisa: and these were the names of his two daughters, the name of the first-born Merob, and the name of the second Melchol. (50) And the name of his wife was Achinoom, the daughter of Achimaa: and the name of his captain of the host was Abenner, the son of Ner, son of a kinsman of Saul. (51) And Kis was the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abenezer, was son of Jamin, son of Abiel. (52) And the war was vehement against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, and any valiant man, then he took them to himself.

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(1) And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over Israel: and now hear the voice of the Lord. (2) Thus said the Lord of hosts, Now will I take vengeance for what Amalec did to Israel, when he met him in the way as he came up out of Egypt. (3) And now go, and thou shalt smite Amalec and Hierim and all that belongs to him, and thou shalt not save anything of him alive, but thou shalt utterly destroy him: and thou shalt devote him and all his to destruction, and thou shalt spare nothing belonging to him; and thou shalt slay both man and woman, and infant and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass. (4) And Saul summoned the people, and he numbered them in Galgala, four hundred thousand regular troops, and Juda thirty thousand regular troops. (5) And Saul came to the cities of Amalec, and laid wait in the valley. (6) And Saul said to the Kinite, Go, and depart out of the midst of the Amalekites, lest I put thee with them; for thou dealedst mercifully with the children of Israel when they went up out of Egypt. So the Kinite departed from the midst of Amalec. (7) And Saul smote Amalec from Evilat to Sur fronting Egypt. (8) And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive, and he slew all the people and Hierim with the edge of the sword. (9) And Saul and all the people saved Agag alive, and the best of the flocks, and of the herds, and of the fruits, of the vineyards, and of all the good things; and they would not destroy them: but every worthless and refuse thing they destroyed. (10) And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, (11) I have repented that I have made Saul to be king: for he has turned back from following me, and has not kept my word. And Samuel was grieved, and cried to the Lord all night. (12) And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning, and it was told Saul, saying, Samuel has come to Carmel, and he has raised up help for himself: and he turned his chariot, and came down to Galgala to Saul; and, behold, he was offering up a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, the chief of the spoils which he brought out of Amalec. (13) And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed art thou of the Lord: I have performed all that the Lord said. (14) And Samuel said, What then is the bleating of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the oxen which I hear? (15) And Saul said, I have brought them out of Amalec, that which the people preserved, even the best of the sheep, and of the cattle, that it might be sacrificed to the Lord thy God, and the rest have I utterly destroyed. (16) And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord has said to me this night: and he said to him, Say on. (17) And Samuel said to Saul, Art thou not little in his eyes, though a leader of one of the tribes of Israel? and yet the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel. (18) And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said to thee, Go, and utterly destroy: thou shalt slay the sinners against me, even the Amalekites; and thou shalt war against them until thou have consumed them. (19) And why didst not thou hearken to the voice of the Lord, but didst haste to fasten upon the spoils, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the Lord? (20) And Saul said to Samuel, Because I listened to the voice of the people: yet I went the way by which the Lord sent me, and I brought Agag the king of Amalec, and I destroyed Amalec. (21) But the people took of the spoils the best flocks and herds out of that which was destroyed, to sacrifice before the Lord our God in Galgal. (22) And Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the Lord? behold, obedience is better than a good sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams. (23) For sin is as divination; idols bring on pain and grief. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord also shall reject thee from being king over Israel. (24) And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, in that I have transgressed the word of the Lord and thy direction; for I feared the people, and I hearkened to their voice. (25) And now remove, I pray thee, my sin, and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God. (26) And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn back with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord will reject thee from being king over Israel. (27) And Samuel turned his face to depart, and Saul caught hold of the skirt of his garment, and tore it. (28) And Samuel said to him, The Lord has rent thy kingdom from Israel out of thy hand this day, and will give it to thy neighbour who is better than thou. (29) And Israel shall be divided to two: and God will not turn nor repent, for he is not as a man to repent. (30) And Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of Israel, and before my people; and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God. (31) So Samuel turned back after Saul, and he worshipped the Lord. (32) And Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalec: and Agag came to him trembling; and Agag said Is death thus bitter? (33) And Samuel said to Agag, As thy sword has bereaved women of their children, so shall thy mother be made childless among women: and Samuel slew Agag before the Lord in Galgal. (34) And Samuel departed to Armathaim, and Saul went up to his house at Gabaa. (35) And Samuel did not see Saul again till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned after Saul, and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

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(1) And the Lord said to Samuel, How long dost thou mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come, I will send thee to Jessae, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me. (2) And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. (3) And thou shalt call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall mention to thee. (4) And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably, thou Seer? (5) And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice. (6) And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. (7) But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. (8) And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. (9) And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. (10) And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these. (11) And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast thou no more sons? And Jessae said, There is yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes. (12) And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good. (13) And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim. (14) And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. (15) And Saul’s servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments thee. (16) Let now thy servants speak before thee, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon thee and he shall play on his harp, that thou shalt be well, and he shall refresh thee. (17) And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him to me. (18) And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing on the harp, and the man is prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man is handsome, and the Lord is with him. (19) And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with thy flock. (20) And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul. (21) And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. (22) And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes. (23) And it came to pass when the evil spirit was upon Saul, that David took his harp, and played with his hand: and Saul was refreshed, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.

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(1) And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socchoth of Judaea, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca Ephermen. (2) And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. (3) And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them. (4) And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath, by name, out of Geth, his height was four cubits and a span. (5) And he had a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armour; and the weight of his breastplate was five thousand shekels of brass and iron. (6) And greaves of grass were upon his legs, and a brazen target was between his shoulders. (7) And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the spear’s head was formed of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armour-bearer went before him. (8) And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and ye He brews of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me. (9) And if he shall be able to fight against me, and shall smite me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail and smite him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us. (10) And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in single combat. (11) And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified. (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the heart of my lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight with this Philistine. (33) And Saul said to David, Thou wilt not in anywise be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art a mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth. (34) And David said to Saul, Thy servant was tending the flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a sheep out of the flock, (35) then I went forth after him, and smote him, and drew the spoil out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him. (36) Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God? (37) The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with thee. (38) And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and put his brazen helmet on his head. (39) And he girt David with his sword over his coat: and he made trial walking with them once and again: and David said to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved them: so they remove them from him. (40) And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. (41) (42) And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance. (43) And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that thou comest against me with a staff and stones? [and David said, Nay, but worse than a dog.] And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. (44) And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. (45) And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast defied (46) this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel. (47) And all this assembly shall know that the Lord delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands. (48) And the Philistine arose and went to meet David. (49) And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground. (50) (51) And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his sword, and slew him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled. (52) And the men of Israel and Juda arose, and shouted and pursued them as far as the entrance to Geth, and as far as the gate of Ascalon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the gates, both to Geth, and to Accaron. (53) And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp. (54) And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

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(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) And there came out women in dances to meet David out of all the cities of Israel, with timbrels, and with rejoicing, and with cymbals. (7) And the women began the strain, and said, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands. (8) And it seemed evil in the eyes of Saul concerning this matter, and he said, To David they have given ten thousands, and to me they have given thousands. (9) (10) (11) (12) And Saul was alarmed on account of David. (13) And he removed him from him, and made him a captain of a thousand for himself; and he went out and came in before the people. (14) And David was prudent in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. (15) And Saul saw that he was very wise, and he was afraid of him. (16) And all Israel and Juda loved David, because he came in and went out before the people. (17) (18) (19) (20) And Melchol the daughter of Saul loved David; and it was told Saul, and the thing was pleasing in his eyes. (21) And Saul said, I will give her to him, and she shall be a stumbling-block to him. Now the hand of the Philistines was against Saul. (22) And Saul charged his servants, saying, Speak ye privately to David, saying, Behold, the king delights in thee, and all his servants love thee, and do thou becomes the king’s son-in-law. (23) And the servants of Saul spoke these words in the ears of David; and David said, Is it a light thing in your eyes to become son-in-law to the king? Whereas I am an humble man, an not honourable? (24) And the servants of Saul reported to him according to these words, which David spoke. (25) And Saul said, Thus shall ye speak to David, The king wants no gift but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge himself on the kings enemies. Now Saul thought to cast him into the hands of the Philistines. (26) And the servants of Saul report these words to David, and David was well pleased to become the son-in-law to the king. (27) And David arose, and went, he and his men, and smote among the Philistines a hundred men: and he brought their foreskins, and he becomes the king’s son-in-law, and Saul gives him Melchol his daughter to wife. (28) And Saul saw that the Lord was with David, and that all Israel loved him. (29) And he was yet more afraid of David.

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(1) And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, to slay David. (2) And Jonathan, Saul’s son, loved David much: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul seeks to kill thee: take heed to thyself therefore to-morrow morning, and hide thyself, and dwell in secret. (3) And I will go forth, and stand near my father in the field where thou shalt be, and I will speak concerning thee to my father; and I will see what his answer may be, and I will tell thee. (4) And Jonathan spoke favorably concerning David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against thy servant David, for he has not sinned against thee, and his deeds are very good. (5) And he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great deliverance; and all Israel saw, and rejoined: why then dost thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? (6) And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan; and Saul swore, saying, As the Lord lives, he shall not die. (7) And Jonathan called David, and told him all these words; and Jonathan brought David in to Saul, and he was before him as in former times. (8) And there was again war against Saul; and David did valiantly, and fought against the Philistines, and smote them with a very great slaughter, and they fled from before him. (9) And an evil spirit from God was upon Saul, and he was resting in his house, and a spear was in his hand, and David was playing on the harp with his hands. (10) And Saul sought to smite David with the spear; and David withdrew suddenly from the presence of Saul; and he drove the spear into the wall; and David retreated and escaped. (11) And it came to pass in that night, that Saul sent messengers to the house of David to watch him, in order to slay him in the morning; and Melchol David’s wife told him, saying, Unless thou save thy life this night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain. (12) So Melchol lets David down by the window, and he departed, and fled, and escaped. (13) And Melchol took images, and laid them on the bed, and she put the liver of a goat by his head, and covered them with clothes. (14) And Saul sent messengers to take David; and they say that he is sick. (15) And he sends to David, saying, Bring him to me on the bed, that I may slay him. (16) And the messengers come, and, behold, the images were on the bed, and the goat’s liver at his head. (17) And Saul said to Melchol, Why hast thou thus deceived me, and suffered my enemy to depart, and he has escaped? and Melchol said to Saul, He said, let me go, and if not, I will slay thee. (18) So David fled, and escaped, and comes to Samuel to Armathaim, and tells him all that Saul had done to him: and Samuel and David went, and dwelt in Navath in Rama. (19) And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is in Navath in Rama. (20) And Saul sent messengers to take David, and they saw the assembly of the prophets, and Samuel stood as appointed over them; and the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they prophesy. (21) And it was told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied: and Saul sent again a third set of messengers, and they also prophesied. (22) And Saul was very angry, and went himself also to Armathaim, and he comes as far as the well of the threshing floor that is in Sephi; and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And they said, Behold, in Navath in Rama. (23) And he went thence to Navath in Rama: and there came the Spirit of God upon him also, and he went on prophesying till he came to Navath in Rama. (24) And he took off his clothes, and prophesied before them; and lay down naked all that day and all that night: therefore they said, Is Saul also among the prophets?

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(1) And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he said, What have I done, and what is my fault, and wherein have I sinned before thy father, that he seeks my life? (2) And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee: thou shalt not die: behold, my father will not do any thing great or small without discovering it to me; and why should my father hide this matter from me? This thing is not so. (3) And David answered Jonathan, and said, Thy father knows surely that I have found grace in thy sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: but as the Lord lives and thy soul lives, as I said, the space is filled up between me and death. (4) And Jonathan said to David, What does thy soul desire, and what shall I do for thee. (5) And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but thou shalt let me go, and I will hide in the plain till the evening. (6) And if thy father do in anywise enquire for me, then shalt thou say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethleem his city, for there is there, a yearly sacrifice for all the family. (7) If he shall say thus, Well, —all is safe for thy servant: but if he shall answer harshly to thee, know that evil is determined by him. (8) And thou shalt deal mercifully with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thyself: and if there is iniquity in thy servant, slay me thyself; but why dost thou thus bring me to thy father? (9) And Jonathan said, That be far from thee: for if I surely know that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee, although it should not be against thy cities, I will tell thee. (10) And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if thy father should answer roughly? (11) And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field. (12) And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound my father as I have an opportunity, three several times, and, behold, if good should be determined concerning David, and I do not send to thee to the field, (13) God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall also report the evil to thee, and make it known to thee, and I will let thee go; and thou shalt depart in peace, and the Lord shall be with thee, as he was with my father. (14) And if indeed I continue to live, then shalt thou deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die, (16) thou shalt not withdraw thy mercy from my house for ever: and if thou doest not, when the Lord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of the earth, should it happen that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of David, then let the Lord seek out the enemies of David. (17) And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him. (18) And Jonathan said, To-morrow is the new moon, and thou wilt be enquired for, because thy seat will be observed as vacant. (19) And thou shalt stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shalt come to thy place where thou mayest hide thyself in the day of thy business, and thou shalt wait by that ergab. (20) And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark. (21) And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow. (22) If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow is here, and on this side of thee, take it; then come, for it is well with thee, and there is no reason for fear, as the Lord lives: but if I should say thus to the young man, The arrow is on that side of thee, and beyond; go, for the Lord hath sent thee away. (23) And as for the word which thou and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is witness between me and thee for ever. (24) So David hides himself in the field, and the new month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat. (25) And he sat upon his seat as in former times, even on his seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan; and Abenner sat on one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty. (26) And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It seems to have fallen out that he is not clean, because he has not purified himself. (27) And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day of the month, that the place of David was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae attended both yesterday and today at the table? (28) And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city; (29) and he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and my brethren have sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, I will even go over and see my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king. (30) And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, Thou son of traitorous damsels! for do I not know that thou art an accomplice with the son of Jessae to thy same, and to the shame of thy mother’s nakedness? (31) For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, thy kingdom shall not be established: now then send and take the young man, for he shall surely die. (32) And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done? (33) And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to slay him: so Jonathan knew that this evil was determined on by his father to slay David. (34) And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second day of the month, for he grieved bitterly for David, because his father determined on mischief against him. (35) And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field, as he appointed to do for a signal to David, and a little boy was with him. (36) And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which I shoot: and the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow, and sent it beyond him. (37) And the boy came to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan cried out after the lad, and said, The arrow is on that side of thee and beyond thee. (38) And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows, and brought the arrows to his master. (39) And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David knew. (40) And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city. (41) And when the lad went in, then David arose from the argab, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three times, and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while. (42) And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and as we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be witness between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever—even so let it be. And David arose and departed,

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and Jonathan went into the city. (1) And David comes to Nomba to Abimelech the priest: and Abimelech was amazed at meeting him, and said to him, Why art thou alone, and nobody with thee? (2) And David said to the priest, The king gave me a command to-day, and said to me, Let no one know the matter on which I send thee, an concerning which I have charged thee: and I have charged my servants to be in the place that is called, The faithfulness of God, phellani maemoni. (3) And now if there are under thy hand five loaves, give into my hand what is ready. (4) And the priest answered David, and said, There are no common loaves under my hand, for I have none but holy loaves: if the young men have been kept at least from women, then they shall eat them. (5) And David answered the priest, and said to him, Yea, we have been kept from women for three days: when I came forth for the journey all the young men were purified; but this expedition is unclean, wherefore it shall be sanctified this day because of my weapons. (6) So Abimelech the priest gave him the shewbread; for there were no loaves there, but only the presence loaves which had been removed from the presence of the Lord, in order that hot bread should be set on, on the day on which he took them. (7) And there was there on that day one of Saul’s servants detained before the Lord, and his name was Doec the Syrian, tending the mules of Saul. (8) And David said to Abimelech, See if there is here under thy hand spear or sword, for I have not brought in my hand my sword or my weapons, for the word of the king was urgent. (9) And the priest said, Behold the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou smotest in the valley of Ela; and it is wrapt in a cloth: if thou wilt take it, take it for thyself, for there is no other except it here. And David said, Behold, there is none like it; give it me. (10) And he gave it him; and David arose, and fled in that day from he presence of Saul: and David came to Anchus king of Geth. (11) And the servants of Anchus said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did not the dancing women begin the son to him, saying, Saul has smitten his thousand, and David his ten thousands? (12) And David laid up the words in his heart, and was greatly afraid of Anchus king of Geth. (13) And he changed his appearance before him, and feigned himself a false character in that day; and drummed upon the doors of the city, and used extravagant gestures with his hands, and fell against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard. (14) And Anchus said to his servants, Lo! ye see the man is mad: why have ye brought him in to me? (15) Am I in want of madmen, that ye have brought him in to me to play the madman? He shall not come into the house.

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(1) And David departed thence, and escaped; and he comes to the cave of Odollam, and his brethren hear, and the house of his father, and they go down to him there. (2) And there gathered to him every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was troubled in mind; and he was a leader over them, and there were with him about four hundred men. (3) And David departed thence to Massephath of Moab, and said to the king of Moab, Let, I pray thee, my father and my mother be with thee, until I know what God will do to me. (4) And he persuaded the King of Moab, and they dwell with him continually, while David was in the hold. (5) And Gad the prophet said to David, Dwell not in the hold: go, and thou shalt enter the land of Juda. So David went, and came and dwelt in the city of Saric. (6) And Saul heard that David was discovered, and his men with him: now Saul dwelt in the hill below the field that is in Rama, and his spear was in his hand, and all his servants stood near him. (7) And Saul said to his servants that stood by him, Hear now, ye sons of Benjamin, will the son of Jessae indeed give all of you fields and vineyards, and will he make you all captains of hundreds and captains of thousands? (8) That ye are conspiring against me, and there is no one that informs me, whereas my son has made a covenant with the son of Jessae, and there is no one of you that is sorry for me, or informs me, that my son has stirred up my servant against me for an enemy, as it is this day? (9) And Doec the Syrian who was over the mules of Saul answered and said, I saw the son of Jessae as he came to Nomba to Abimelech son of Achitob the priest. (10) And the priest enquired of God for him, and gave him provision, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. (11) And the king sent to call Abimelech son of Achitob and all his father’s sons, the priests that were in Nomba; and they all came to the king. (12) And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Achitob. And he said, Lo! I am here, speak, my lord. (13) And Saul said to him, Why have thou and the son of Jessae conspired against me, that thou shouldest give him bread and a sword, and shouldest enquire of God for him, to raise him up against me as an enemy, as he is this day? (14) And he answered the king, and said, And who is there among all thy servants faithful as David, and he is a son-in-law of the king, and he is executor of all thy commands, and is honourable in thy house? (15) Have I begun to-day to enquire of God for him? By no means: let not the king bring a charge against his servant, and against thee whole of my father’s house; for thy servant knew not in all these matters anything great or small. (16) And king Saul said, Thou shalt surely die, Abimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. (17) And the king said to the footmen that attended on him, Draw nigh and slay the priests of the Lord, because their hand is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and they did not inform me. But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to fall upon the priest of the Lord. (18) And the king said to Doec, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests: and Doec the Syrian turned, and slew the priests of the Lord in that day, three hundred and five men, all wearing an ephod. (19) And he smote Nomba the city of the priest with the edge of the sword, both man, and woman, infant and suckling, and calf, and ox, and sheep. (20) And one son of Abimelech son of Achitob escapes, and his name was Abiathar, and he fled after David. (21) And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain all the priests of the Lord. (22) And David said to Abiathar, I knew it in that day, that Doec the Syrian would surely tell Saul: I am guilty of the death of the house of thy father. (23) Dwell with me; fear not, for wherever I shall seek a place of safety for my life, I will also seek a place for thy life, for thou art safely guarded while with me.

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(1) And it was told David, saying, behold, the Philistines war in Keila, and they rob, they trample on the threshing-floors. (2) And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said, Go, and thou shalt smite these Philistines, and shalt save Keila. (3) And the men of David said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judea; and how shall it be if we go to Keila? Shall we go after the spoils of the Philistines? (4) And David enquired yet again of the Lord; and the Lord answered him, and said to him, Arise and go down to Keila, for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hands. (5) So David and his men with him went to Keila, and fought with the Philistines; and they fled from before him, and he carried off their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter, and David rescued the inhabitants of Keila. (6) And it came to pass when Abiathar the son of Achimelech fled to David, that he went down with David to Keila, having and ephod in his hand. (7) And it was told Saul that David was come to Keila: and Saul said, God has sold him into my hands, for he is shut up, having entered into a city that has gates and bars. (8) And Saul charged all the people to go down to war to Keila, to besiege David and his men. (9) And David knew that Saul spoke openly of mischief against him: and David said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod of the Lord. (10) And David said, Lord God of Israel, thy servant has indeed heard, that Saul seeks to come against Keila to destroy the city on my account. (11) Will the place be shut up? And now will Saul come down, as thy servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, It will be shut up. (12) (13) And David arose, and the men with him, in number about four hundred, and they went forth from Keila, and went whithersoever they could go: and it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keila, and he forbore to come. (14) And he dwelt in Maserem in the wilderness, in the narrow passes; and dwelt in the wilderness in mount Ziph, in the dry country. And Saul sought him continually, but the Lord delivered him not into his hands. (15) And David perceived that Saul went forth to seek David; and David was in the dry mountain in the New Ziph. (16) And Jonathan son of Saul rose, and went to David to Caene, and strengthened his hands in the Lord. (17) And he said to him, Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be second to thee; and Saul my father knows it. (18) So they both made a covenant before the Lord; and David dwelt in Caene, and Jonathan went to his home. (19) And the Ziphites came up out of the dry country to Saul to the hill, saying, Behold, is not David hidden with us in Messara, in the narrows in Caene in the hill of Echela, which is on the right of Jessaemon? (20) And now according to all the king’s desire to come down, let him come down to us; they have shut him up into the hands of the king. (21) And Saul said to them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, for ye have been grieved on my account. (22) Go, I pray you, and make preparations yet, and notice his place where his foot shall be, quickly, in that place which ye spoke of, lest by any means he should deal craftily. (23) Take notice, then, and learn, and I will go with you; and it shall come to pass that if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Juda. (24) And the Ziphites arose, and went before Saul: and David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, westward, to the right of Jessaemon. (25) And Saul and his men went to seek him: and they brought word to David, and he went down to the rock that was in the wilderness of Maon: and Saul heard, and followed after David to the wilderness of Maon. (26) And Saul and his men go on one side of the mountain, and David and his men are on the other side of the mountain: and David was hiding himself to escape from Saul: and Saul and his men encamped against David and his men, in order to take them. (27) And there came a messenger to Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come hither, for the Philistines have invaded the land. (28) So Saul returned from following after David, and went to meet the Philistines: therefore that place was called The divided Rock.

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(1) And David rose up from thence, and dwelt in the narrow passes of Engaddi. (2) And it came to pass when Saul returned from pursuing after the Philistines, that it was reported to him, saying, David is in the wilderness of Engaddi. (3) And he took with him three thousand men, chosen out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men in front of Saddaeem. (4) And he came to the flocks of sheep that were by the way, and there was a cave there; and Saul went in to make preparation, and David and his men were sitting in the inner part of the cave. (5) And the men of David said to him, Behold, this is the day of which the Lord spoke to thee, that he would deliver thine enemy into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as it is good in thy sight. So David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment secretly. (6) And it came to pass after this that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off the skirt of his garment. (7) And David said to his men, The Lord forbid it me, that I should do this ting to my lord the anointed of the Lord, to lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord. (8) So David persuaded his men by his words, and did not suffer them to arise and slay Saul: and Saul arose and went his way. (9) And David rose up and went after him out of the cave: and David cried after Saul, saying, My lord, O king! and Saul looked behind him, and David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance to him. (10) And David said to Saul, Why dost thou hearken to the words of the people, saying, Behold, David seeks thy life? (11) Behold, thine eyes have seen this day how that the Lord has delivered thee this day into my hands in the cave; and I would not slay thee, but spared thee, and said, I will not lift up my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed. (12) And behold, the skirt of thy mantle is in my hand, I cut off the skirt, and did not slay thee: know then and see to-day, there is no evil in my hand, nor impiety, nor rebellion; and I have not sinned against thee, yet thou layest snares for my soul to take it. (13) The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord requite thee on thyself: but my hand shall not be upon thee. (14) As the old proverb says, Transgression will proceed from the wicked ones: but my hand shall not be upon thee. (15) And now after whom dost thou come forth, O king of Israel? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, and after a flea? (16) The Lord be judge and umpire between me and thee, the Lord look upon and judge my cause, and rescue me out of thy hand. (17) And it came to pass when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, Son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. (18) And Saul said to David, Thou art more righteous that I, for thou hast recompensed me good, but I have recompensed thee evil. (19) And thou hast told me to-day what good thou hast done me, how the Lord shut me up into thy hands to-day, and thou didst not slay me. (20) And if any one should find his enemy in distress, and should send him forth in a good way, then the Lord will reward him good, as thou has done this day. (21) And now, behold, I know that thou shalt surely reign, and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand. (22) Now then swear to me by the Lord, that thou wilt not destroy my seed after me, that thou wilt not blot out my name from the house of my father. (23) So David swore to Saul: and Saul departed to his place, and David and his men went up to the strong-hold of Messera.

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(1) And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they bury him in his house in Armathaim: and David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon. (2) And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and he was a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel. (3) And the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigaia: and his wife was of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man was harsh, and evil in his doings, and the man was churlish. (4) And David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal the Carmelite was shearing his sheep. (5) And David sent ten young men, and he said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how he is. (6) And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity. (7) And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds who were with is in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we hindered them not, neither did we demand any thing from them all the time they were in Carmel. (8) Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good day; give we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David. (9) So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David. (10) And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of David, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jessae? Now-a-days there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his master. (11) And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom I know not whence they are? (12) So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words. (13) And David said to his men, Gird on every man his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two hundred abode with the stuff. (14) And one of the servants reported to Abigaia the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our lord; but he turned away from them. (15) And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, neither did they demand from us any thing all the days that we were with them. (16) And when we were in the field, they were as a wall round about us, both by night and by day, all the days that we were with them feeding the flock. (17) And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he is a vile character, and one cannot speak to him. (18) And Abigaia hasted, and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them upon asses. (19) And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband. (20) And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them. (21) And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil for good. (22) So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning. (23) And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, bowing to the ground (24) even to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant. (25) Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send. (26) And now, my lord, as the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal. (27) And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord. (28) Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee. (29) And if a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies as in the midst of a sling. (30) And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel; (31) then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good. (32) And David said to Abigaia, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me: (33) and blessed be thy conduct, and blessed be thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself. (34) But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and come to meet me, then I said, There shall surely not be left to Nabal till the morning one male. (35) And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition. (36) And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal was merry within him, and he was very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light. (37) And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. (38) And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died. (39) And David heard it and said, Blessed be the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife. (40) So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife. (41) And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant is for an handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants. (42) And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife. (43) And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives. (44) And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.

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(1) And the Ziphites come out of the dry country to Saul to the hill, saying, Behold, David hides himself with us in the hill Echela, opposite Jessemon. (2) And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, and with him went three thousand men chosen out of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. (3) And Saul encamped in the hill of Echela in front of Jessemon, by the way, and David dwelt in the wilderness: and David saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. (4) And David sent spies, and ascertained that Saul was come prepared out of Keila. (5) And David arose secretly, and goes into the place where Saul was sleeping, and there was Abenner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul was sleeping in a chariot, and the people had encamped along round about him. (6) And David answered and spoke to Abimelech the Chettite, and to Abessa the son Saruia the brother of Joab, saying, Who will go in with me to Saul into the camp? And Abessa said, I will go in with thee. (7) So David and Abessa go in among the people by night: and behold, Saul was fast asleep in the chariot, and his spear was stuck in the ground near his head, and Abenner and his people slept round about him. (8) And Abessa said to David, The Lord has this day shut up thine enemy into thine hands, and now I will smite him to the earth with the spear to the ground once for all, and I will not smite him again. (9) And David said to Abessa, Do not lay him low, for who shall lift up his hand against the anointed of the Lord, and be guiltless? (10) And David said, As the Lord lives, if the Lord smite him not, or his day come and he die, or he go down to battle and be added to his fathers, do not so. (11) The Lord forbid it me that I should lift up my hand against the anointed of the Lord: and now take, I pray thee, the spear from his bolster, and the pitcher of water, and let us return home. (12) So David took the spear, and the pitcher of water from his bolster, and they went home: and there was no one that saw, and no one that knew, and there was no one that awoke, all being asleep, for a stupor from the Lord had fallen upon them. (13) So David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, and there was a good distance between them. (14) And David called to the people, and spoke to Abenner, saying, Wilt thou not answer, Abenner? and Abenner answered and said, Who art thou that callest? (15) And David said to Abenner, Art not thou a man? and who is like thee in Israel? Why then dost thou not guard thy lord the king? for one out of the people went in to destroy thy lord the king. (16) And this thing is not good which thou hast done. As the Lord lives, ye are worthy of death, ye who guard your lord the king, the anointed of the Lord: and now behold, I pray you, the spear of the king, and the cruse of water: where are the articles that should be at his head? (17) And Saul recognized the voice of David, and said, Is this thy voice, son David? and David said, I am thy servant, my lord, O king. (18) And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for in what have I sinned? and what unrighteousness has been found in me? (19) And now let my lord the king hear the word of his servant. If God stirs thee up against me, let thine offering be acceptable: but if the sons of men, they are cursed before the Lord, for they have cast me out this day so that I should not be established in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other Gods. (20) And now let not my blood fall to the ground before the Lord, for the king of Israel has come forth to seek thy life, as the night hawk pursues its prey in the mountains. (21) And Saul said, I have sinned: turn, son David, for I will not hurt thee, because my life was precious in thine eyes; and to-day I have been foolish and have erred exceedingly. (22) And David answered and said, Behold, the spear of the king: let one of the servants come over and take it. (23) And the Lord shall recompense each according to his righteousness and his truth, since the Lord delivered thee this day into my hands, and I would not lift my hand against the Lord’s anointed. (24) And, behold, as thy life has been precious this very day in my eyes, so let my life be precious before the Lord, and may he protect me, and deliver me out of all affliction. (25) And Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son; and thou shalt surely do valiantly, and surely prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27

(1) And David said in his heart, Now shall I be one day delivered for death into the hands of Saul; and there is no good thing for me unless I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul should cease from seeking me through every coast of Israel: so I shall escape out of his hand. (2) So David arose, and the six hundred men that were with him, and he went to Anchus, son Ammach, king of Geth. (3) And David dwelt with Anchus, he and his men, each with his family; and David and both his wives, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. (4) And it was told Saul that David had fled to Geth; and he no longer sought after him. (5) And David said to Anchus, If now thy servant has found grace in thine eyes, let them give me, I pray thee, a place in one of the cities in the country, and I will dwell there: for why does thy servant dwell with thee in a royal city? (6) And he gave him Sekelac in that day: therefore Sekelac came into possession of the king of Judea to this day. (7) And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was four months. (8) And David and his men went up, and made an attack on all the Gesirites and on the Amalekites: and behold, the land was inhabited, (even the land from Gelampsur) by those who come from the fortified cities even to the land of Egypt. (9) And he smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive; and they took flocks, and herds, and asses, and camels, and raiment; and they returned and came to Anchus. (10) And Anchus said to David, On whom have ye made an attack to-day? And David said to Anchus, On the south of Judea, and on the south of Jesmega, and on the south of the Kenezite. (11) And I have not saved man or woman alive to bring them to Geth, saying, Lest they carry a report to Geth against us, saying, These things David does. And this was his manner all the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines. (12) So David had the full confidence of Anchus, who said, He is thoroughly disgraced among his people in Israel and he shall be my servant for ever.

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(1) And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together with their armies to go out to fight with Israel; and Anchus said to David, Know surely, that thou shalt go forth to battle with me, thou, and thy men. (2) And David said to Anchus, Thus now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Anchus said to David, So will I make thee captain of my body-guard continually. (3) And Samuel died, and all Israel lamented for him, and they bury him in his city, in Armathaim. And Saul had removed those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. (4) And the Philistines assemble themselves, and come and encamp in Sonam: and Saul gathers all the men of Israel, and they encamp in Gelbue. (5) And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, and he was alarmed, and his heart was greatly dismayed. (6) And Saul enquired of the Lord; and the Lord answered him not by dreams, nor by manifestations, nor by prophets. (7) Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor. (8) And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee. (9) And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou spread a snare for my life to destroy it? (10) And Saul swore to her, and said, As the Lord lives, no injury shall come upon thee on this account. (11) And the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to thee? and he said, Bring up to me Samuel. (12) And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud voice: and the woman said to Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. (13) And the king said to her, Fear not; tell me whom thou has seen. And the woman said to him, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. (14) And he said to her, What didst thou perceive? and she said to him, An upright man ascending out of the earth, and he was clothed with a mantle. And Saul knew that this was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the earth, and did obeisance to him. (15) And Samuel said, Why hast thou troubled me, that I should come up? And Saul said, I am greatly distressed, and the Philistines war against me, and God has departed from me, and no longer hearkens to me either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams: and now I have called thee to tell me what I shall do. (16) And Samuel said, Why askest thou me, whereas the Lord has departed from thee, and taken part with thy neighbour? (17) And the Lord has done to thee, as the Lord spoke by me; and the Lord will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David. (18) because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and didst not execute his fierce anger upon Amalec, therefore the Lord has done this thing to thee this day. (19) And the Lord shall deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines, and to-morrow thou and thy sons with thee shall fall, and the Lord shall deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. (20) And Saul instantly fell at his full length upon the earth, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no longer any strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day, and all that night. (21) And the woman went in to Saul, and saw that he was greatly disquieted, and said to him, Behold now, thine handmaid has hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have heard the words which thou has spoken to me. (22) And now hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of thine handmaid, and I will set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and thou shalt be strengthened, for thou wilt be going on thy way. (23) But he would not eat; so his servants and the woman constrained him, and he hearkened to their voice, and rose up from the earth, and sat upon a bench. (24) And the woman had a fat heifer in the house; and she hasted and slew it; and she took meal and kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes. (25) And she brought the meat before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate, and rose up, and departed that night.

29

(1) And the Philistines gather all their armies to Aphec, and Israel encamped in Aendor, which is in Jezrael. (2) And the lords of the Philistines went on by hundreds and thousands, and David and his men went on in the rear with Anchus. (3) And the lords of the Philistines said, Who are these that pass by? And Anchus said to the captains of the Philistines, Is not this David the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been with us some time, even this second year, and I have not found any fault in him from the day that he attached himself to me even until this day. (4) And the captains of the Philistines were displeased at him, and they say to him, Send the man away, and let him return to his place, where thou didst set him; and let him not come with us to the war, and let him not be a traitor in the camp: and wherewith will he be reconciled to his master? Will it not be with the heads of those men? (5) Is not this David whom they celebrated in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands? (6) And Anchus called David, and said to him, As the Lord lives, thou art right and approved in my eyes, and so is thy going out and thy coming in with me in the army, and I have not found any evil to charge against thee from the day that thou camest to me until this day: but thou art not approved in the eyes of the lords. (7) Now then return and go in peace, thus thou shalt not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines. (8) And David said to Anchus, What have I done to thee? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the first day that I was before thee even until this day, that I should not come and war against the enemies of the lord my king? (9) And Anchus answered David, I know that thou art good in my eyes, but the lords of the Philistines say, He shall not come with us to the war. (10) Now then rise up early in the morning, thou and the servants of thy lord that are come with thee, and go to the place where I appointed you, and entertain no evil thought in thy heart, for thou art good in my sight: and rise early for your journey when it is light, and depart. (11) So David arose early, he and his men, to depart and guard the land of the Philistines: and the Philistines went up to Jezrael to battle.

30

(1) And it came to pass when David and his men had entered Sekelac on the third day, that Amalec had made an incursion upon the south, and upon Sekelac, and smitten Sekelac, and burnt it with fire. (2) And as to the women and all things that were in it, great and small, they slew neither man nor woman, but carried them captives, and went on their way. (3) And David and his men came into the city, and, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were carried captive. (4) And David and his men lifted up their voice, and wept till there was no longer any power within them to weep. (5) And both the wives of David were carried captive, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. (6) And David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, each for his sons and his daughters: but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (7) And David said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech, Bring near the ephod. (8) And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? and he said to him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and thou shalt surely rescue the captives. (9) So David went, he an the six hundred men with him, an they come as far as the brook Bosor, and the superfluous ones stopped. (10) And he pursued them with four hundred men; and there remained behind two hundred men, who tarried on the other side of the brook Bosor. (11) And they find an Egyptian in the field, and they take him, and bring him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they caused him to drink water. (12) And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and he ate, and his spirit was restored in him; for he had not eaten bread, and had not drunk water three days and three nights. (13) And David said to him, Whose art thou? and whence art thou? and the young man the Egyptian said, I am the servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me, because I was taken ill three days ago. (14) And we made an incursion on the south of the Chelethite, and on the parts of Judea, and on the south of Chelub, and we burnt Sekelac with fire. (15) And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear now to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, and that thou wilt not deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down upon this troop. (16) So be brought him down thither, and behold, they were scattered abroad upon the surface of the whole land, eating and drinking, and feasting by reason of all the great spoils which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Juda. (17) And David came upon them, and smote them from the morning till the evening, and on the next day; and not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who were mounted on camels, and fled. (18) And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued both his wives. (19) And nothing was wanting to them of great or small, either of the spoils, or the sons and daughters, or anything that they had taken of theirs; and David recovered all. (20) And he took all the flocks, and the herds, and led them away before the spoils: and it was said of these spoils, These are the spoils of David. (21) And David comes to the two hundred men who were left behind that they should not follow after David, and he had caused them to remain by the brook of Bosor; and they came forth to meet David, and to meet his people with him: and David drew near to the people, and they asked him how he did. (22) Then every ill-disposed and bad man of the soldiers who had gone with David, answered and said, Because they did not pursue together with us, we will not give them of the spoils which we have recovered, only let each one lead away with him his wife and his children, and let them return. (23) And David said, Ye shall not do so, after the Lord has delivered the enemy to us, and guarded us, and the Lord has delivered into our hands the troop that came against you. (24) And who will hearken to these your words? for they are not inferior to us; for according to the portion of him that went down to the battle, so shall be the portion of him that abides with the baggage; they shall share alike. (25) And it came to pass from that day forward, that it became an ordinance and a custom in Israel until this day. (26) And David came to Sekelac, and sent of the spoils to the elders of Juda, and to his friends, saying, Behold some of the spoils of the enemies of the Lord; (27) to those in Baethsur, and to those in Rama of the south, and to those in Gethor. (28) And to those in Aroer, and to those in Ammadi, and to those in Saphi, and to those in Esthie, (29) and to those in Geth, and to those in Cimath, and to those in Saphec, and to those in Themath, and to those in Carmel, and to those in the cities of Jeremeel, and to those in the cities of the Kenezite; (30) and to those in Jerimuth, and to those in Bersabee, and to those in Nombe, (31) and to those in Chebron, and to all the places which David and his men had passed through.

31

(1) And the Philistines fought with Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and they fall down wounded in the mountain in Gelbue. (2) And the Philistines press closely on Saul and his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Aminadab, and Melchisa son of Saul. (3) And the battle prevails against Saul, and the shooters with arrows, even the archers find him, and he was wounded under the ribs. (4) And Saul said to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword and pierce me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and pierce me through, and mock me. But his armour-bearer would not, for he feared greatly: so Saul took his sword and fell upon it. (5) And his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he fell also himself upon his sword, and died with him. (6) So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, in that day together. (7) And the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead; and they leave their cities and flee: and the Philistines come and dwell in them. (8) And it came to pass on the morrow that the Philistines come to strip the dead, and they find Saul and his three sons fallen on the mountains of Gelbue. (9) And they turned him, and stripped off his armour, and sent it into the land of the Philistines, sending round glad tidings to their idols and to the people. (10) And they set up his armour at the temple of Astarte, and they fastened his body on the wall of Baethsam. (11) And the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad hear what the Philistines did to Saul. (12) And they rose up, even every man of might, and marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the body of Jonathan his son from the wall of Baethsam; and they bring them to Jabis, and burn them there. (13) And they take their bones, and bury them in the field that is in Jabis, and fast seven days.

Second Samuel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1

(1) And it came to pass after Saul was dead, that David returned from smiting Amalec, and David abode two days in Sekelac. (2) And it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came from the camp, from the people of Saul, and his garments were rent, and earth was upon his head: and it came to pass when he went in to David, that he fell upon the earth, and did obeisance to him. (3) And David said to him, Whence comest thou? and he said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel. (4) And David said to him, What is the matter? tell me. And he said, The people fled out of the battle, and many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead. (5) And David said to the young man who brought him the tidings, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? (6) And the young man that brought the tidings, said to him, I happened accidentally to be upon mount Gelbue; and, behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear, and, behold, the chariots and captains of horse pressed hard upon him. (7) And he looked behind him, and saw me, and called me; and I said, Behold, here am I. (8) And he said to me, Who art thou? and I said, I am an Amalekite. (9) And he said to me, Stand, I pray thee, over me, and slay me, for a dreadful darkness has come upon me, for all my life is in me. (10) So I stood over him and slew him, because I knew he would not live after he was fallen; and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and I have brought them hither to my lord. (11) And David laid hold of his garments, and rent them; and all the men who were with him rent their garments. (12) And they lamented, and wept, and fasted till evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Juda, and for the house of Israel, because they were smitten with the sword. (13) And David said to the young man who brought the tidings to him, Whence art thou? and he said, I am the son of an Amalekite sojourner. (14) And David said to him, How was it thou wast not afraid to lift thy hand to destroy the anointed of the Lord? (15) And David called one of his young men, and said, Go and fall upon him: and he smote him, and he died. (16) And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thine own head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the anointed of the Lord. (17) And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son. (18) And he gave orders to teach it the sons of Juda: behold, it is written in the book of Right. (19) Set up a pillar, O Israel, for the slain that died upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! (20) Tell it not in Geth, and tell it not as glad tidings in the streets of Ascalon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. (21) Ye mountains of Gelbue, let not dew no rain descend upon you, nor fields of first-fruits be upon you, for there the shield of the mighty ones has been grievously assailed; the shield of Saul was not anointed with oil. (22) From the blood of the slain, and from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan returned not empty; and the sword of Saul turned not back empty. (23) Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the beautiful, were not divided: comely were they in their life, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, and they were stronger than lions. (24) Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you with scarlet together with your adorning, who added golden ornaments to your apparel. (25) How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, even the slain ones upon thy high places! (26) I am grieved for thee, my brother Jonathan; thou wast very lovely to me; thy love to me was wonderful beyond the love of women. (27) How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

2

(1) And it came to pass after this that David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Juda? and the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? and he said, To Chebron. (2) And David went up thither to Chebron, he and both his wives, Achinaam the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, (3) and the men that were with him, every one and his family; and they dwelt in the cities of Chebron. (4) And the men of Judea come, and anoint David there to reign over the house of Juda; and they reported to David, saying, The men of Jabis of the country of Galaad have buried Saul. (5) And David sent messengers to the rulers of Jabis of the country of Galaad, and David said to them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, because ye have wrought this mercy toward your lord, even toward Saul the anointed of the Lord, and ye have buried him and Jonathan his son. (6) And now may the Lord deal in mercy and truth towards you: and I also will requite towards you this good deed, because ye have done this. (7) And now let your hands be made strong, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and moreover the house of Juda have anointed me to be king over them. (8) But Abenner, the son of Ner, the commander-in-chief of Saul’s army, took Jebosthe son of Saul, and brought him up from the camp to Manaem (9) and made him king over the land of Galaad, and over Thasiri, and over Jezrael, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. (10) Jebosthe, Saul’s son was forty years old, when he reigned over Israel; and he reigned two years, but not over the house of Juda, who followed David. (11) And the days which David reigned in Chebron over the house of Juda were seven years and six months. (12) And Abenner the son of Ner went forth, and the servants of Jebosthe the son of Saul, from Manaem to Gabaon. (13) And Joab the son of Saruia, and the servants of David, went forth from Chebron, and met them at the fountain of Gabaon, at the same place: and these sat down by the fountain on this side, and those by the fountain on that side. (14) And Abenner said to Joab, Let now the young men arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. (15) And there arose and passed over by number twelve of the children of Benjamin, belonging to Jebosthe the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. (16) And they seized every one the head of his neighbour with his hand, and his sword was thrust into the side of his neighbour, and they fall down together: and the name of that place was called The portion of the treacherous ones, which is in Gabaon. (17) And the battle was very severe on that day; and Abenner and the men of Israel were worsted before the servants of David. (18) And there were there the three sons of Saruia, Joab, and Abessa, and Asael: and Asael was swift in his feet as a roe in the field. (19) And Asael followed after Abenner, and turned not to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abenner. (20) And Abenner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asael himself? and he said, I am. (21) And Abenner said to him, Turn thou to the right hand or to the left, and lay hold for thyself on one of the young men, and take to thyself his armour: but Asel would not turn back from following him. (22) And Abenner said yet again to Asael, Stand aloof from me, lest I smite thee to the ground? and how should I lift up my face to Joab? (23) And what does this mean? return to Joab thy brother? But he would not stand aloof; and Abenner smites him with the hinder end of the spear on the loins, and the spear went out behind him, and he falls there and dies on the spot: and it came to pass that every one that came to the place where Asael fell and died, stood still. (24) And Joab and Abessa pursued after Abenner, and the sun went down: and they went as far as the hill of Amman, which is in the front of Gai, by the desert way of Gabaon. (25) And the children of Benjamin who followed Abenner gather themselves together, and they formed themselves into one body, and stood on the top of a hill. (26) And Abenner called Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour perpetually? knowest thou not that it will be bitter at last? How long then wilt thou refuse to tell the people to turn from following our brethren? (27) And Joab said, As the Lord lives, if thou hadst not spoken, even from the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. (28) And Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the people departed, and did not pursue after Israel, and did not fight any longer. (29) And Abenner and his men departed at evening, and went all that night, and crossed over Jordan, and went along the whole adjacent country, and they come to the camp. (30) And Joab returned from following Abenner, and he assembled all the people, and there were missing of the people of David, nineteen men, and Asael. (31) And the servants of David smote of the children of Benjamin, of the men of Abenner, three hundred and sixty men belonging to him. (32) And they take up Asael, and bury him in the tomb of his father in Bethleem. And Joab and the men with him went all the night, and the morning rose upon them in Chebron.

3

(1) And there was war for a long time between the house of Saul and the house of David; and the house of David grew continually stronger; but the house of Saul grew continually weaker. (2) And sons were born to David in Chebron: and his first-born was Ammon the son of Achinoom the Jezraelitess. (3) And his second son was Daluia, the son of Abigaia the Carmelitess; and the third, Abessalom the son of Maacha the daughter of Tholmi the king of Gessir. (4) And the fourth was Ornia, the son of Aggith, and the fifth was Saphatia, the son of Abital. (5) And the sixth was Jetheraam, the son of Ægal the wife of David. These were born to David in Chebron. (6) And it came to pass while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abenner was governing the house of Saul. (7) And Saul had a concubine, Respha, the daughter of Jol; and Jebosthe the son of Saul said to Abenner, Why hast thou gone in to my father’s concubine? (8) And Abenner was very angry with Jebosthe for this saying; and Abenner said to him, Am I a dog’s head? I have this day wrought kindness with the house of Saul thy father, and with his brethren and friends, and have not gone over to the house of David, and dost thou this day seek a charge against me concerning injury to a woman? (9) God do thus and more also to Abenner, if as the Lord swore to David, so do I not to him this day; (10) to take away the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to raise up the throne of David over Israel and over Juda from Dan to Bersabee. (11) And Jebosthe could not any longer answer Abenner a word, because he feared him. (12) And Abenner sent messengers to David to Thaelam where he was, immediately, saying, Make thy covenant with me, and, behold, my hand is with thee to bring back to thee all the house of Israel. (13) And David said, With a good will I will make with thee a covenant: only I demand one condition of thee, saying, Thou shalt not see my face, unless thou bring Melchol the daughter of Saul, when thou comest to see my face. (14) And David sent messengers to Jebosthe the son of Saul, saying, Restore me my wife Melchol, whom I took for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. (15) And Jebosthe sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Selle. (16) And her husband went with her weeping behind her as far as Barakim. And Abenner said to him, Go, return; and he returned. (17) And Abenner spoke to the elders of Israel, saying, In former days ye sought David to reign over you; (18) and now perform it: for the Lord has spoken concerning David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save Israel out of the hand of all their enemies. (19) And Abenner spoke in the ears of Benjamin: and Abenner went to speak in the ears of David at Chebron, all that seemed good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of the house of Benjamin. (20) And Abenner came to David to Chebron, and with him twenty men: and David made for Abenner and his men with him a banquet of wine. (21) And Abenner said to David, I will arise now, and go, and gather to my lord the king all Israel; and I will make with him a covenant, and thou shalt reign over all whom thy soul desires. And David sent away Abenner, and he departed in peace. (22) And, behold, the servants of David and Joab arrived from their expedition, and they brought much spoil with them: and Abenner was not with David in Chebron, because he had sent him away, and he had departed in peace. (23) And Joab and all his army came, and it was reported to Joab, saying, Abenner the son of Ner is come to David, and David has let him go, and he has departed in peace. (24) And Joab went in to the king, and said, What is this that thou hast done? behold, Abenner came to thee; and why hast thou let him go, and he has departed in peace? (25) Knowest thou not the mischief of Abenner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all things that thou doest? (26) And Joab returned from David, and sent messengers to Abenner after him; and they bring him back from the well of Seiram: but David knew it not. (27) And he brought back Abenner to Chebron, and Joab caused him to turn aside from the gate to speak to him, laying wait for him: and he smote him there in the loins, and he died for the blood of Asael the brother of Joab. (28) And David heard of it afterwards, and said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord even for ever of the blood of Abenner the son of Ner. (29) Let it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all the house of his father; and let there not be wanting of the house of Joab one that has an issue, or a leper, or that leans on a staff, or that falls by the sword, or that wants bread. (30) For Joab and Abessa his brother laid wait continually for Abenner, because he slew Asael their brother at Gabaon in the battle. (31) And David said to Joab and to all the people with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament before Abenner. And king David followed the bier. (32) And they bury Abenner in Chebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at his tomb, and all the people wept for Abenner. (33) And the king mourned over Abenner, and said, Shall Abenner die according to the death of Nabal? (34) Thy hands were not bound, and thy feet were not put in fetters: one brought thee not near as Nabal; thou didst fall before children of iniquity. (35) And all the people assembled to weep for him. And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day: and David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I eat bread or any thing else before the sun goes down. (36) And all the people took notice, and all things that the king did before the people were pleasing in their sight. (37) So all the people and all Israel perceived in that day, that it was not of the king to slay Abenner the son of Ner. (38) And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that a great prince is this day fallen in Israel? (39) And that I am this day a mere kinsman of his, and as it were a subject; but these men the sons of Saruia are too hard for me: the Lord reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness.

4

(1) And Jebosthe the son of Saul heard that Abenner the son of Ner had died in Chebron; and his hands were paralyzed, and all the men of Israel grew faint. (2) And Jebosthe the son of Saul had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baana, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Remmon the Berothite of the children of Benjamin; for Beroth was reckoned to the children of Benjamin. (3) And the Berothites ran away to Gethaim, and were sojourners there until this day. (4) And Jonathan Saul’s son had a son lame of his feet, five years old, and he was in the way when the news of Saul and Jonathan his son came from Jezrael, and his nurse took him up, and fled; and it came to pass as he hasted and retreated, that he fell, and was lamed. And his name was Memphibosthe. (5) And Rechab and Baana the sons of Remmon the Berothite went, and they came in the heat of the day into the house of Jebosthe; and he was sleeping on a bed at noon. (6) And, behold, the porter of the house winnowed wheat, and he slumbered and slept: and the brothers Rechab and Baana went privily into the house: (7) And Jebosthe was sleeping on his bed in his chamber: and they smite him, and slay him, and take off his head: and they took his head, and went all the night by the western road. (8) And they brought the head of Jebosthe to David to Chebron, and they said to the king, Behold the head of Jebosthe the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the Lord has executed for my lord the king vengeance on his enemies, as it is this day: even on Saul thy enemy, and on his seed. (9) And David answered and Rechab and Baana his brother, the sons of Remmon the Berothite, and said to them, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all affliction; (10) he that reported to me that Saul was dead, even he was as one bringing glad tidings before me: but I seized him and slew him in Sekelac, to whom I ought, as he thought, to have given a reward for his tidings. (11) And now evil men have slain a righteous men in his house on his bed: now then I will require his blood of your hand, and I will destroy you from off the earth. (12) And David commanded his young men, and they slay them, and cut off their hands and their feet; and they hung them up at the fountain in Chebron: and they buried the head of Jebosthe in the tomb of Abenezer the son of Ner.

5

(1) And all the tribes of Israel come to David to Chebron, and they said to him, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. (2) And heretofore Saul being king over us, thou was he that didst lead out and bring in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be for a leader to my people Israel. (3) And all the elders of Israel come to the king to Chebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Chebron before the Lord; and they anoint David king over all Israel. (4) David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. (5) Seven years and six months he reigned in Chebron over Juda, and thirty-three years he reigned over all Israel and Juda in Jerusalem. (6) And David and his men, departed to Jerusalem, to the Jebusite that inhabited the land: and it was said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither: for the blind and the lame withstood him, saying, David shall not come in hither. (7) And David took first the hold of Sion: this is the city of David. (8) And David said on that day, Every one that smites the Jebusite, let him attack with the dagger both the lame and the blind, and those that hate the soul of David. Therefore they say, The lame and the blind shall not enter into the house of the Lord. (9) And David dwelt in the hold, and it was called the city of David, and he built the city itself round about from the citadel, and he built his own house. (10) And David advanced and became great, and the Lord Almighty was with him. (11) And Chiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar wood, and carpenters, and stone-masons: and they built a house for David. (12) And David knew that the Lord had prepared him to be king over Israel, and that his kingdom was exalted for the sake of his people Israel. (13) And David took again wives and concubines out of Jerusalem, after he came from Chebron: and David had still more sons and daughters born to him. (14) And these are the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem; Sammus, and Sobab, and Nathan, and Solomon. (15) And Ebear, and Elisue, and Naphec, and Jephies. (16) And Elisama, and Elidae, and Eliphalath, (16a) Samae, Jessibath, Nathan, Galamaan, Jebaar, Theesus, Eliphalat, Naged, Naphec, Janathan, Leasamys, Baalimath, Eliphaath. (17) And the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over Israel; and all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the strong hold. (18) And the Philistines came, and assembled in the valley of the giants. (19) And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into my hands? and the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thine hands. (20) And David came from Upper Breaches, and smote the Philistines there: and David said, The Lord has destroyed the hostile Philistines before me, as water is dispersed; therefore the name of that place was called Over Breaches. (21) And they leave there their gods, and David and his men with him took them. (22) And the Philistines came up yet again, and assembled in the valley of Giants. (23) And David enquired of the Lord: and the Lord said, Thou shalt not go up to meet them: turn from them, and thou shalt meet them near the place of weeping. (24) And it shall come to pass when thou hearest the sound of a clashing together from the grove of weeping, then thou shalt go down to them, for then the Lord shall go forth before thee to make havoc in the battle with the Philistines. (25) And David did as the Lord commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Gabaon as far as the land of Gazera.

6

(1) And David again gathered all the young men of Israel, about seventy thousand. (2) And David arose, and went, he and all the people that were with him, and some of the rulers of Juda, on an expedition to a distant place, to bring back thence the ark of God, on which the name of the Lord of Host who dwells between the cherubs upon it is called. (3) And they put the ark of the Lord on a new waggon, and took it out of the house of Aminadab who lived on the hill, and Oza and his brethren the sons of Aminadab drove the waggon with the ark. (4) And his brethren went before the ark. (5) And David and the children of Israel were playing before the Lord on well-tuned instruments mightily, and with songs, and with harps, and with lutes, and with drums, and with cymbals, and with pipes. (6) And they come as far as the threshing floor of Nachor: and Oza reached forth his hand to the ark of God to keep it steady, and took hold of it; for the ox shook it out of its place. (7) And the Lord was very angry with Oza; and God smote him there: and he died there by the ark of the Lord before God. (8) And David was dispirited because the Lord made a breach upon Oza; and that place was called the breach of Oza until this day. (9) And David feared the Lord in that day, saying, How shall the ark of the Lord come in to me? (10) And David would not bring in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to himself into the city of David: and David turned it aside into the house of Abeddara the Gethite. (11) And the ark of the Lord lodged in the house of Abeddara the Gethite three months, and the Lord blessed all the house of Abeddara, and all his possessions. (12) And it was reported to king David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Abeddara, and all that he has, because of the ark of the Lord. And David went, and brought up the Ark of the Lord from the house of Abeddara to the city of David with gladness. (13) And there were with him bearing the ark seven bands, and for a sacrifice a calf and lambs. (14) And David sounded with well-tuned instruments before the Lord, and David was clothed with a fine long robe. (15) And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a trumpet. (16) And it came to pass as the ark arrived at the city of David, that Melchol the daughter of Saul looked through the window, and saw king David dancing and playing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. (17) And they bring the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle which David pitched for it: and David offered whole-burnt-offerings before the Lord, and peace-offerings. (18) And David made an end of offering the whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. (19) And he distributed to all the people, even to all the host of Israel from Dan to Bersabee, both men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a joint of meat, and a cake from the frying-pan: and all the people departed every one to his home. (20) And David returned to bless his house. And Melchol the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and saluted him, and said, How was the king of Israel glorified to-day, who was to-day uncovered in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the dancers wantonly uncovers himself! (21) And David said to Melchol, I will dance before the Lord. Blessed be the Lord who chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to make me head over his people, even over Israel: therefore I will play, and dance before the Lord. (22) And I will again uncover myself thus, and I will be vile in thine eyes, and with the maid-servants by whom thou saidst that I was not had in honour. (23) And Melchol the daughter of Saul had no child till the day of her death.

7

(1) And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him an inheritance on every side free from all his enemies round about him; (2) that the king said to Nathan the prophet, Behold now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of the Lord dwells in the midst of a tent. (3) And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. (4) And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, (5) Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in. (6) For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have been walking in a lodge and in a tent, (7) wheresoever I went with all Israel. Have I ever spoken to any of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to tend my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of Cedar? (8) And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheep-cote, that thou shouldest be a prince over my people, over Israel. (9) And I was with thee wheresoever thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies before thee, and I made thee renowned according to the renown of the great ones on the earth. (10) And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell by themselves, and shall be no more distressed; and the son of iniquity shall no more afflict them, as he has done from the beginning, (11) from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, and the Lord will tell thee that thou shalt build a house to him. (12) And it shall come to pass when thy days shall have been fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, even thine own issue, and I will establish his kingdom. (13) He shall build for me a house to my name, and I will set up his throne even for ever. (14) I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And when he happens to transgress, then will I chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men. (15) But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from those whom I removed from my presence. (16) And his house shall be made sure, and his kingdom for ever before me, and his throne shall be set up for ever. (17) According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. (18) And king David came in, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord, my Lord, and what is my house, that thou hast loved me hitherto? (19) Whereas I was very little before thee, O Lord, my Lord, yet thou spokest concerning the house of thy servant for a long time to to come. And is this the law of man, O Lord, my Lord? (20) And what shall David yet say to thee? and now thou knowest thy servant, O Lord, my Lord. (21) And thou hast wrought for thy servant’s sake, and according to thy heart thou hast wrought all this greatness, to make it known to thy servant, (22) that he may magnify thee, O my Lord; for there is no one like thee, and there is no God, but thou among all of whom we have heard with our ears. (23) And what other nation in the earth is as thy people Israel? whereas God was his guide, to redeem for himself a people to make thee a name, to do mightily and nobly, so that thou shouldest cast out nations an their tabernacles from the presence of thy people, whom thou didst redeem for thyself out of Egypt? (24) And thou has prepared for thyself thy people Israel to be a people for ever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. (25) And now, O my Lord, the Almighty Lord God of Israel, confirm the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house: and now as thou hast said, (26) Let thy name be magnified for ever. (27) Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore thy servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee. (28) And now, O Lord my Lord, thou art God; and thy words will be true, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant. (29) And now begin and bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord, my Lord, hast spoken, and the house of thy servant shall be blessed with thy blessing so as to continue for ever.

8

(1) And it came to pass after this, that David smote the Philistines, and put them to flight, and David took the tribute from out of the hand of the Philistines. (2) And David smote Moab, and measured them out with lines, having laid them down on the ground: and there were two lines for slaying, and two lines he kept alive: and Moab became servants to David, yielding tribute. (3) And David smote Adraazar the son of Raab king of Suba, as he went to extend his power to the river Euphrates. (4) And David took a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all his chariot horses, and he reserved to himself a hundred chariots. (5) And Syria of Damascus comes to help Adraazar king of Suba, and David smote twenty-two thousand men belonging to the Syrian. (6) And David placed a garrison in Syria near Damascus, and the Syrians became servants and tributaries to David: and the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went. (7) And David took the golden bracelets which were on the servants of Adraazar king of Suba, and brought them to Jerusalem. And Susakim king of Egypt took them, when he went up to Jerusalem in the days of Roboam son of Solomon. (8) And king David took from Metebac, and from the choice cities of Adraazar, very much brass: with that Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the lavers, and all the furniture. (9) And Thou the king of Hemath heard that David had smitten all the host of Adraazar. (10) And Thou sent Jedduram his son to king David, to ask him of his welfare, and to congratulate him on his fighting against Adraazar and smiting him, for he was an enemy to Adraazar: and in his hands were vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass. (11) And these king David consecrated to the Lord, with the silver and with the gold which he consecrated out of all the cities which he conquered, (12) out of Idumea, and out of Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalec, and from the spoils of Adraazar son of Raab king of Suba. (13) And David made himself a name: and when he returned he smote Idumea in Gebelem to the number of eighteen thousand. (14) And he set garrisons in Idumea, even in all Idumea: and all the Idumeans were servants to the king. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went. (15) And David reigned over all Israel: and David wrought judgment and justice over all his people. (16) And Joab the son of Saruia was over the host; and Josaphat the son of Achilud was keeper of the records. (17) And Sadoc the son of Achitob, and Achimelech son of Abiathar, were priests; and Sasa was the scribe, (18) and Banaeas son of Jodae was councillor, and the Chelethite and the Phelethite, and the sons of David, were princes of the court.

9

(1) And David said, Is there yet any one left in the house of Saul, that I may deal kindly with him for Jonathan’s sake? (2) And there was a servant of the house of Saul, and his name was Siba: and they call him to David; and the king said to him, Art thou Siba? and he said, I am thy servant. (3) And the king said, Is there yet a man left of the house of Saul, that I may act towards him with the mercy of God? and Siba said to the king, There is yet a son of Jonathan, lame of his feet. (4) And the king said, Where is he? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Amiel of Lodabar. (5) And king David went, and took him out of the house of Machir the son Amiel of Lodabar. (6) And Memphibosthe the son of Jonathan the son of Saul comes to the king David, and he fell upon his face and did obeisance to him: and David said to him, Memphibosthe: and he said, Behold thy servant. (7) And David said to him, Fear not, for I will surely deal mercifully with thee for the sake of Jonathan thy father, and I will restore to thee all the land of Saul the father of thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. (8) And Memphibosthe did obeisance, and said, Who am I thy servant, that thou hast looked upon a dead dog like me? (9) And the king called Siba the servant of Saul, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and to all his house have I given to the son of thy lord. (10) And thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him; and thou shalt bring in bread to the son of thy lord, and he shall eat bread: and Memphibosthe the son of thy lord shall eat bread continually at my table. Now Siba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. (11) And Siba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Memphibosthe did eat at the table of David, as one of the sons of the king. (12) And Memphibosthe had a little son, and his name was Micha: and all the household of Siba were servants to Memphibosthe. (13) And Memphibosthe dwelt in Jerusalem, for he continually ate at the table of the king; and he was lame in both his feet.

10

(1) And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Annon his son reigned in his stead. (2) And David said, I will shew mercy to Annon the son of Naas, as his father dealt mercifully with me. And David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants; and the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon. (3) And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Annon their lord, Is it to honour thy father before thee that David has sent comforters to thee? Has not David rather sent his servants to thee that they should search the city, and spy it out and examine it? (4) And Annon took the servants of David, and shaved their beards, and cut off their garments in the midst as far as their haunches, and sent them away. (5) And they brought David word concerning the men; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonoured: and the king said, Remain in Jericho till your beards have grown, and then ye shall return. (6) And the children of Ammon saw that the people of David were ashamed; and the children of Ammon sent, and hired the Syrians of Baethraam, and the Syrians of Suba, and Roob, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Amalec with a thousand men, and Istob with twelve thousand men. (7) And David heard, and sent Joab and all his host, even the mighty men. (8) And the children of Ammon went forth, and set the battle in array by the door of the gate: those of Syria, Suba, and Roob, and Istob, and Amalec, being by themselves in the field. (9) And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him from that which was opposed in front and from behind, and he chose out some of all the young men of Israel, and they set themselves in array against Syria. (10) And the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abessa his brother, and they set the battle in array opposite to the children of Ammon. (11) And he said, If Syria be too strong for me, then shall ye help me: and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then will we be ready to help thee. (12) Be thou courageous, let us be strong for our people, and for the sake of the cities of our God, and the Lord shall do that which is good in his eyes. (13) And Joab and his people with him advanced to battle against Syria, and they fled from before him. (14) And the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, and they fled from before Abessa, and entered into the city: and Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. (15) And the Syrians saw that they were worsted before Israel, and they gathered themselves together. (16) And Adraazar sent and gathered the Syrians from the other side of the river Chalamak, and they came to Ælam; and Sobac the captain of the host of Adraazar was at their head. (17) And it was reported to David, and he gathered all Israel, and went over Jordan, and came to Ælam: and the Syrians set the battle in array against David, and fought with him. (18) And Syria fled from before Israel, and David destroyed of Syria seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and he smote Sobac the captain of his host, and he died there. (19) And all the kings the servants of Adraazar saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, and they went over to Israel, and served them: and Syria was afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.

11

(1) And it came to pass when the time o the year for kings going out to battle had come round, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbath: but David remained at Jerusalem. (2) And it came to pass toward evening, that David arose off his couch, and walked on the roof of the king’s house, and saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. (3) And David sent and enquired about the woman: and one said, Is not this Bersabee the daughter of Eliab, the wife of Urias the Chettite? (4) And David sent messengers, and took her, and went in to her, and he lay with her: and she was purified from her uncleanness, and returned to her house. (5) And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child. (6) And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Urias the Chettite; and Joab sent Urias to David. (7) And Urias arrived and went in to him, and David asked him how Joab was, and how the people were, and how the war went on. (8) And David said to Urias, Go to thy house, and wash thy feet: and Urias departed from the house of the king, and a portion of meat from the king followed him. (9) And Urias slept at the door of the king with the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. (10) And they brought David word, saying, Urias has not gone down to his house. And David said to Urias, Art thou not come from a journey? why hast thou not gone down to thy house? (11) And Urias said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Juda dwell in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; and shall I go into my house to eat and drink, and lie with my wife? how should I do this? as thy soul lives, I will not do this thing. (12) And David said to Urias, Remain here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee go. So Urias remained in Jerusalem that day and the day following. (13) And David called him, and he ate before him and drank, and he made him drunk: and he went out in the evening to lie upon his bed with the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. (14) And the morning came, and David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Urias. (15) And he wrote in the letter, saying, Station Urias in front of the severe part of the fight, and retreat from behind him, so shall he be wounded and die. (16) And it came to pass while Joab was watching against the city, that he set Urias in a place where he knew that valiant men were. (17) And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and some of the people of the servants of David fell, and Urias the Chettite died also. (18) And Joab sent, and reported to David all the events of the war, so as to tell them to the king. (19) And he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast finished reporting all the events of the war to the king, (20) then it shall come to pass if the anger of the king shall arise, and he shall say to thee, Why did ye draw nigh to the city to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from off the wall? (21) Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerobaal son of Ner? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from above the wall, and he died in Thamasi? why did ye draw near to the wall? then thou shalt say, Thy servant Urias the Chettite is also dead. (22) And the messenger of Joab went to the king to Jerusalem, and he came and reported to David all that Joab told him, all the affairs of the war. And David was very angry with Joab, and said to the messenger, Why did ye draw nigh to the wall to fight? knew ye not that ye would be wounded from off the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerobaal? did not a woman cast upon him a piece of millstone from the wall, and he died in Thamasi? why did ye draw near to the wall? (23) And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and they came out against us into the field, and we came upon them even to the door of the gate. (24) And the archers shot at thy servants from off the wall, and some of the king’s servants died, and thy servant Urias the Chettite is dead also. (25) And David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab, Let not the matter be grievous in thine eyes, for the sword devours one way at one time and another way at another: strengthen thine array against the city, and destroy it, and strengthen him. (26) And the wife of Urias heard that Urias her husband was dead, and she mourned for her husband. (27) And the time of mourning expired, and David sent and took her into his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son: but the thing which David did was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

12

(1) And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David; and he went in to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. (2) And the rich man had very many flocks and herds. (3) But the poor man had only one little ewe lamb, which he had purchased, and preserved, and reared; an it grew up with himself and his children in common; it ate of his bread and drank of his cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. (4) And a traveller came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his flocks and of his herds, to dress for the traveller that came to him; and he took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that came to him. (5) And David was greatly moved with anger against the man; and David said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man that did this thing shall surely die. (6) And he shall restore the lamb seven-fold, because he has not spared. (7) And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man that has done this. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee to be king over Israel, and I rescued thee out the hand of Saul; (8) and I gave thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord into thy bosom, and I gave to thee the house of Israel and Juda; and if that had been little, I would have given thee yet more. (9) Why hast thou set at nought the word of the Lord, to do that which is evil in his eyes? thou hast slain Urias the Chettite with the sword, and thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. (10) Now therefore the sword shall not depart from thy house for ever, because thou has set me at nought, and thou hast taken the wife of Urias the Chettite, to be thy wife. (11) Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against thee evil out of thy house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and will give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. (12) For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and before the sun. (13) And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, And the Lord has put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. (14) Only because thou hast given great occasion of provocation to the enemies of the Lord by this thing, thy son also that is born to thee shall surely die. (15) And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord smote the child, which the wife of Urias the Chettite bore to David, and it was ill. (16) And David enquired of God concerning the child, and David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground. (17) And the elders of his house arose and went to him to raise him up from the ground, but he would not rise, nor did he eat bread with them. (18) And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died: and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke to him, and he hearkened not to our voice; and thou should we tell him that the child is dead?—so would he do himself harm. (19) And David understood that his servants were whispering, and David perceived that the child was dead: and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead. (20) Then David rose up from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his raiment, and went into the house of God, and worshipped him; and went into his own house, and called for bread to eat, and they set bread before him and he ate. (21) And his servants said to him, What is this thing that thou hast done concerning the child? while it was yet living thou didst fast, and weep, and watch: and when the child was dead thou didst rise up, and didst eat bread, and drink. (22) And David said, While the child yet lived, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows if the Lord will pity me, and the child live? (23) But now it is dead, why should I fast thus? shall I be able to bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. (24) And David comforted Bersabee his wife, and he went in to her, and lay with her; and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his named Solomon, and the Lord loved him. (25) And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jeddedi, for the Lord’s sake. (26) And Joab fought against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. (27) And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbath, and taken the city of waters. (28) And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, an take it beforehand; lest I take the city first, and my name be called upon it. (29) And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbath, and fought against it, and took it. (30) And he took the crown of Molchom their king from off his head, and the weight of it was a talent of gold, with precious stones, and it was upon the head of David; and he carried forth very much spoil of the city. (31) And he brought forth the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under iron harrows, and axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus he did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

13

(1) And it happened after this that Abessalom the son of David had a very beautiful sister, and her name was Themar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. (2) And Amnon was distressed even to sickness, because of Themar his sister; for she was a virgin, and it seemed very difficult for Amnon to do anything to her. (3) And Amnon had a friend, and his name was Jonadab, the son of Samaa the brother of David: and Jonadab was a very cunning man. (4) And he said to him, What ails thee that thou art thus weak? O son of the king, morning by morning? wilt thou not tell me? and Ammon said, I love Themar the sister of my brother Abessalom. (5) And Jonadab said to him, Lie upon thy bed, and make thyself sick, and thy father shall come in to see thee; and thou shalt say to him, Let, I pray thee, Themar my sister come, and feed me with morsels, and let her prepare food before my eyes, that I may see and eat at her hands. (6) So Ammon lay down, and made himself sick; and the king came in to see him: and Amnon said to the king, Let, I pray thee, my sister Themar come to me, and make a couple of cakes in my sight, and I will eat them at her hand. (7) And David sent to Themar to the house, saying, Go now to thy brother’s house, and dress him food. (8) And Themar went to the house of her brother Amnon, and he was lying down: and she took the dough and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. (9) And she took the frying pan and poured them out before him, but he would not eat. And Amnon said, Send out every man from about me. And they removed every man from about him. (10) And Amnon said to Themar, Bring in the food into the closet, and I will eat of thy hand. And Themar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to her brother Amnon into the chamber. (11) And she brought them to him to eat, and he caught hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. (12) And she said to him, Nay, my brother, do not humble me, for it ought not to be so done in Israel; do not this folly. (13) And I, whither shall I remove my reproach? and thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. And now, speak, I pray thee, to the king, for surely he will not keep me from thee. (14) But Amnon would not hearken to her voice; and he prevailed against her, and humbled her, and lay with her. (15) Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her, for the last wickedness was greater than the first: and Amnon said to her, Rise, and be gone. (16) And Themar spoke to him concerning this great mischief, greater, said she, than the other that thou didst me, to send me away: but Amnon would not hearken to her voice. (17) And he called his servant who had charge of the house, and said to him, Put now this woman out from me, and shut the door after her. (18) And she had on her a variegated robe, for so were the king’s daughters that were virgins attired in their apparel: and his servant led her forth, and shut the door after her. (19) And Themar took ashes, and put them on her head; and she rent the variegated garment that was upon her: and she laid her hands on her head, and went crying continually. (20) And Abessalom her brother said to her, Has thy brother Amnon been with thee? now then, my sister, be silent, for he is thy brother: be not careful to mention this matter. So Themar dwelt as a widow in the house of her brother Abessalom. (21) And king David heard of all these things, and was very angry; but he did not grieve the spirit of his son Amnon, because be loved him, for he was his first-born. (22) And Abessalom spoke not to Amnon, good or bad, because Abessalom hated Amnon, on account of his humbling his sister Themar. (23) And it came to pass at the end of two whole years, that they were shearing sheep for Abessalom in Belasor near Ephraim: and Abessalom invited all the king’s sons. (24) And Abessalom came to the king, and said, Behold, thy servant has a sheep-shearing; let now the king and his servants go with thy servant. (25) And the king said to Abessalom, Nay, my son, let us not all go, and let us not be burdensome to thee. And he pressed him; but he would not go, but blessed him. (26) And Abessalom said to him, And if not, let I pray thee, my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee? (27) And Abessalom pressed him, and he sent with him Amnon and all the king’s sons; and Abessalom made a banquet like the banquet of the king. (28) And Abessalom charged his servants, saying, Mark when the heart of Amnon shall be merry with wine, and I shall say to you, Smite Amnon, and slay him: fear not; for is it not I that command you? Be courageous, and be valiant. (29) And the servants of Abessalom did to Amnon as Abessalom commanded them: and all the sons of the king rose up, and they mounted every man his mule, and fled. (30) And it came to pass, when they were in the way, that a report came to David, saying, Abessalom has slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. (31) Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay upon the ground: and all his servants that were standing round him rent their garments. (32) And Jonadab the son of Samaa brother of David, answered and said, Let not my Lord the king say that he has slain all the young men the sons of the king, for Amnon only of them all is dead; for he was appointed to death by the mouth of Abessalom from the day that he humbled his sister Themar. (33) And now let not my lord the king take the matter to heart, saying, All the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only of them is dead. (34) And Abessalom escaped: and the young man the watchman, lifted up his eyes, and looked; and, behold, much people went in the way behind him from the side of the mountain in the descent: and the watchman came and told the king, and said, I have seen men by the way of Oronen, by the side of the mountain. (35) And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king’s sons are present: according to the word of thy servant, so has it happened. (36) And it came to pass when he had finished speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voices and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept with a very great weeping. (37) But Abessalom fled, and went to Tholmi son of Emiud the king of Gedsur to the land of Chamaachad: and king David mourned for his son continually. (38) So Abessalom fled, and departed to Gedsur, and was there three years. (39) And king David ceased to go out after Abessalom, for he was comforted concerning Amnon, touching his death.

14

(1) And Joab the son of Saruia knew that the heart of the king was toward Abessalom. (2) And Joab sent to Thecoe, and took thence a cunning woman, and said to her, Mourn, I pray thee, and put on mourning apparel, and anoint thee not with oil, and thou shalt be as a woman mourning for one that is dead thus for many days. (3) And thou shalt go to the king, and speak to him according to this word. And Joab put the words in her mouth. (4) So the woman of Thecoe went in to the king and fell upon her face to the earth, and did him obeisance, and said, Help, O king, help. (5) And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead. (6) And moreover thy handmaid had two sons, and they fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them; and the one smote the other his brother, and slew him. (7) And behold the whole family rose up against thine handmaid, and they said, Give up the one that smote his brother, and we will put him to death for the life of his brother, whom he slew, and we will take away even your heir: so they will quench my coal that is left, so as not to leave my husband remnant or name on the face of the earth. (8) And the king said to the woman, Go in peace to thy house, and I will give commandment concerning thee. (9) And the woman of Thecoe said to the king, On me, my lord, O king, and on my father’s house be the iniquity, and the king and his throne be guiltless. (10) And the king said, Who was it that spoke to thee? thou shalt even bring him to me, and one shall not touch him any more. (11) And she said, Let now the king remember concerning his Lord God in that the avenger of blood is multiplied to destroy, and let them not take away my son. And he said, As the lord lives, not a hair of thy son shall fall to the ground. (12) And the woman said, Let now thy servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on. (13) And the woman said, Why hast thou devised this thing against the people of God? or is this word out of the king’s mouth as a transgression, so that the king should not bring back his banished? (14) For we shall surely die, and be as water poured upon the earth, which shall not be gathered up, and God shall take the life, even as he devises to thrust forth from him his outcast. (15) And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord the king, the reason is that the people will see me, and thy handmaid will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the king will perform the request of his handmaid; (16) for the king will hear. Let him rescue his handmaid out of the hand of the man that seeks to cast out me and my son from the inheritance of God. (17) And the woman said, If now the word of my lord the king be gracious, —well: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, to hear good and evil: and the Lord thy God shall be with thee. (18) And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the matter which I ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king by all means speak. (19) And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab in all this matter with thee? and the woman said to the king, As thy soul lives, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab himself charged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid. (20) In order that this form of speech might come about it was that thy servant Joab has framed this matter: and my lord is wise as is the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth. (21) And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done to thee according to this thy word: go, bring back the young man Abessalom. (22) And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and did obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, for my lord the king has performed the request of his servant. (23) And Joab arose, and went to Gedsur, and brought Abessalom to Jerusalem. (24) And the king said, Let him return to his house, and not see my face. And Abessalom returned to his house, and saw not the king’s face. (25) And there was not a man in Israel so very comely as Abessalom: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. (26) And when he polled his head, (and it was at the beginning of every year that he polled it, because it grew, heavy upon him,) even when he polled it, he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels according to the royal shekel. (27) And there were born to Abessalom three sons and one daughter, and her name was Themar: she was a very beautiful woman, and she becomes the wife of Roboam son of Solomon, and she bears to him Abia. (28) And Abessalom remained in Jerusalem two full years, and he saw not the king’s face. (29) And Abessalom sent to Joab to bring him in to the king, and he would not come to him: and he sent to him the second time, and he would not come. (30) And Abessalom said to his servants, Behold, Joab’s portion in the field is next to mine, and he has in it barley; go and set it on fire. And the servants of Abessalom set the field on fire: and the servants of Joab come to him with their clothes rent, and they said to him, The servants of Abessalom have set the field on fire. (31) And Joab arose, and came to Abessalom into the house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire? (32) And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Why did I come out of Gedsur? it would have been better for me to have remained there: and now, behold, I have not seen the face of the king; but if there is iniquity in me, then put me to death. (33) And Joab went in to the king, and brought him word: and he called Abessalom, and he went in to the king, and did him obeisance, and fell upon his face to the ground, even in the presence of the king; and the king kissed Abessalom.

15

(1) And it came to pass after this that Abessalom prepared for himself chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. (2) And Abessalom rose early, and stood by the side of the way of the gate: and it came to pass that every man who had a cause, came to the king for judgment, and Abessalom cried to him, and said to him, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. (3) And Abessalom said to him, See, thy affairs are right and clear, yet thou hast no one appointed of the king to hear thee. (4) And Abessalom said, O that one would make me a judge in the land; then every man who had a dispute or a cause would come to me, and I would judge him! (5) And it came to pass when a man came near to do him obeisance, that he stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him. (6) And Abessalom did after this manner to all Israel that came to the king for judgment; and Abessalom gained the hearts of the men of Israel. (7) And it came to pass after forty years, that Abessalom said to his father, I will go now, and pay my vows, which I vowed to the Lord in Chebron. (8) For thy servant vowed a vow when I dwelt at Gedsur in Syria, saying, If the Lord should indeed restore me to Jerusalem, then will I serve the Lord. (9) And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose and went to Chebron. (10) And Abessalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then shall ye say, Abessalom is become king in Chebron. (11) And there went with Abessalom two hundred chosen men from Jerusalem; and they went in their simplicity, and knew not anything. (12) And Abessalom sent to Achitophel the Theconite, the counsellor of David, from his city, from Gola, where he was sacrificing: and there was a strong conspiracy; and the people with Abessalom were increasingly numerous. (13) And there came a messenger to David, saying, the heart of the men of Israel is gone after Abessalom. (14) And David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Rise, and let us flee, for we have no refuge from Abessalom: make haste and go, lest he overtake us speedily, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. (15) And the king’s servants said to the king, In all things which our lord the king chooses, behold we are thy servants. (16) And the king and all his house went out on foot: and the king left ten women of his concubines to keep the house. (17) And the king and all his servants went out on foot; and abode in a distant house. (18) And all his servants passed on by his side, and every Chelethite, and every Phelethite, and they stood by the olive tree in the wilderness: and all the people marched near him, and all his court, and all the men of might, and all the men of war, six hundred: and they were present at his side: and every Chelethite, and every Phelethite, and all the six hundred Gittites that came on foot out of Geth, and they went on before the king. (19) And the king said to Ethi, the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? return, and dwell with the king, for thou art a stranger, and thou has come forth as a sojourner out of thy place. (20) Whereas thou camest yesterday, shall I to-day cause thee to travel with us, and shalt thou thus change thy place? thou didst come forth yesterday, and to-day shall I set thee in motion to go along with us? I indeed will go whithersoever I may go: return then, and cause thy brethren to return with thee, and may the Lord deal mercifully and truly with thee. (21) And Ethi answered the king and said, As the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, in the place wheresoever my lord shall be, whether it be for death or life, there shall thy servant be. (22) And the king said to Ethi, Come and pass over with me. So Ethi the Gittite and the king passed over, and all his servants, and all the multitude with him. (23) And all the country wept with a loud voice. And all the people passed by over the brook of Kedron; and the king crossed the brook Kedron: and all the people and the king passed on toward the way of the wilderness. (24) And behold also Sadoc, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Baethar: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had passed out of the city. (25) And the king said to Sadoc, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I should find favour in the eyes of the Lord, then will he bring me back, and he will shew me it and its beauty. (26) But if he should say thus, I have no pleasure in thee; behold, here I am, let him do to me according to that which is good in his eyes. (27) And the king said to Sadoc the priest, Behold, thou shalt return to the city in peace, and Achimaas thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you. (28) Behold, I continue in arms in Araboth of the desert, until there come tidings from you to report to me. (29) So Sadoc and Abiathar brought back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, and it continued there. (30) And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, ascending and weeping, and had his head covered, and went barefooted: and all the people that were with him covered every man his head; and they went up, ascending and weeping. (31) And it was reported to David, saying, Achitophel also is among the conspirators with Abessalom. And David said, O Lord my God, disconcert, I pray thee, the counsel of Achitophel. (32) And David came as far as Ros, where he worshipped God: and behold, Chusi the chief friend of David came out to meet him, having rent his garment, and earth was upon his head. (33) And David said to him, If thou shouldest go over with me, then wilt thou be a burden to me; (34) but if thou shall return to the city, and shalt say to Abessalom, Thy brethren are passed over, and the king thy father is passed over after me: and now I am thy servant, O king, suffer me to live: at one time even of late I was the servant of thy father, and now I am thy humble servant—so shalt thou disconcert for me, the counsel of Achitophel. (35) And, behold, there are there with thee Sadoc and Abiathar the priests; and it shall be that every word that thou shalt hear of the house of the king, thou shalt report it to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests. (36) Behold, there are there with them their two sons, Achimaas the son of Sadoc, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; and by them ye shall report to me every word which ye shall hear. (37) So Chusi the friend of David went into the city, and Abessalom was lately gone into Jerusalem.

16

(1) And David passed on a little way from Ros; and, behold, Siba the servant of Memphibosthe came to meet him; and he had a couple of asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred cakes of dates, and bottle of wine. (2) And the king said to Siba, What meanest thou by these? and Siba, said, The asses are for the household of the king to sit upon, and the loaves and the dates are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink. (3) And the king said, And where is the son of thy master? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. (4) And the king said to Siba, Behold, all Memphibosthe’s property is thine. And Siba did obeisance and said, My lord, O king, let me find grace in thine eyes. (5) And king David came to Baurim; and, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Semei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as he went, (6) and cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on the right and left hand of the king. (7) And thus Semei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, thou bloody man, and man of sin. (8) The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Abessalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. (9) And Abessa the son of Saruia said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and take off his head. (10) And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Saruia? even let him alone, and so let him curse, for the Lord has told him to curse David: and who shall say, Why hast thou done thus? (11) And David said to Abessa and to all his servants, Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still more now may the son of Benjamin: let him curse, because the Lord has told him. (12) If by any means the Lord may look on my affliction, thus shall he return me good for his cursing this day. (13) And David and all the men with him went on the way: and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting stones at him, and sprinkling him with dirt. (14) And the king, and all the people with him, came away and refreshed themselves there. (15) And Abessalom and all the men of Israel went into Jerusalem, and Achitophel with him. (16) And it came to pass when Chusi the chief friend of David came to Abessalom, that Chusi said to Abessalom, Let the king live. (17) And Abessalom said to Chusi, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not forth with thy friend? (18) And Chusi said to Abessalom, Nay, but following whom the Lord, and this people, and all Israel have chosen, —his will I be, and with him I will dwell. (19) And again, whom shall I serve? should I not in the presence of his son? As I served in the sight of thy father, so will I be in thy presence. (20) And Abessalom said to Achitophel, Deliberate among yourselves concerning what we should do. (21) And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Go in to thy father’s concubines, whom he left to keep his house; and all Israel shall hear that thou hast dishonoured thy father; and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strengthened. (22) And they pitched a tent for Abessalom on the roof, and Abessalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. (23) And the counsel of Achitophel, which he counselled in former days, was as if one should enquire of the word of God: so was all the counsel of Achitophel both to David and also to Abessalom.

17

(1) And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Let me now choose out for myself twelve thousand men, and I will arise and follow after David this night: (2) and I will come upon him when he is weary and weak-handed, and I will strike him with terror; and all the people with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only of all. (3) And I will bring back all the people to thee, as a bride returns to her husband: only thou seekest the life of one man, and all the people shall have peace. (4) And the saying was right in the eyes of Abessalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. (5) And Abessalom said, Call now also Chusi the Arachite, and let us hear what is in his mouth, even in his also. (6) And Chusi went in to Abessalom, and Abessalom spoke to him, saying, After this manner spoke Achitophel: shall we do according to his word? but if not, do thou speak. (7) And Chusi said to Abessalom, This counsel which Achitophel has counselled this one time is not good. (8) And Chusi said, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are very mighty, and bitter in their spirit, as a bereaved bear in the field, [[and as a wild boar in the plain]]: and thy father is a man of war, and will not give the people rest. (9) For, behold, he is now hidden in one of the hills or in some other place: and it shall come to pass when he falls upon them at the beginning, that some one will certainly hear, and say, There has been a slaughter among the people that follow after Abessalom. (10) Then even he that is strong, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, —it shall utterly melt: for all Israel knows that thy father is mighty, and they that are with him are mighty men. (11) For thus I have surely given counsel, that all Israel be generally gathered to thee from Dan even to Bersabee, as the sand that is upon the sea-shore for multitude: and that thy presence go in the midst of them. (12) And we will come upon him in one of the places where we shall find him, and we will encamp against him, as the dew falls upon the earth; and we will not leave of him and of his men so much as one. (13) And if he shall have taken refuge with his army in a city, then shall all Israel take ropes to that city, and we will draw it even into the river, that there may not be left there even a stone. (14) And Abessalom, and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Chusi the Arachite is better than the counsel of Achitophel. For the Lord ordained to disconcert the good counsel of Achitophel, that the Lord might bring all evil upon Abessalom. (15) And Chusi the Arachite said to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus Achitophel counselled Abessalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled. (16) And now send quickly and report to David, saying, Lodge not this night in Araboth of the wilderness: even go and make haste, lest one swallow up the king, and all the people with him. (17) And Jonathan and Achimaas stood by the well of Rogel, and a maid-servant went and reported to them, and they go and tell king David; for they might not be seen to enter into the city. (18) But a young man saw them and told Abessalom: and the two went quickly, and entered into the house of a man in Baurim; and he had a well in his court, and they went down into it. (19) And a woman took a covering, and spread it over the mouth of the well, and spread out ground corn upon it to dry, and the thing was not known. (20) And the servants of Abessalom came to the woman into the house, and said, Where are Achimaas and Jonathan? and the woman said to them, They are gone a little way beyond the water. And they sought and found them not, and returned to Jerusalem. (21) And it came to pass after they were gone, that they came up out of the pit, and went on their way; and reported to king David, and said to David, Arise ye and go quickly over the water, for thus has Achitophel counselled concerning you. (22) And David rose up and all the people with him, and they passed over Jordan till the morning light; there was not one missing who did not pass over Jordan. (23) And Achitophel saw that his counsel was not followed, and he saddled his ass, and rose and departed to his house into his city; and he gave orders to his household, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. (24) And David passed over to Manaim: and Abessalom crossed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. (25) And Abessalom appointed Amessai in the room of Joab over the host. And Amessai was the son of a man whose name was Jether of Jezrael: he went in to Abigaia the daughter of Naas, the sister of Saruia the mother of Joab. (26) And all Israel and Abessalom encamped in the land of Galaad. (27) And it came to pass when David came to Manaim, that Uesbi the son of Naas of Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and Machir son of Amiel of Lodabar, and Berzelli the Galaadite of Rogellim, (28) brought ten embroidered beds, (with double coverings,) and ten caldrons, and earthenware, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and meal, and beans, and pulse, (29) and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheeses of kine: and they brought them to David and to his people with him to eat; for one said, The people is faint and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.

18

(1) And David numbered the people with him, and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. (2) And David sent away the people, the third part under the hand of Joab, and the third part under the hand of Abessa the son of Saruia, the brother of Joab, and the third part under the hand of Ethi the Gittite. And David said to the people, I also will surely go out with you. (3) And they said, Thou shalt not go out: for if we should indeed flee, they will not care for us; and if half of us should die, they will not mind us; for thou art as ten thousand of us: and now it is well that thou shalt be to us an aid to help us in the city. (4) And the king said to them, Whatsoever shall seem good in your eyes I will do. And the king stood by the side of the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. (5) And the king commanded Joab and Abessa and Ethi, saying, Spare for my sake the young man Abessalom. And all the people heard the king charging all the commanders concerning Abessalom. (6) And all the people went out into the wood against Israel; and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim. (7) And the people of Israel fell down there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter in that day, even twenty thousand men. (8) And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the land: and the wood consumed more of the people than the sword consumed among the people in that day. (9) And Abessalom went to meet the servants of David: and Abessalom was mounted on his mule, and the mule came under the thick boughs of a great oak; and his head was entangled in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth; and the mule passed on from under him. (10) And a man saw it, and reported to Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Abessalom hanging in an oak. (11) And Joab said to the man who reported it to him, And, behold, thou didst see him: why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle. (12) And the man said to Joab, Were I even to receive a thousand shekels of silver, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son; for in our ears the king charged thee and Abessa and Ethi, saying, Take care of the young man Abessalom for me, (13) so as to do no harm to his life: and nothing of the matter will be concealed from the king, and thou wilt set thyself against me. (14) And Joab said, I will begin this; I will not thus remain with thee. And Joab took three darts in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Abessalom, while he was yet alive in the heart of the oak. (15) And ten young men that bore Joab’s armour compassed Abessalom, and smote him and slew him. (16) And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab spared the people. (17) And he took Abessalom, and cast him into a great cavern in the wood, into a deep pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every man to his tent. (18) Now Abessalom while yet alive had taken and set up for himself the pillar near which he was taken, and set it up so as to have the pillar in the king’s dale; for he said he had no son to keep his name in remembrance: and he called the pillar, Abessalom’s hand, until this day. (19) And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said, Let me run now and carry glad tidings to the king, for the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies. (20) And Joab said to him, Thou shalt not be a messenger of glad tidings this day; thou shalt bear them another day; but on this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead. (21) And Joab said to Chusi, Go, report to the king all that thou hast seen. And Chusi did obeisance to Joab, and went out. (22) And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said again to Joab, Nay, let me also run after Chusi. And Joab said, Why wouldest thou thus run, my son? attend, thou hast no tidings for profit if thou go. (23) And he said, Why should I not run? and Joab said to him, Run. And Achimaas ran along the way of Kechar, and outran Chusi. (24) And David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up on the top of the gate of the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone before him. (25) And the watchman cried out, and reported to the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there are good tidings in his mouth. And the man came and drew near. (26) And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman cried at the gate, and said, And look, another man running alone. And the king said, He also brings glad tidings. (27) And the watchman said, I see the running of the first as the running of Achimaas the son of Sadoc. And the king said, He is a good man, and will come to report glad tidings. (28) And Achimaas cried out and said to the king, Peace. And he did obeisance to the king with his face to the ground, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, who has delivered up the men that lifted up their hands against my lord the king. (29) And the king said, Is the young man Abessalom safe? and Achimaas said, I saw a great multitude at the time of Joab’s sending the king’s servant and thy servant, and I knew not what was there. (30) And the king said, Turn aside, stand still here. And he turned aside, and stood. (31) And, behold, Chusi came up, and said to the king, Let my lord the king hear glad tidings, for the Lord has avenged thee this day upon all them that rose up against thee. (32) And the king said to Chusi, Is it well with the young man Abessalom? and Chusi said, Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all whosoever have risen up against him for evil, be as that young man. (33) And the king was troubled, and went to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and thus he said as he went, My son Abessalom, my son, my son Abessalom; would God I had died for thee, even I had died for thee, Abessalom, my son, my son!

19

(1) And they brought Joab word, saying, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Abessalom. (2) And the victory was turned that day into mourning to all the people, for the people heard say that day, The king grieves after his son. (3) And the people stole away that day to go into the city, as people steal away when they are ashamed as they flee in the battle. (4) And the king hid his face: and the king cried with a loud voice, My son Abessalom! Abessalom my son! (5) And Joab went in to the king, into the house, and said, Thou hast this day shamed the faces of all thy servants that have delivered thee this day, and have saved the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and of thy concubines, (6) forasmuch as thou lovest them that hate thee, and hatest them that love thee; and thou hast this day declared, that thy princes and thy servants are nothing in thy sight: for I know this day, that if Abessalom were alive, and all of us dead to-day, then it would have been right in thy sight. (7) And now arise, and go forth, and speak comfortably to thy servants; for I have sworn by the Lord, that unless thou wilt go forth to-day, there shall not a man remain with thee this night: and know for thyself, this thing will indeed be evil to thee beyond all the evil that has come upon thee from thy youth until now. (8) Then the king arose, and sat in the gate: and all the people reported, saying, Behold, the king sits in the gate. And all the people went in before the king to the gate; for Israel had fled every man to his tent. (9) And all the people disputed among all the tribes of Israel, saying, King David delivered us from all our enemies, and he rescued us from the hand of the Philistines: and now he has fled from the land, and from his kingdom, and from Abessalom. (10) And Abessalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle: and now why are ye silent about bringing back the king? And the word of all Israel came to the king. (11) And king David sent to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Israel, saying, Why are ye the last to bring back the king to his house? whereas the word of all Israel is come to the king to his house. (12) Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: why are ye the last to bring back the king to his house? (13) And ye shall say to Amessai, Art thou not my bone and my flesh? and now God do so to me, and more also, if thou shalt not be commander of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. (14) And he bowed the heart of all the men of Juda as that of one man; and they sent to the king, saying, Return thou, and all thy servants. (15) And the king returned, and came as far s Jordan. And the men of Juda came to Galgala on their way to meet the king, to cause the king to pass over Jordan. (16) And Semei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Baurim, hasted and went down with the men of Juda to meet king David. (17) And a thousand men of Benjamin were with him, and Siba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons with him, and his twenty servants with him: and they went directly down to Jordan before the king, (18) and they performed the service of bringing the king over; and there went over a ferry-boat to remove the household of the king, and to do that which was right in his eyes. And Semei the son of Gera fell on his face before the king, as he went over Jordan; (19) and said to the king, Let not my lord now impute iniquity, and remember not all the iniquity of thy servant in the day in which my lord went out from Jerusalem, so that the king should mind it. (20) For thy servant knows that I have sinned: and, behold, I am come to-day before all Israel and the house of Joseph, to go down and meet my lord the king. (21) And Abessai the son of Saruia answered and said, Shall not Semei therefore be put to death, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed? (22) And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Saruia, that ye as it were lie in wait against me this day? to-day no man in Israel shall be put to death, for I know not if I this day reign over Israel. (23) And the king said to Semei, Thou shalt not die: and the king swore to him. (24) And Memphibosthe the son of Saul’s son went down to meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, nor pared his nails, nor shaved himself, neither had he washed his garments, from the day that the king departed, until the day when he arrived in peace. (25) And it came to pass when he went into Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Memphibosthe? (26) And Memphibosthe said to him, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for thy servant said to him, Saddle me the ass, and I will ride upon it, and go with the king; for thy servant is lame. (27) And he has dealt deceitfully with thy servant to my lord the king: but my lord the king is as an angel of God, and do thou that which is good in thine eyes. (28) For all the house of my father were but as dead men before my lord the king; yet thou hast set thy servant among them that eat at thy table: and what right have I any longer even to cry to the king? (29) And the king said to him, Why speakest thou any longer of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Siba shall divide the land. (30) And Memphibosthe said to the king, Yea, let him take all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his house. (31) And Berzelli the Galaadite came down from Rogellim, and crossed over Jordan with the king, that he might conduct the king over Jordan. (32) And Berzelli was a very old man, eighty years old; and he had maintained the king when he dwelt in Manaim; for he was a very great man. (33) And the king said to Berzelli, Thou shalt go over with me, and I will nourish thine old age with me in Jerusalem. (34) And Berzelli said to the king, How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? (35) I am this day eighty years old: can I then distinguish between good and evil? Can thy servant taste any longer what I eat or drink? can I any longer hear the voice of singing men or singing women? and wherefore shall thy servant any longer be a burden to my lord the king? (36) Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why does the king return me this recompense? (37) Let, I pray thee, thy servant remain, and I will die in my city, by the tomb of my father and of my mother. And, behold, thy servant Chamaam shall go over with my lord the king; and do thou to him as it seems good in thine eyes. (38) And the king said, Let Chamaam go over with me, and I will do to him what is good in my sight; and whatsoever thou shalt choose at my hand, I will do for thee. (39) And all the people went over Jordan, and the king went over; and the king kissed Berzelli, and blessed him; and he returned to his place. (40) And the king went over to Galgala, and Chamaam went over with him: and all the men of Juda went over with the king, and also half the people of Israel. (41) And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our brethren the men of Juda stolen thee away, and caused the king and all his house to pass over Jordan, and all the men of David with him? (42) And all the men of Juda answered the men of Israel, and said, Because the king is near of kin to us: and why were you thus angry concerning this matter? have we indeed eaten of the king’s food? or has he given us a gift, or has he sent us a portion? (43) And the men of Israel answered the men of Juda, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we are older than you, we have also an interest in David above you: and why have ye thus insulted us, and why was not our advice taken before that of Juda, to bring back our king? And the speech of the men of Juda was sharper than the speech of the men of Israel.

20

(1) And there was a transgressor so called there, and his name was Sabee, a Benjamite, the son of Bochori: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jessae: to thy tents, O Israel, every one. (2) And all the men of Israel went up from following David after Sabee the son of Bochori: but the men of Juda adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. (3) And David went into his house at Jerusalem: and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and he put them in a place of custody, and maintained them, and went not in to them; and they were kept living as widows, till the day of their death. (4) And the king said to Amessai, Call to me the men of Juda for three days, and do thou be present here. (5) And Amessai went to call Juda, and delayed beyond the time which David appointed him. (6) And David said to Amessai, Now shall Sabee the son of Bochori do us more harm than Abessalom: now then take thou with thee the servants of thy lord, and follow after him, lest he find for himself strong cities, so will he blind our eyes. (7) And there went out after him Amessai and the men of Joab, and the Cherethites, and the Phelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sabee the son of Bochori. (8) And they were by the great stone that is in Gabaon: and Amessai went in before them: and Joab had upon him a military cloak over his apparel, and over it he was girded with a dagger fastened upon his loins in its scabbard: and the dagger came out, it even came out and fell. (9) And Joab said to Amessai, Art thou in health, my brother? and the right hand of Joab took hold of the beard of Amessai to kiss him. (10) And Amessai observed not the dagger that was in the hand of Joab: and Joab smote him with it on the loins, and his bowels were shed out upon the ground, and he did not repeat the blow, and he died: and Joab and Abessai his brother pursued after Sabee the son of Bochori. (11) And there stood over him one of the servants of Joab, and said, Who is he that is for Joab, and who is on the side of David following Joab? (12) And Amessai was weltering in blood in the midst of the way. And a man saw that all the people stood still; and he removed Amessai out of the path into a field, and he cast a garment upon him, because he saw every one that came to him standing still. (13) And when he was quickly removed from the road, every man of Israel passed after Joab to pursue after Sabee the son of Bochori. (14) And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Bethmacha; and all in Charri too were assembled, and followed after him. (15) And they came and besieged him in Abel and Phermacha: and they raised a mound against the city and it stood close to the wall; and all the people with Joab proposed to throw down the wall. (16) And a wise woman cried from the wall, and said, Hear, hear; say, I pray ye, to Joab, Draw near hither, and I will speak to him. (17) And he drew nigh to her, and the woman said to him, Art thou Joab? and he said, I am. And she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid; and Joab said, I do hear. (18) And she spoke, saying, Of old time they said thus, Surely one was asked in Abel, and Dan, whether the faithful in Israel failed in what they purposed; they will surely ask in Abel, even in like manner, whether they have failed. (19) I am a peaceable one of the strong ones in Israel; but thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother city in Israel: why dost thou seek to ruin the inheritance of the Lord? (20) And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should ruin or destroy. (21) Is not the case thus, that a man of mount Ephraim, Sabee, son of Bochori by name, has even lifted up his hand against king David? Give him only to me, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. (22) And the woman went in to all the people, and she spoke to all the city in her wisdom; and they took off the head of Sabee the son of Bochori; and took it away and threw it to Joab: and he blew the trumpet, and the people separated from the city away from him, every man to his tent: and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. (23) And Joab was over all the forces of Israel: and Banaias the son of Jodae was over the Cherethites and over the Phelethites. (24) And Adoniram was over the tribute: and Josaphath the son of Achiluth was recorder. (25) And Susa was scribe: and Sadoc and Abiathar were priests. (26) Moreover Iras the son of Iarin was priest to David.

21

(1) And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, There is guilt upon Saul and his house because of his bloody murder, whereby he slew the Gabaonites. (2) And King David called the Gabaonites, and said to them; —(now the Gabaonites are not the children of Israel, but are of the remnant of the Amorite, and the children of Israel had sworn to them: but Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Juda.) (3) And David said to the Gabaonites, What shall I do to you? and wherewithal shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord? (4) And the Gabaonites said to him, We have no question about silver or gold with Saul and with his house; and there is no man for us to put to death in Israel. (5) And he said, What say ye? speak, and I will do it for you. And they said to the king, The man who would have made an end of us, and persecuted us, who plotted against us to destroy us, let us utterly destroy him, so that he shall have no standing in all the coasts of Israel. (6) Let one give us seven men of his sons, and let us hang them up in the sun to the Lord in Gabaon of Saul, as chosen out for the Lord. And the king said, I will give them. (7) But the king spared Memphibosthe son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, even between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. (8) And the king took the two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Hermonoi and Memphibosthe, and the five sons of Michol daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Esdriel son of Berzelli the Moulathite. (9) And he gave them into the hand of the Gabaonites, and they hanged them up to the sun in the mountain before the lord: and they fell, even the seven together: moreover they were put to death in the days of harvest at the commencement, in the beginning of barley-harvest. (10) And Respha the daughter of Aia took sackcloth, and fixed it for herself on the rock in the beginning of barley harvest, until water dropped upon them out of heaven: and she did not suffer the birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. (11) And it was told David what Respha the daughter of Aia the concubine of Saul had done, [and they were faint, and Dan, the son of Joa of the offspring of the giants overtook them.] (12) And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of the sons of Jabis Galaad, who stole them from the street of Baethsan; for the Philistines set them there in the day in which the Philistines smote Saul in Gelbue. (13) And he carried up thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and gathered the bones of them that had been hanged. (14) And they buried the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and the bones of them that had been hanged, in the land of Benjamin in the hill, in the sepulchre of Cis his father; and they did all things that the king commanded: and after this God hearkened to the prayers of the land. (15) And there was yet war between the Philistines and Israel: and David went down and his servants with him, and they fought with the Philistines, and David went. (16) And Jesbi, who was of the progeny of Rapha, and the head of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, who also was girt with a club, even he thought to smite David. (17) And Abessa the son of Saruia helped him and smote the Philistine, and slew him. Then the men of David swore, saying, Thou shalt not any longer go out with us to battle, and thou shalt not quench the lamp of Israel. (18) And after this there was a battle again with the Philistines in Geth: then Sebocha the Astatothite slew Seph of the progeny of Rapha. (19) And there was a battle in Rom with the Philistines; and Eleanan son of Ariorgim the Bethleemite slew Goliath the Gittite; and the staff of his spear was as a weaver’s beam. (20) And there was yet a battle in Geth: and there was a man of stature, and the fingers of his hands and the toes of his feet were six on each, four and twenty in number: and he also was born to Rapha. (21) And he defied Israel, and Jonathan son of Semei brother of David, smote him. (22) These four were born descendants of the giants in Geth, the family of Rapha; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

22

(1) And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, in the day in which the Lord rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. (2) And the song was thus: O Lord, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, (3) my God; he shall be to me my guard, I will trust in him: he is my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper, and my sure refuge; thou shalt save me from the unjust man. (4) I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I shall be saved from my enemies. (5) For the troubles of death compassed me, the floods of iniquity amazed me: (6) the pangs of death surrounded me, the agonies of death prevented me. (7) When I am afflicted I will call upon the Lord, and will cry to my God, and he shall hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry shalt come into his ears. (8) And the earth was troubled and quaked, and the foundations of heaven were confounded and torn asunder, because the Lord was wroth with them. (9) There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire out of his mouth devours: coals were kindled at it. (10) And he bowed the heavens, and came down, and there was darkness under his feet. (11) And he rode upon the cherubs and did fly, and was seen upon the wings of the wind. (12) And he made darkness his hiding-place; his tabernacle round about him was the darkness of waters, he condensed it with the clouds of the air. (13) At the brightness before him coals of fire were kindled. (14) The Lord thundered out of heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. (15) And he sent forth arrows, and scattered them, and he flashed lightning, and dismayed them. (16) And the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his anger. (17) He sent from above and took me; he drew me out of many waters. (18) He delivered me from my strong enemies, from them that hated me, for they were stronger than I. (19) The days of my affliction prevented me; but the Lord was my stay. (20) And he brought me into a wide place, and rescued me, because he delighted in me. (21) And the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands did he recompense me. (22) Because, I kept the ways of the Lord, and did not wickedly depart from my God. (23) For all his judgments and his ordinances were before me: I departed not from them. (24) And I shall be blameless before him, and will keep myself from my iniquity. (25) And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands in his eye-sight. (26) With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the perfect man thou will be perfect, (27) and with the excellent thou wilt be excellent, and with the froward thou will be froward. (28) And thou wilt save the poor people, and wilt bring down the eyes of the haughty. (29) For thou, Lord, art my lamp, and the Lord shall shine forth to me in my darkness. (30) For by thee shall I run as a girded man, and by my God shall I leap over a wall. (31) As for the Mighty One, his way is blameless: the word of the Lord is strong and tried in the fire: he is a protector to all that put their trust in him. (32) Who is strong, but the Lord? and who will be a Creator except our God? (33) It is the Mighty One who strengthens me with might, and has prepared my way without fault. (34) He makes my feet like hart’s feet, and sets me upon the high places. (35) He teaches my hands to war, and has broken a brazen bow by my arm. (36) And thou hast given me the shield of my salvation, and thy propitious dealing has increased me, (37) so as to make room under me for my going, and my legs did not totter. (38) I will pursue my enemies, and will utterly destroy them; and I will not turn again till I have consumed them. (39) And I will crush them, and they shall not rise; and they shall fall under my feet. (40) And thou shalt strengthen me with power for the war; thou shalt cause them that rise up against me to bow down under me. (41) And thou hast caused mine enemies to flee before me, even them that hated me, and thou hast slain them. (42) They shall cry, and there shall be no helper; to the Lord, but he hearkens not to them. (43) And I ground them as the dust of the earth, I beat them small as the mire of the streets. (44) And thou shalt deliver me from the striving of the peoples, thou shalt keep me to be the head of the Gentiles: a people which I knew not served me. (45) The strange children feigned obedience to me; they hearkened to me as soon as they heard. (46) The strange children shall be cast away, and shall be overthrown out of their hiding places. (47) The Lord lives, and blessed be my guardian, and my God, my strong keeper, shall be exalted. (48) The Lord who avenges me is strong, chastening the nations under me, (49) and bringing me out from my enemies: and thou shalt set me on high from among those that rise up against me: thou shalt deliver me from the violent man. (50) Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name. (51) He magnifies the salvation of his king, and works mercy for his anointed, even for David and for his seed for ever.

23

(1) And these are the last words of David. Faithful is David the son of Jessae, and faithful the man whom the Lord raised up to be the anointed of the God of Jacob, and beautiful are the psalms of Israel. (2) The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was upon my tongue. (3) The God of Israel says, A watchman out of Israel spoke to me a parable: I said among men, How will ye strengthen the fear of the anointed? (4) And in the morning light of God, let the sun arise in the morning, from the light of which the Lord passed on, and as it were from the rain of the tender grass upon the earth. (5) For my house is not so with the Mighty One: for he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ready, guarded at every time; for all my salvation and all my desire is, that the wicked should not flourish. (6) All these are as a thorn thrust forth, for they shall not be taken with the hand, (7) and a man shall not labour among them; and one shall have that which is fully armed with iron, and the staff of a spear, an he shall burn them with fire, and they shall be burnt in their shame. (8) These are the names of the mighty men of David: Jebosthe the Chananite is a captain of the third part: Adinon the Asonite, he drew his sword against eight hundred soldiers at once. (9) And after him Eleanan the son of his uncle, son of Dudi who was among the three mighty men with David; and when he defied the Philistines they were gathered there to war, and the men of Israel went up. (10) He arose an smote the Philistines, until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword: and the Lord wrought a great salvation in that day, and the people rested behind him only to strip the slain. (11) And after him Samaia the son of Asa the Arachite: and the Philistines were gathered to Theria; and there was there a portion of ground full of lentiles; and the people fled before the Philistines. (12) And he stood firm in the midst of the portion, and rescued it, and smote the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great deliverance. (13) And three out of the thirty went down, and came to Cason to David, to the cave of Odollam; and there was an army of the Philistines, and they encamped in the valley of Raphain. (14) And David was then in the strong hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethleem. (15) And David longed, and said, Who will give me water to drink out of the well that is in Bethleem by the gate? now the band of the Philistines was then in Bethleem. (16) And the three mighty men broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well that was in Bethleem in the gate: and they took it, and brought it to David, and he would not drink it, but poured it out before the Lord. (17) And he said, O Lord, forbid that I should do this, that I should drink of the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives: and he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. (18) And Abessa the brother of Joab the son of Saruia, he was chief among the three, and he lifted up his spear against three hundred whom he slew; and he had a name among three. (19) Of those three he was most honourable, and he became a chief over them, but he reached not to the first three. (20) And Banaeas the son of Jodae, he was abundant in mighty deeds, from Cabeseel, and he smote the two sons of Ariel of Moab: and he went down and smote a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. (21) He smote an Egyptian, a wonderful man, and in the hand of the Egyptian was a spear as the side of a ladder; and he went down to him with a staff, and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. (22) These things did Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he had a name among the three mighty men. (23) He was honourable among the second three, but he reached not to the first three: and David made him his reporter. And these are the names of King David’s mighty men. (24) Asael Joab’s brother; he was among the thirty. Eleanan son of Dudi his uncle in Bethleem. (25) Saema the Rudaean. (26) Selles the Kelothite: Iras the son of Isca the Thecoite. (27) Abiezer the Anothite, of the sons of the Anothite. (28) Ellon the Aoite; Noere the Netophatite. (29) Esthai the son of Riba of Gabaeth, son of Benjamin the Ephrathite; Asmoth the Bardiamite; Emasu the Salabonite: (32) the sons of Asan, Jonathan; (33) Samnan the Arodite; Amnan the son of Arai the Saraurite. (34) Aliphaleth the son of Asbites, the son of the Machachachite; Eliab the son of Achitophel the Gelonite. (35) Asarai the Carmelite the son of Uraeoerchi. (36) Gaal the son of Nathana. The son of much valour, the son of Galaaddi. Elie the Ammanite. (37) Gelore the Bethorite, armour-bearer to Joab, son of Saruia. (38) Iras the Ethirite. Gerab the Ethenite. (39) Urias the Chettite: thirty-seven in all. (30) Adroi of the brooks. (31) Gadabiel son of the Arabothaeite.

24

(1) And the Lord caused his anger to burn forth again in Israel, and Satan stirred up David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Juda. (2) And the king said to Joab commander of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel and Juda, from Dan even to Bersabee, and number the people, and I will know the number of the people. (3) And Joab said to the king, Now may the Lord add to the people a hundred-fold as many as they are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king desire this thing? (4) Nevertheless the word of the king prevailed against Joab an the captains of the host: And Joab and the captains of the host went out before the king to number the people of Israel. (5) And they went over Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right of the city which is in the midst of the valley of Gad and Eliezer. (6) And they came to Galaad, and into the land of Thabason, which is Adasai, and they came to Danidan and Udan, and compassed Sidon. (7) And they came to Mapsar of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Evite and the Chananite: and they came by the South of Juda to Bersabee. (8) And they compassed the whole land; and they arrived at Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. (9) And Joab gave in the number of the census of the people to the king: and Israel consisted of eight hundred thousand men of might that drew sword; and the men of Juda, five hundred thousand fighting men. (10) And the heart of David smote him after he had numbered the people; and David said to the Lord, I have sinned grievously, O Lord, in what I have now done: remove, I pray thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have been exceedingly foolish. (11) And David rose early in the morning, and the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, the seer, saying, Go, and speak to David, saying, (12) Thus saith the Lord, I bring one of three things upon thee: now choose thee one of them, and I will do it to thee. (13) And Gad went in to David, and told him, and said to him, Choose one of these things to befall thee, whether there shall come upon thee for three years famine in thy land; or that thou shouldest flee three months before thine enemies, and they should pursue thee; or that there should be for three days mortality in thy land. Now then decide, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. (14) And David said to Gad, On every side I am much straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his compassions are very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man. (15) So David chose for himself the mortality: and they were the days of wheat-harvest; and the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from morning till noon, and the plague began among the people; and there died of the people from Dan even to Bersabee seventy thousand men. (16) And the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough now, withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. (17) And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel smiting the people, and he said, Behold, it is I that have done wrong, but these sheep what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be upon me, and upon my father’s house. (18) And Gad came to David in that day, and said to him, Go up, and set up to the Lord and altar in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. (19) And David went up according to the word of Gad, as the Lord commanded him. (20) And Orna looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on before him: and Orna went forth, and did obeisance to the king with his face to the earth. (21) And Orna said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? and David said, To buy of thee the threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to the Lord that the plague may be restrained from off the people. (22) And Orna said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer to the Lord that which is good in his eyes: behold, here are oxen for a whole-burnt-offering, and the wheels and furniture of the oxen for wood. (23) Orna gave all to the king: and Orna said to the king, The Lord thy God bless thee. (24) And the king said to Orna, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a fair price, and I will not offer to the Lord my God a whole-burnt-offering for nothing. So David purchased the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (25) And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and Solomon made an addition to the altar afterwards, for it was little at first. And the Lord hearkened to the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

First Kings

2 8 9 17

2

(1) And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth: (2) but be thou strong, and shew thyself a man; (3) and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep the commandments and the ordinances and the judgments which are written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest understand what thou shalt do in all things that I command thee: (4) that the Lord may confirm his word which he spoke, saying, If thy children shall take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart, I promise thee, saying, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel. (5) Moreover thou knowest all that Joab the son of Saruia did to me, what he did to the two captains of the forces of Israel, to Abenner the son of Ner, and to Amessai the son of Jether, that he slew them, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put innocent blood on his girdle that was about his loins, and on his sandal that was on his foot. (6) Therefore thou shalt deal with him according to thy wisdom, and thou shalt not bring down his grey hairs in peace to the grave. (7) But thou shalt deal kindly with the sons of Berzelli the Galaadite, and they shall be among those that eat at thy table; for thus they drew nigh to me when I fled from the face of thy brother Abessalom. (8) And, behold, there is with thee Semei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Baurim: and he cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went into the camp; and he came down to Jordan to meet me, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. (9) But thou shalt by no means hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man, and wilt know what thou shalt do to him, and shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave. (10) And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. (11) And the days which David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Chebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. (12) And Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was established greatly. (13) And Adonias the son of Aggith came in to Bersabee the mother of Solomon, and did obeisance to her: and she said, Dost thou enter peaceably? and he said, Peaceably: (14) I have business with thee. And she said to him, Say on. (15) And he said to her, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel turned their face toward me for a king; but the kingdom was turned from me and became my brother’s: for it was appointed to him from the Lord. (16) And now I make one request of thee, do not turn away thy face. And Bersabee said to him, Speak on. (17) And he said to her, Speak, I pray thee, to king Solomon, for he will not turn away his face from thee, and let him give me Abisag the Somanite for a wife. (18) And Bersabee said, Well; I will speak for thee to the king. (19) And Bersabee went in to king Solomon to speak to him concerning Adonias; and the king rose up to meet her, and kissed her, and sat on the throne, and a throne was set for the mother of the king, and she sat on his right hand. (20) And she said to him, I ask of thee one little request; turn not away my face from thee. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, and I will not reject thee. (21) And she said, Let, I pray thee, Abisag the Somanite be given to Adonias thy brother to wife. (22) And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why hast thou asked Abisag for Adonias? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, and he has for his companion Abiathar the priest, and Joab the son of Saruia the commander-in-chief. (23) And king Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if it be not that Adonias has spoken this word against his own life. (24) And now as the Lord lives who has established me, and set me on the throne of my father David, and he has made me a house, as the Lord spoke, this day shall Adonias be put to death. (25) So king Solomon sent by the hand of Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he slew him, and Adonias died in that day. (26) And the king said to Abiathar the priest, Depart thou quickly to Anathoth to thy farm, for thou art worthy of death this day; but I will not slay thee, because thou hast borne the ark of the covenant of the Lord before my father, and because thou was afflicted in all things wherein my father was afflicted. (27) And Solomon removed Abiathar from being a priest of the Lord, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he spoke concerning the house of Heli in Selom. (28) And the report came to Joab son of Saruia; for Joab had turned after Adonias, and he went not after Solomon: and Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. (29) And it was told Solomon, saying, Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and lo! he has hold of the horns of the altar. And king Solomon sent to Joab, saying, What ails thee, that thou hast fled to the altar? and Joab said, Because I was afraid of thee, and fled for refuge to the Lord. And Solomon sent Banaeas son of Jodae, saying, Go and slay him, and bury him. (30) And Banaeas son of Jodae came to Joab to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. And Joab said, I will not come forth, for I will die here. And Banaeas son of Jodae returned and spoke to the king, saying, Thus has Joab spoken, and thus has he answered me. (31) And the king said to him, Go, and do to him as he has spoken, and kill him: and thou shalt bury him, and thou shalt remove this day the blood which he shed without cause, from me and from the house of my father. (32) And the Lord has returned upon his own head the blood of his unrighteousness, inasmuch as he attacked two men more righteous and better than himself, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew not of their blood, even Abenner the son of Ner the commander-in-chief of Israel, and Amessa the son of Jether the commander-in-chief of Juda. (33) And their blood is returned upon his head, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, may there be peace for ever from the Lord. (34) So Banaeas son of Jodae went up, and attacked him, and slew him, and buried him in his house in the wilderness. (35) And the king appointed Banaeas son of Jodae in his place over the host; and the kingdom was established in Jerusalem; and as for Sadoc the priest, the king appointed him to be high priest in the room of Abiathar. And Solomon son of David reigned over Israel and Juda in Jerusalem: and the Lord gave understanding to Solomon, and very much wisdom, and largeness of heart, as the sand by the sea-shore. And the wisdom of Solomon abounded exceedingly beyond the wisdom of all the ancients, and beyond all the wise men of Egypt: and he took the daughter of Pharao, and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord first, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. In seven years he made and finished them. And Solomon had seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eight thousand hewers of stone in the mountain: and Solomon made the sea, and the bases, and the great lavers, and the pillars, and the fountain of the court, and the brazen sea- and he built the citadel as a defence above it, he made a breach in the wall of the city of David: thus the daughter of Pharao went up out of the city of David to her house which he built for her. Then he built the citadel: and Solomon offered up three whole-burnt-offerings in the year, and peace-offerings on the altar which he built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord, and finished the house. And these are the chief persons who presided over the works of Solomon; three thousand and six hundred masters of the people that wrought the works. And he burit Assur, and Magdo, and Gazer, and upper Baethoron, and Ballath: only after he had built the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about, afterwards he built these cities. And when David was yet living, he charged Solomon, saying, Behold, there is with thee Semei the son of Gera, of the seed of Benjamin out of Chebron: he cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went into the camp; and he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, He shall not be slain with the sword. But now do not thou hold him guiltless, for thou art a man of understanding, and thou wilt know what thou shalt do to him, and thou shalt bring down his grey hairs with blood to the grave. (36) And the king called Semei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and thou shalt not go out thence any whither. (37) And it shall come to pass in the day that thou shalt go forth and cross over the brook Kedron, know assuredly that thou shalt certainly die: thy blood shall be upon thine head. And the king caused him to swear in that day. (38) And Semei said to the king, Good is the word that thou hast spoken, my lord O king: thus will thy servant do. And Semei dwelt in Jerusalem three years. (39) And it came to pass after the three years, that two servants of Semei ran away to Anchus son of Maacha king of Geth: and it was told Semei, saying, Behold, thy servants are in Geth. (40) And Semei rose up, and saddled his ass, and went to Geth to Anchus to seek out his servants: and Semei went, and brought his servants out of Geth. (41) And it was told Solomon, saying, Semei is gone out of Jerusalem to Geth, and has brought back his servants. (42) And the king sent and called Semei, and said to him, Did I not adjure thee by the Lord, and testify to thee, saying, In whatsoever day thou shalt go out of Jerusalem, and go to the right or left, know certainly that thou shalt assuredly die? (43) And why hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment which I commanded thee? (44) And the king said to Semei, Thou knowest all thy mischief which thy heart knows, which thou didst to David my father: and the Lord has recompensed thy mischief on thine own head. (45) And king Solomon is blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. (46) And Solomon commanded Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he went forth and slew him. And king Solomon was very prudent and wise: and Juda and Israel were very many, as the sand which is by the sea for multitude, eating, and drinking, and rejoicing: and Solomon was chief in all the kingdoms, and they brought gifts, and served Solomon all the days of his life. And Solomon began to open the domains of Libanus, and he built Thermae in the wilderness. And this was the daily provision of Solomon, thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of ground meal, ten choice calves, and twenty oxen from the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides stags, and does, and choice fed birds. For he ruled in all the country on this side the river, from Raphi unto Gaza, over all the kings on this side the river: and he was at peace on all sides round about; and Juda and Israel dwelt safely, every one under his vine and under his fig tree, eating and drinand feasting, from Dan even to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon. And these were the princes of Solomon; Azariu son of Sadoc the priest, and Orniu son of Nathan chief of the officers, and he went to his house; and Suba the scribe, and Basa son of Achithalam recorder, and Abi son of Joab commander-in-chief, and Achire son of Edrai was over the levies, and Banaeas son of Jodae over the household and over the brickwork, and Cachur the son of Nathan was counsellor. And Solomon had forty thousand brood mares for his chariots, and twelve thousand horses. And he reigned over all the kings from the river and to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt: so Solomon the son of David reigned over Israel and Juda in Jerusalem.

8

(1) And it came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and his own house after twenty years, then king Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel in Sion, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, this is Sion, (2) in the month of Athanin. (3) And the priests took up the ark, (4) and the tabernacle of testimony, and the holy furniture that was in the tabernacle of testimony. (5) And the king and all Israel were occupied before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, without number. (6) And the priests bring in the ark into its place, into the oracle of the house, even into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubs. (7) For the cherubs spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubs covered the ark and its holy things above. (8) And the holy staves projected, and the ends of the holy staves appeared out of the holy places in front of the oracle, and were not seen without. (9) There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which Moses put there in Choreb, which tables the Lord made as a covenant with the children of Israel in their going forth from the land of Egypt. (10) And it came to pass when the priests departed out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house. (11) And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, because the glory of the Lord filled the house. (12) (13) (14) And the king turned his face, and the king blessed all Israel, (and the whole assembly of Israel stood:) (15) and he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel to-day, who spoke by his mouth concerning David my father, and has fulfilled it with his hands, saying, (16) From the day that I brought out my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any one tribe of Israel to build a house, so that my name should be there: but I chose Jerusalem that my name should be there, and I chose David to be over my people Israel. (17) And it was in the heart of my father to build a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel. (18) And the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it came into thine heart to build a house to my name, thou didst well that it came upon thine heart. (19) Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house, but thy son that has proceeded out of thy bowels, he shall build the house to my name. (20) And the Lord has confirmed the word that he spoke, and I am risen up in the place of my father David, and I have sat down on the throne of Israel, as the Lord spoke, and I have built the house to the name of the Lord God of Israel. (21) And I have set there a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord, which the Lord made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. (22) And Solomon stood up in front of the altar before all the congregation of Israel; and he spread out his hands toward heaven: (23) and he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above and on the earth beneath, keeping covenant and mercy with thy servant who walks before thee with all his heart; (24) which thou hast kept toward thy servant David my father: for thou hast spoken by thy mouth and thou hast fulfilled it with thine hands, as at this day. (25) And now, O Lord God of Israel, keep for thy servant David my father, the promises which thou hast spoken to him, saying, There shall not be taken from thee a man sitting before me on the throne of Israel, provided only thy children shall take heed to their ways, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me. (26) And now, O Lord God of Israel, let, I pray thee, thy word to David my father be confirmed. (27) But will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? if the heaven and heaven of heavens will not suffice thee, how much less even this house which I have built to thy name? (28) Yet, O Lord God of Israel, thou shalt look upon my petition, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays to thee in thy presence this day, (29) that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place which thou saidst, My name shall be there, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays at this place day and night. (30) And thou shalt hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place; and thou shalt hear in thy dwelling-place in heaven, and thou shalt do and be gracious. (31) Whatsoever trespasses any one shall commit against his neighbor,—and if he shall take upon him an oath so that he should swear, and he shall come and make confession before thine altar in this house, (32) then shalt thou hear from heaven, and do, and thou shalt judge thy people Israel, that the wicked should be condemned, to recompense his way upon his head; and to justify the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness. (33) When thy people Israel falls before enemies, because they shall sin against thee, and they shall return and confess to thy name, and they shall pray and supplicate in this house, (34) then shalt thou hear from heaven, and be gracious to the sins of thy people Israel, and thou shalt restore them to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. (35) When the heaven is restrained, and there is no rain, because they shall sin against thee, and the shall pray toward this place, and they shall make confession to thy name, and shall turn from their sins when thou shalt have humbled them, (36) then thou shalt hear from heaven, and be merciful to the sins of thy servant and of thy people Israel; for thou shalt shew them the good way to walk in it, and thou shalt give rain upon the earth which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. (37) If there should be famine, if there should be death, because there should be blasting, locust, or if there be mildew, and if their enemy oppress them in any one of their cities, with regard to every calamity, every trouble, (38) every prayer, every supplication whatever shall be made by any man, as they shall know each the plague of his heart, and shall spread abroad his hands to this house, (39) then shalt thou hearken from heaven, out of thine established dwelling-place, and shalt be merciful, and shalt do, and recompense to every man according to his ways, as thou shalt know his heart, for thou alone knowest the heart of all the children of men: (40) that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land, which thou hast given to our fathers. (41) And for the stranger who is not of thy people, (42) when they shall come and pray toward this place, (43) then shalt thou hear them from heaven, out of thine established dwelling-place, and thou shalt do according to all that the stranger shall call upon thee for, that all the nations may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and may know that thy name has been called on this house which I have builded. (44) If it be that thy people shall go forth to war against their enemies in the way by which thou shalt turn them, and pray in the name of the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name, (45) then shalt thou hear from heaven their supplication and their prayer, and shalt execute judgment for them. (46) If it be that they shall sin against thee, (for there is not a man who will not sin,) and thou shalt bring them and deliver them up before their enemies, and they that take them captive shall carry them to a land far or near, (47) and they shall turn their hearts in the land whither they have been carried captives, and turn in the land of their sojourning, and supplicate thee, saying, We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have transgressed, (48) and they shall turn to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies whither thou hast carried them captives, and shall pray to thee toward their land which thou hast given to their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name: (49) then shalt thou hear from heaven thine established dwelling-place, (50) and thou shalt be merciful to their unrighteousness wherein they have trespassed against thee, and according to all their transgressions wherewith they have transgressed against thee, and thou shalt cause them to be pitied before them that carried them captives, and they shall have compassion on them: (51) for they are thy people and thine inheritance, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron. (52) And let thine eyes and thine ears be opened to the supplication of thy servant, and to the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken to them in all things for which they shall call upon thee. (53) Because thou hast set them apart for an inheritance to thyself out of all the nations of the earth, as thou spokest by the hand of thy servant Moses, when thou broughtest our fathers out of the land of Egypt, O Lord God.—Then spoke Solomon concerning the house, when he had finished building it—He manifested the sun in the heaven: the Lord said he would dwell in darkness: build thou my house, a beautiful house for thyself to dwell in anew. Behold, is not this written in the book of the song? (54) And it came to pass when Solomon had finished praying to the Lord all this prayer and supplication, that he rose up from before the altar of the Lord, after having knelt upon his knees, and his hands were spread out towards heaven. (55) And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, (56) Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he said: there has not failed one word among all his good words which he spoke by the hand of his servant Moses. (57) May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not desert us nor turn from us, (58) that he may turn our hearts toward him to walk in all his ways, and to keep all his commandments, and his ordinances which he commanded our fathers. (59) And let these words, which I have prayed before the Lord our God, be near to the Lord our God day and night, to maintain the cause of thy servant, and the cause of thy people Israel for ever. (60) that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord God, he is God, and there is none beside. (61) And let our hearts be perfect toward the Lord our God, to walk also holily in his ordinances, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. (62) And the king and all the children of Israel offered sacrifice before the Lord. (63) And king Solomon offered for the sacrifices of peace-offering which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and hundred and twenty thousand sheep: and the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. (64) In that day the king consecrated the middle of the court in the front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered the whole-burnt-offering, and the sacrifices, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which was before the Lord was too little to bear the whole-burnt-offering and the sacrifices of peace-offerings. (65) And Solomon kept the feast in that day, and all Israel with him, even a great assembly from the entering in of Hemath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God in the house which he built, eating and drinking, and rejoicing before the Lord our God seven days. (66) And on the eighth day he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and each departed to his tabernacle rejoicing, and their heart was glad because of the good things which the Lord had done to his servant David, and to Israel his people.

9

(1) And it came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the work of Solomon, whatever he wished to perform, (2) that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he appeared in Gabaon. (3) And the Lord said to him, I have heard the voice of thy prayer, and thy supplication which thou madest before me: I have done for thee according to all thy prayer: I have hallowed this house which thou hast built to put my name there for ever, and mine eyes and my heart shall be there always. (4) And if thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked, in holiness of heart and uprightness, and so as to do according to all that I commanded him, and shalt keep my ordinances and my commandments: (5) then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom in Israel for ever, as I spoke to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to rule in Israel. (6) But if ye or your children do in any wise revolt from me, and do not keep my commandments and my ordinances, which Moses set before you, and ye go and serve other gods, and worship them: (7) then will I cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and this house which I have consecrated to my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a desolation and a by-word to all nations. (8) And this house, which is high, shall be so that every one that passes by it shall be amazed, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Wherefore has the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house? (9) And men shall say, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought out their fathers from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and they attached themselves to strange gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore the Lord has brought this evil upon them. Then Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharao out of the city of David into his house which he built for himself in those days. (10) During twenty years in which Solomon was building the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, (11) Chiram king of Tyre helped Solomon with cedar wood, and fir wood, and with gold, and all that he wished for: then the king gave Chiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. (12) So Chiram departed from Tyre, and went into Galilee to see the cities which Solomon gave to him; and they pleased him not. And he said, (13) What are these cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them Boundary until this day. (14) And Chiram brought to Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold, (26) even that for which king Solomon built a ship in Gasion Gaber near Ælath on the shore of the extremity of the sea in the land of Edom. (27) And Chiram sent in the ship together with the servants of Solomon servants of his own, mariners to row, men acquainted with the sea. (28) And they came to Sophira, and took thence a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

17

(1) And Eliu the prophet, the Thesbite of Thesbae of Galaad, said to Achaab, As the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be these years dew nor rain, except by the word of my mouth. (2) And the word of the Lord came to Eliu, saying, (3) Depart hence eastward, and hide thee by the brook of Chorrath, that is before Jordan. (4) And it shall be that thou shalt drink water of the brook, and I will charge the ravens to feed thee there. (5) And Eliu did according to the word of the Lord, and he sat by the brook of Chorrath before Jordan. (6) And the ravens brought him loaves in the morning, and flesh in the evening and he drank water of the brook. (7) And it came to pass after some time, that the brook was dried up, because there had been no rain upon the earth. (8) And the word of the Lord came to Eliu, saying, (9) Arise, and go to Sarepta of the Sidonian land: behold, I have there commanded a widow-woman to maintain thee. (10) And he arose and went to Sarepta, and came to the gate of the city: and, behold, a widow-woman was there gathering sticks; and Eliu cried after her, and said to her, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. (11) And she went to fetch it; and Eliu cried after her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of the bread that is in thy hand. (12) And the woman said, As the Lord thy God lives, I have not a cake, but only a handful of meal in the pitcher, and a little oil in a cruse, and, behold, I am going to gather two sticks, and I shall go in and dress it for myself and my children, and we shall eat it and die. (13) And Eliu said to her, Be of good courage, go in and do according to thy word: but make me thereof a little cake, and thou shalt bring it out to me first, and thou shalt make some for thyself and thy children last. (14) For thus saith the Lord, The pitcher of meal shall not fail, and the cruse of oil shall not diminish, until the day that the Lord gives rain upon the earth. (15) And the woman went and did so, and did eat, she, and he, and her children. (16) And the pitcher of meal failed not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of Eliu. (17) And it came to pass afterward, that the son of the woman the mistress of the house was sick; and his sickness was very severe, until there was no breath left in him. (18) And she said to Eliu, What have I to do with thee, O man of God? hast thou come in to me to bring my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son? (19) And Eliu said to the woman, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and took him up to the chamber in which he himself lodged, and laid him on the bed. (20) And Eliu cried aloud, and said, Alas, O Lord, the witness of the widow with whom I sojourn, thou hast wrought evil for her in slaying her son. (21) And he breathed on the child thrice, and called on the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, let, I pray thee, the soul of this child return to him. (22) And it was so, and the child cried out, (23) and he brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; and Eliu said, See, thy son lives. (24) And the woman said to Eliu, Behold, I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

Second Kings

4

(1) And one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisaie, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the Lord: and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his servants. (2) And Elisaie said, What shall I do for thee? tell me what thou hast in the house. And she said, Thy servant has nothing in the house, except oil wherewith I anoint myself. (3) And he said to her, Go, borrow for thyself vessels without of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. (4) And thou shalt go in and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and thou shalt pour forth into these vessels, and remove that which is filled. (5) And she departed from him, and shut the door upon herself and upon her sons: they brought the vessels near to her, and she poured in until the vessels were filled. (6) And she said to her sons, Bring me yet a vessel. And they said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. (7) And she came and told the man of God: and Elisaie said, Go, and sell the oil, and thou shalt pay thy debts, and thou and thy sons shall live of the remaining oil. (8) And a day came, when Elisaie passed over to Soman, and there was a great lady there, and she constrained him to eat bread: and it came to pass as often as he went into the city, that he turned aside to eat there. (9) And the woman said to her husband, See now, I know that this is a holy man of God who comes over continually to us. (10) Let us now make for him an upper chamber, a small place; and let us put there for him a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall come to pass that when he comes in to us, he shall turn in thither. (11) And a day came, and he went in thither, and turned aside into the upper chamber, and lay there. (12) And he said to Giezi his servant, Call me this Somanite. and he called her, and she stood before him. (13) And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast taken all this trouble for us; what should I do for thee? Hast thou any request to make to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell in the midst of my people. (14) And he said to Giezi, What must we do for her? and Giezi his servant said, Indeed she has no son, and her husband is old. (15) And he called her, and she stood by the door. (16) And Elisaie said to her, At this time next year, as the season is, thou shalt be alive, and embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, do not lie to thy servant. (17) And the woman conceived, and bore a son at the very time, as the season was, being alive, as Elisaie said to her. (18) And the child grew: and it came to pass when he went out to his father to the reapers, (19) that he said to his father, My head, my head. and his father said to a servant, carry him to his mother. (20) And he carried him to his mother, and he lay upon her knees till noon, and died. (21) And she carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of god; and she shut the door upon him, and went out. (22) And she called her husband, and said, Send now for me one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will ride quickly to the man of God, and return. (23) And he said, Why art thou going to him to-day? It is neither new moon, nor the Sabbath. And she said, It is well. (24) And she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Be quick, proceed: spare not on my account to ride, unless I shall tell thee. Go, and thou shalt proceed, and come to the man of God to mount Carmel. (25) And she rode and came to the man of God to the mountain: and it came to pass when Elisaie saw her coming, that he said to Giezi his servant, See now, that Somanite comes. (26) Now run to meet her, and thou shalt say, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? and she said, It is well. (27) And she came to Elisaie to the mountain, and laid hold of his feet; and Giezi drew near to thrust her away. And Elisaie said, Let her alone, for her soul is much grieved in her, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told it me. (28) And she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? For did I not say, Do not deal deceitfully with me? (29) And Elisaie said to Giezi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go: if thou meet any man, thou shalt not salute him, and if a man salute thee thou shalt not answer him: and thou shalt lay my staff on the child’s face. (30) And the mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And Elisaie arose, and went after her. (31) And Giezi went on before her, and laid his staff on the child’s face: but there was neither voice nor any hearing. So he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. (32) And Elisaie went into the house, and, behold, the dead child was laid upon his bed. (33) And Elisaie went into the house, and shut the door upon themselves, the two, and prayed to the Lord. (34) And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and bowed himself upon him, and the flesh of the child grew warm. (35) And he returned, and walked up and down in the house: and he went up, and bowed himself on the child seven times; and the child opened his eyes. (36) And Elisaie cried out to Giezi, and said, Call this Somanite. So he called her, and she came in to him: and Elisaie said, Take thy son. (37) And the woman went in, and fell at his feet, and did obeisance bowing to the ground; and she took her son, and went out. (38) And Elisaie returned to Galgala: and a famine was in the land; and the sons of the prophets sat before him: and Elisaie said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. (39) And he went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a vine in the field, and gathered of it wild gourds, his garment full; and he cast it into the caldron of pottage, for they knew them not. (40) And he poured it out for the men to eat: and it came to pass, when they were eating of the pottage, that lo! they cried out, and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat. (41) And he said, Take meal, and cast it into the pot. And Elisaie said to his servant Giezi, Pour out for the people, and let them eat. And there was no longer there any hurtful thing in the pot. (42) And there came a man over from Baetharisa, and brought to the man of God twenty barley loaves and cakes of figs, of the first-fruits. And he said, Give to the people, and let them eat. (43) And his servant said, Why should I set this before a hundred men? and he said, Give to the people, and let them eat; for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat and leave. (44) And they ate and left, according to the word of the Lord.

First Chronicles

15 16 28 29

15

(1) And David made for himself houses in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and made a tent for it. (2) Then said David, It is not lawful for any to bear the ark of God, but the Levites; for the Lord has chosen them to bear the ark of the Lord, and to minister to him for ever. (3) And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place which he had prepared for it. (4) And David gathered together the sons of Aaron the Levites. (5) Of the sons of Caath; there was Uriel the chief, and his brethren, a hundred and twenty. (6) Of the sons of Merari; Asaia the chief, and his brethren, two hundred and twenty. (7) Of the sons of Gedson; Joel the chief, and his brethren, a hundred and thirty. (8) Of the sons of Elisaphat; Semei the chief, and his brethren, two hundred. (9) Of the sons of Chebrom; Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty. (10) Of the sons of Oziel; Aminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. (11) And David called Sadoc and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites, Uriel, Asaia, and Joel, and Semaia, and Eliel, and Aminadab, (12) and said to them, Ye are the heads of the families of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, and ye shall carry up the ark of the God of Israel, to the place which I have prepared for it. (13) For because ye were not ready at the first, our God made a breach upon us, because we sought him not according to the ordinance. (14) So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves, to bring up the ark of the God of Israel. (15) And the sons of the Levites took the ark of God, (as Moses commanded by the word of God according to the scripture) upon their shoulders with staves. (16) And David said to the chiefs of the Levites, Set your brethren the singers with musical instruments, lutes, harps, and cymbals, to sound aloud with a voice of joy. (17) So the Levites appointed Æman the son of Joel; Asaph the son of Barachias was one of his brethren; and Æthan the son of Kisaeus was of the sons of Merari their brethren; (18) and with them their brethren of the second rank, Zacharias, and Oziel, and Semiramoth, and Jeiel, and Elioel, and Eliab, and Banaia, and Maasaia, and Matthathia, and Eliphena, and Makellia, and Abdedom, and Jeiel, and Ozias, the porters. (19) And the singers, Æman, Asaph, and Æthan, with brazen cymbals to make a sound to be heard. (20) Zacharias, and Oziel, Semiramoth, Jeiel, Oni, Eliab, Maasaeas, Banaeas, with lutes, on alaemoth. (21) And Mattathias, and Eliphalu, and Makenia, and Abdedom, and Jeiel, and Ozias, with harps of Amasenith, to make a loud noise. (22) And Chonenia chief of the Levites was master of the bands, because he was skilful. (23) And Barachia and Elcana were door-keepers of the ark. (24) And Somnia, and Josaphat, and Nathanael, and Amasai, and Zacharia, and Banaea, and Eliezer, the priests, were sounding with trumpets before the ark of God: and Abdedom and Jeia were door-keepers of the ark of God. (25) So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains of thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant from the house of Abdedom with gladness. (26) And it came to pass when God strengthened the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they sacrificed seven calves and seven rams. (27) And David was girt with a fine linen robe, and all the Levites who were bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the singers, and Chonenias the master of the band of singers; also upon David there was a robe of fine linen. (28) And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a horn, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, playing loudly on lutes and harps. (29) And the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived, and came to the city of David; and Melchol the daughter of Saul looked down through the window, and saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

16

(1) So they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle which David pitched for it; and they offered whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God. (2) And David finished offering up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the Lord. (3) And he divided to every man of Israel (both men and women), to every man one baker’s loaf, and a cake. (4) And he appointed before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Levites to minister and lift up the voice, and to give thanks and praise the Lord God of Israel: (5) Asaph was the chief, and next to him Zacharias, Jeiel, Semiramoth, and Jeiel, Mattathias, Eliab, and Banaeas, and Abdedom: and Jeiel sounding with musical instruments, lutes and harps, and Asaph with cymbals: (6) and Banaeas and Oziel the priests sounding continually with trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God in that day. (7) Then David first gave orders to praise the Lord by the hand of Asaph and his brethren. (8) Song. Give thanks to the Lord, call upon him by his name, make known his designs among the people. (9) Sing songs to him, and sing hymns to him, relate to all people his wonderful deeds, which the Lord has wrought. (10) Praise his holy name, the heart that seeks his pleasure shall rejoice. (11) Seek the Lord and be strong, seek his face continually. (12) Remember his wonderful works which he has wrought, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (13) ye seed of Israel his servants, ye seed of Jacob his chosen ones. (14) He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. (15) Let us remember his covenant for ever, his word which he commanded to a thousand generations, (16) which he covenanted with Abraham, and his oath sworn to Isaac. (17) He confirmed it to Jacob for an ordinance, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, (18) saying, To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the line of your inheritance: (19) when they were few in number, when they were but little, and dwelt as strangers in it; (20) and went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people. (21) He suffered not a man to oppress them, and he reproved kings for their sakes, (22) saying, Touch not my anointed ones, and deal not wrongfully with my prophets. (23) Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation from day to day. (24) Declare among the nations his glory, his wondrous deeds among all peoples. (25) For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. (26) For all the gods of the nations are idols; but our God made the heavens. (27) Glory and praise are in his presence; strength and rejoicing are in his place. (28) Give to the Lord, ye families of the nations, give to the Lord glory and strength. (29) Give to the Lord the glory belonging to his name: take gifts and offer them before him; and worship the Lord in his holy courts. (30) Let the whole earth fear before him; let the earth be established, and not be moved. (31) Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth exult; and let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns. (32) The sea with its fullness shall resound and the tree of the field, and all things in it. (33) Then shall the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord, for he is come to judge the earth. (34) Give thanks to the Lord, for it is good, for his mercy is for ever. (35) And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us, and rescue us from among the heathen, that we may praise thy holy name, and glory in thy praises. (36) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting: And all the people shall say, Amen. So they praised the Lord. (37) And they left there Asaph and his brethren before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to minister before the ark continually, according to the service of each day: from day to day. (38) And Abdedom and his brethren were sixty and eight; and Abdedom the son of Idithun, and Osa, were to be door-keepers. (39) And they appointed Sadoc the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place in Gabaon, (40) to offer up whole-burnt-offerings continually morning and evening, and according to all things written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded the children of Israel by Moses the servant of God. (41) And with him were Æman and Idithun, and the rest chosen out by name to praise the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever. (42) And with them there were trumpets and cymbals to sound aloud, and musical instruments for the songs of God: and the sons of Idithun were at the gate. (43) And all the people went every one to his home: and David returned to bless his house.

28

(1) And David assembled all the chief men of Israel, the chief of the judges, and all the chief men of the courses of attendance on the person of the king, and the captains of thousands and hundreds, and the treasurers, and the lords of his substance, and of all the king’s property, and of his sons, together with the eunuchs, and the mighty men, and the warriors of the army, at Jerusalem. (2) And David stood in the midst of the assembly, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and a place for the feet of our Lord, and I prepared materials suitable for the building: (3) but God said, Thou shalt not build me a house to call my name upon it, for thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood. (4) Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of the whole house of my father to be king over Israel for ever; and he chose Juda as the kingly house, and out of the house of Juda he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he preferred me, that I should be king over all Israel. (5) And of all my sons, (for the Lord has given me many sons,)he has chosen Solomon my son, to set him on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. (6) And God said to me, Solomon thy son shall build my house and my court: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be to him a father. (7) And I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he continue to keep my commandments, and my judgments, as at this day. (8) And now I charge you before the whole assembly of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek all the commandments of the Lord our God, that ye may inherit the good land, and leave it for your sons to inherit after you for ever. (9) And now, my son Solomon, know the God of thy fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and willing soul: for the Lord searches all hearts, and knows every thought: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou shouldest forsake him, he will forsake thee for ever. (10) See now, for the Lord has chosen thee to build him a house for a sanctuary, be strong and do it. (11) And David gave Solomon his son the plan of the temple, and its buildings, and its treasuries, and its upper chambers, and the inner store-rooms, and the place of the atonement, (12) and the plan which he had in his mind of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, designed for the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the holy things, and of the chambers for resting: (13) and the plan of the courses of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and of the stores of vessels for ministration of the service of the house of the Lord. (14) And he gave him the account of their weight, both of gold and silver vessels. (15) He gave him the weight of the candlesticks, and of the lamps. (16) He gave him likewise the weight of the tables of shewbread, of each table of gold, and likewise of the tables of silver: (17) also of the flesh-hooks, and vessels for drink-offering, and golden bowls: and the weight of the gold and silver articles, and censers, and bowls, according to the weight of each. (18) And he shewed him the weight of the utensils of the altar of incense, which was of pure gold, and the plan of the chariot of the cherubs that spread out their wings, and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. (19) David gave all to Solomon in the Lord’s handwriting, according to the knowledge given him of the work of the pattern. (20) And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong, and play the man, and do: fear not, neither be terrified; for the Lord my God is with thee; he will not forsake thee, and will not fail thee, until thou hast finished all the work of the service of the house of the Lord. And behold the pattern of the temple, even his house, and its treasury, and the upper chambers, and the inner store-rooms, and the place of propitiation, and the plan of the house of the Lord. (21) And see, here are the courses of the priests and Levites for all the service of the house of the Lord, and there shall be with thee men for every workmanship, and every one of ready skill in every art: also the chief men and all the people, ready for all thy commands.

29

(1) And David the king said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom the Lord has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great; for it is not for man, but for the Lord God. (2) I have prepared according to all my might for the house of my God gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx stones, and costly and variegated stones for setting, and every precious stone, and much Parian marble. (3) And still farther, because I took pleasure in the house of my God, I have gold and silver which I have procured for myself, and, behold, I have given them to the house of my God over and above, beyond what I have prepared for the holy house. (4) Three thousand talents of gold of Suphir, and seven thousand talents of fine silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the sanctuary: (5) for thee to use the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for every work by the hand of the artificers. And who is willing to dedicate himself in work this day for the Lord? (6) Then the heads of families, and the princes of the children of Israel, and the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and the overseers of the works, and the king’s builders, offered willingly. (7) And they gave for the works of the house of the Lord five thousand talents of gold, and ten thousand gold pieces, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. (8) And they who had precious stone, gave it into the treasuries of the house of the Lord by the hand of Jeiel the Gedsonite. (9) And the people rejoiced because of the willingness, for they offered willingly to the Lord with a full heart: and king David rejoiced greatly. (10) And king David blessed the Lord before the congregation, saying, Blessed art thou, O Lord God of Israel, our Father, from everlasting and to everlasting. (11) Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the might: for thou art Lord of all things that are in heaven and upon the earth: before thy face every king and nation is troubled. (12) From thee come wealth and glory: thou, O Lord, rulest over all, the Lord of all dominion, and in thy hand is strength and rule; and thou art almighty with thy hand to increase and establish all things. (13) And now, Lord, we give thanks to thee, and praise thy glorious name. (14) But who am I, and what is my people, that we have been able to be thus forward in offering to thee? for all things are thine, and of thine own have we given thee, (15) for we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days upon the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. (16) O Lord our God, as for all this abundance which I have prepared that a house should be built to thy holy name, it is of thy hand, and all is thine. (17) And I know, Lord, that thou art he that searches the hearts, and thou lovest righteousness. I have willingly offered all these things in simplicity of heart; and now I have seen with joy thy people here present, willingly offering to thee. (18) O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, preserve these things in the thought of the heart of thy people for ever, and direct their hearts to thee. (19) And to Solomon my son give a good heart, to perform thy commandments, and to observe thy testimonies, and thine ordinances, and to accomplish the building of thy house. (20) And David said to the whole congregation, Bless ye the Lord our God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and they bowed the knee and worshipped the Lord, and did obeisance to the king. (21) And David sacrificed to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord on the morrow after the first day, a thousand calves, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, and their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. (22) And they ate and drank joyfully that day before the Lord: and they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and anointed him king before the Lord, and Sadoc to the priesthood. (23) And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and was highly honoured; and all Israel obeyed him. (24) The princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons of king David his father, were subject to him. (25) And the Lord magnified Solomon over all Israel, and gave him royal glory, such as was not upon any king before him. (26) And David the son of Jessae reigned over Israel forty years; (27) seven years in Chebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. (28) And he died in a good old age, full of days, in wealth, and glory: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. (29) And the rest of the acts of David, the former and the latter, are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer, (30) concerning all his reign, and his power, and the times which went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the earth.

Second Chronicles

3 4 5 6 7

3

(1) And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in the mount of Amoria, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place which David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. (2) And he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. (3) And thus Solomon began to build the house of God: the length in cubits—even the first measurement from end to end, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. (4) And the portico in front of the house, its length in front of the breadth of the house was twenty cubits, and its height a hundred and twenty cubits: and he gilded it within with pure gold. (5) And he lined the great house with cedar wood, and gilded it with pure gold, and carved upon it palm-trees and chains. (6) And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty; and he gilded it with gold of the gold from Pharuim. (7) And he gilded the house, and its inner walls, and the door-posts, and the roofs, and the doors with gold; and he carved cherubs on the walls. (8) And he built the holy of holies, its length was according to the front of the other house, the breadth of the house was twenty cubits, and the length twenty cubits: and he gilded it with pure gold for cherubs, to the amount of six hundred talents. (9) And the weight of the nails, even the weight of each was fifty shekels of gold: and he gilded the upper chamber with gold. (10) And he made two cherubs in the most holy house, wood-work, and he gilded them with gold. (11) And the wings of the cherubs were twenty cubits in length: and one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house: and the other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the other cherub. (12) (13) And the wings of these cherubs expanded were of the length of twenty cubits: and they stood upon their feet, and their faces were toward the house. (14) And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and wove cherubs in it. (15) Also he made in front of the house two pillars, in height thirty-five cubits, and their chapters of five cubits. (16) And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. (17) And he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left: and he called the name of the one on the right hand ‘Stability,’ and the name of the one on the left ‘Strength.’

4

(1) And he made a brazen altar, the length of it twenty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits, and the height ten cubits. (2) And he made the molten sea, in diameter ten cubits, entirely round, and the height of it five cubits, and the circumference thirty cubits. (3) And beneath it the likeness of calves, they compass it round about: ten cubits compass the laver round about, they cast the calves two rows in their casting, (4) wherein they made them twelve calves, —three looking northwards, and three westwards, and three southwards, and three eastwards: and the sea was upon them above, and their hinder parts were inward. (5) And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim as the brim of a cup, graven with flowers of lilies, holding three thousand measures: and he finished it. (6) And he made ten lavers, and set five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them the instruments of the whole-burnt-offerings, and to rinse the vessels in them; and the sea was for the priests to wash in. (7) And he made the ten golden candlesticks according to their pattern, and he put them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. (8) And he made ten tables, and put them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left: and he made a hundred golden bowls. (9) Also he made the priests’ court, and the great court, and doors to the court, and their panels were overlaid with brass. (10) And he set the sea at the corner of the house on the right, as it were fronting the east. (11) And Chiram made the fleshhooks, and the fire-pans, and the grate of the altar, and all its instruments: and Chiram finished doing all the work which he wrought for king Solomon in the house of God: (12) two pillars, and upon them an embossed work for the chapiters on the heads of the two pillars, and two nets to cover the heads of the chapiters which are on the heads of the pillars; (13) and four hundred golden bells for the two nets, and two rows of pomegranates in each net, to cover the two embossed rims of the chapiters which are upon the pillars. (14) And he made the ten bases, and he made the lavers upon the bases; (15) and the one sea, and the twelve calves under it; (16) and the foot-baths, and the buckets, and the caldrons, and the flesh-hooks, and all their furniture (which Chiram made, and brought to king Solomon in the house of the Lord) of pure brass. (17) In the country round about Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground in the house of Socchoth, and between that and Saredatha. (18) So Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance, for the quantity of brass failed not. (19) And Solomon made all the vessels of the house of the Lord, and the golden altar, and the tables, and upon them were to be the loaves of shewbread; (20) also the candlesticks, and the lamps to give light according to the pattern, and in front of the oracle, of pure gold. (21) And their snuffers, and their lamps were made, and he made the bowls, and the censers, and the fire-pans, of pure gold. (22) And there was the inner door of the house opening into the holy of holies, and he made the inner doors of the temple of gold.

5

So all the work which Solomon wrought for the house of the Lord was finished. (1) And Solomon brought in the holy things of his father David, the silver, and the gold, and the other vessels, and put them in the treasury of the house of the Lord. (2) Then Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, even the leaders of the families of the children of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, —this is Sion. (3) And all Israel were assembled unto the king in the feast, this is the seventh month. (4) And all the elders of Israel came; and all the Levites took up the ark, (5) and the tabernacle of witness, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle; and the priests and the Levites brought it up. (6) And king Solomon, and all the elders of Israel, and the religious of them, and they of them that were gathered before the ark, were sacrificing calves and sheep, which could not be numbered or reckoned for multitude. (7) And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the house, even into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubs. (8) And the cherubs stretched out their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubs covered the ark, and its staves above. (9) And the staves projected, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place in front of the oracle, they were not seen without: and there they were to this day. (10) There was nothing in the ark except the two tables which Moses placed there in Choreb, which God gave in covenant with the children of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt. (11) And it came to pass, when the priests when out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were found were sanctified, they were not then arranged according to their daily course,) (12) that all the singing Levites assigned to the sons of Asaph, to Æman, to Idithun, and to his sons, and to his brethren, of them that were clothed in linen garments, with cymbals and lutes and harps, were standing before the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests, blowing trumpets. (13) And there was one voice in the trumpeting and in the psalm-singing, and in the loud utterance with one voice to give thanks and praise the Lord; and when they raised their voice together with trumpets and cymbals, and instruments of music, and said, Give thanks to the Lord, for it is good, for his mercy endures for ever:—then the house was filled with the cloud of the glory of the Lord. (14) And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

6

(1) Then said Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in thick darkness. (2) But I have built a house to thy name, holy to thee, and prepared for thee to dwell in for ever. (3) And the king turned his face, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood by. (4) And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: he has even fulfilled with his hands as he spoke with his mouth to my father David, saying, (5) From the day when I brought up my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house that my name should be there; neither did I choose a man to be a leader over my people Israel. (6) But I chose Jerusalem that my name should be there; and I chose David to be over my people Israel. (7) And it came into the heart of David my father, to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. (8) But the Lord said to my father David, Whereas it came into thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it came into thy heart. (9) Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; for thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. (10) And the Lord has confirmed this word, which he spoke; and I am raised up in the room of my father David, and I sit upon the throne of Israel as the Lord said, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel: (11) and I have set there the ark in which is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with Israel. (12) And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread out his hands. (13) For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and set it in the midst of the court of the sanctuary; the length of it was five cubits, and the breadth of it five cubits, and the height of it three cubits: and he stood upon it, and fell upon his knees before the whole congregation of Israel, and spread abroad his hands to heaven, (14) and said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven, or on the earth; keeping covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with their whole heart. (15) Even as thou hast kept them with thy servant David my father, as thou hast spoken to him in words:—thou hast both spoken with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hands, as it is this day. (16) and now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father the things which thou spokest to him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man before me sitting on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons will take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou didst walk before me. (17) And now, Lord God of Israel, let, I pray thee, thy word be confirmed, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David. (18) For will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? if the heaven and the heaven of heavens will not suffice thee, what then is this house which I have built? (19) Yet thou shalt have respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to my petition, O Lord God, so as to hearken to the petition and the prayer which thy servant prays before thee this day: (20) so that thine eyes should be open over this house by day and by night, towards this place, whereon thou saidst thy name should be called, so as to hear the prayer which thy servant prays towards this house. (21) And thou shalt hear the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoever prayers they shall make towards this place: and thou shalt hearken in thy dwelling-place out of heaven, yea thou shalt hear, and be merciful. (22) If a man sin against his neighbour, and he bring an oath upon him so as to make him swear, and he come and swear before the altar in this house; (23) then shalt thou hearken out of heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, to recompense the transgressor, and to return his ways upon his head: and to justify the righteous, to recompense him according to his righteousness. (24) And if thy people Israel should be put to the worse before the enemy, if they should sin against thee, and then turn and confess to thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; (25) then shalt thou hearken out of heaven and shalt be merciful to the sins of thy people Israel, and thou shalt restore them to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. (26) When heaven is restrained, and there is no rain, because they shall have sinned against thee, and when they shall pray towards this place, and praise thy name, and shall turn from their sins, because thou shalt afflict them; (27) then shalt thou hearken from heaven, and thou shalt be merciful to the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel; for thou shalt shew them the good way in which they shall walk; and thou shalt send rain upon thy land, which thou gavest to thy people for an inheritance. (28) If there should be famine upon the land, if there should be death, a pestilent wind an blight; if there should be locust and caterpiller, and if the enemy should harass them before their cities: in whatever plague and whatever distress they may be; (29) Then whatever prayer and whatever supplication shall be made by any man and all thy people Israel, if a man should know his own plague and his own sickness, and should spread forth his hands toward this house; (30) then shalt thou hear from heaven, out of thy prepared dwelling-place, and shalt be merciful, and shalt recompense to the man according to his ways, as thou shalt know his heart to be; for thou alone knowest the heart of the children of men: (31) that they may reverence all thy ways all the days which they live upon the face of the land, which thou gavest to our fathers. (32) And every stranger who is not himself of thy people Israel, and who shall have come from a distant land because of thy great name, and thy mighty hand, and thy high arm; when they shall come and worship toward this place; — (33) then shalt thou hearken out of heaven, out of thy prepared dwelling-place, and shalt do according to all that the stranger shall call upon thee for; that all the nations of the earth may know thy name, and that they may fear thee, as thy people Israel do, and that they may know that thy name is called upon this house which I have built. (34) And if thy people shall go forth to war against their enemies by the way by which thou shalt send them, and shall pray to thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built to thy name; (35) then shalt thou hear out of heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. (36) Whereas if they shall sin against thee, (for there is no man who will not sin,) and thou shalt smite them, and deliver them up before their enemies, and they that take them captive shall carry them away into a land of enemies, to a land far off or near; (37) and if they shall repent in their land whither they were carried captive, and shall also turn and make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have transgressed, we have wrought unrighteously; (38) and if they shall turn to thee with all their heart and all their soul in the land of them that carried them captives, whither they carried them captives, and shall pray toward their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and the city which thou didst choose, and the house which I built to thy name:— (39) then shalt thou hear out of heaven, out of thy prepared dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplication, and thou shalt execute justice, and shalt be merciful to thy people that sin against thee. (40) And now, Lord, let, I pray thee, thine eyes be opened, and thine ears be attentive to the petition made in this place. (41) And now, O Lord God, arise into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, clothe themselves with salvation, and thy sons rejoice in prosperity. (42) O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of thy servant David.

7

(1) And when Solomon had finished praying, then the fire came down from heaven, and devoured the whole-burnt-offerings and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. (2) And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord at that time, for the glory of the Lord filled the house. (3) And all the children of Israel saw the fire descending, and the glory of the Lord was upon the house: and they fell upon their face to the ground on the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord; for it is good to do so, because his mercy endures for ever. (4) And the king and all the people were offering sacrifices before the Lord. (5) And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of calves twenty and two thousand, of sheep a hundred and twenty thousand: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. (6) And the priests were standing at their watches, and the Levites with instruments of music of the Lord, belonging to king David, to give thanks before the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever, with the hymns of David, by their ministry: and the priests were blowing the trumpets before them, and all Israel standing. (7) And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in the house of the Lord: for he offered there the whole-burnt-offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings, for the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not sufficient to receive the whole-burnt-offerings, and the meat-offerings, and the fat. (8) And Solomon kept the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entering in of Æmath, and as far as the river of Egypt. (9) And on the eighth day he kept a solemn assembly: for he kept a feast of seven days as the dedication of the altar. (10) And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he dismissed the people to their tents, rejoicing, and with a glad heart because of the good deeds which the Lord had done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. (11) So Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king’s house: and in whatever Solomon wished in his heart to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house, he prospered. (12) And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. (13) If I should restrain the heaven and there should be no rain, and if I should command the locust to devour the trees, and if I should send pestilence upon my people; (14) then if my people, on whom my name is called, should repent, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, I also will hear from heaven, and I will be merciful to their sins, and I will heal their land. (15) And now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place. (16) And now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that my name should be there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there always. (17) And if thou wilt walk before me as David thy father did, and wilt do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances and my judgments; (18) then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man ruling in Israel. (19) But if ye should turn away, and forsake my ordinances and my commandments, which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them; (20) then will I remove you from the land which I gave them; and this house which I have consecrated to my name I will remove out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a by-word among all nations. (21) And as for this lofty house, every one that passes by it shall be amazed, and shall say, Wherefore has the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house? (22) And men shall say, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they attached themselves to other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: and therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

A 1 2 3 4 C D 5 6 7 8 9 10 F

A

In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great king, on the first day of Nisan, Mardochaeus the son of Jarius, the son of Semeias, the son of Cisaus, of the tribe of Benjamine, a Jew dwelling in the city Susa, a great man, serving in the king's palace, saw a vision. Now he was of the captivity which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried captive from Jerusalem, with Jachonias the king of Judea. And this was his dream: Behold, voices and a noise, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth. And, behold, two great serpents came forth, both ready for conflict, and there came from them a great voice, and by their voice every nation was prepared for battle, even to fight against the nation of the just. And, behold, a day of darkness and blackness, tribulation and anguish, affection and tumult upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own afflictions; and they prepared to die, and cried to God: and from their cry there came as it were a great river from a little fountain, even much water. (10) And light and the sun arose, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the honorable. And Mardochaeus who had seen this vision and what God desired to do, having awoke, kept it in his heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even till night. And Mardochaeus rested quiet in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha the king's two chamberlains, eunuchs who guarded the palace. And he heard their reasoning and searched out their plans, and learnt that they were preparing to lay hands on king Artaxerxes: and he informed the king concerning them. And the king examined the two chamberlains, and they confessed, and were executed. And the king wrote these things for a memorial: also Mardochaeus wrote concerning these matters. And the king commanded Mardochaeus to attend in the palace, and gave gifts for this service. And Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugean was honourable in the sight of the king, and he endeavored to hurt Mardochaeus and his people, because of the two chamberlains of the king.

1

(1) And it came to pass after these things in the days of Artaxerxes, — (this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India)— (2) in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa, (3) in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to his friends, and the other nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps. (4) And after this, after he had shewn to them the wealth of his kingdom, and the abundant glory of his wealth during a hundred and eighty days, (5) when, I say, the days of the marriage feast were completed, the king made a banquet to the nations who were present in the city six days, in the court of the king’s house, (6) which was adorned with hangings of fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs, on pillars of Parian marble and stone: there were golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl, and of Parian stone, and open-worked coverings variously flowered, having roses worked round about; (7) gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out of the value of thirty thousand talents, abundant and sweet wine, which the king himself drank. (8) And this banquet was not according to the appointed law; but so the king would have it: and he charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company. (9) Also Astin the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where king Artaxerxes dwelt. (10) Now on the seventh day the king, being merry, told Aman, and Bazan, and Tharrha, and Barazi, and Zatholtha, and Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven chamberlains, servants of king Artaxerxes, (11) to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to shew her to the princes, and her beauty to the nations: for she was beautiful. (12) But queen Astin hearkened not to him to come with the chamberlains: so the king was grieved and angered. (13) And he said to his friends, Thus hast Astin spoken: pronounce therefore upon this case law and judgment. (14) So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief in rank by the king, drew near to him, (15) and reported to him according to the laws how it was proper to do to queen Astin, because she had not done the things commanded of the king by the chamberlains. (16) And Muchaeus said to the king and to the princes, Queen Astin has not wronged the king only, but also all the king’s rulers and princes: (17) for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she disobeyed the king. As then, said he, she refused to obey king Artaxerxes, (18) so this day shall the other ladies of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes, having heard what she said to the king, dare in the same way to dishonour their husbands. (19) If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter it: and let not the queen come in to him any more; and let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she. (20) And let the law of the king which he shall have made, be widely proclaimed, in his kingdom: and so shall all the women give honour to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich. (21) And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said, (22) and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to their language, in order that men might be feared in their own houses.

2

(1) And after this the king’s anger was pacified, and he no more mentioned Astin, bearing in mind what she had said, and how he had condemned her. (2) Then the servants of the king said, Let there be sought for the king chaste and beautiful young virgins. (3) And let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select fair and chaste young damsels and bring them to the city Susa, into the women’s apartment, and let them be consigned to the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women; and let things for purification and other attendance be given to them. (4) And let the woman who shall please the king be queen instead of Astin. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. (5) Now there was a Jew in the city Susa, and his name was Mardochaeus, the son of Jairus, the son of Semeias, the son of Cisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin; (6) who had been brought a prisoner from Jerusalem, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried into captivity. (7) And he had a foster child, daughter of Aminadab his father’s brother, and her name was Esther; and when her parents were dead, he brought her up for a wife for himself: and the damsel was beautiful. (8) And because the king’s ordinance was published, many damsels were gathered to the city Susa under the hand of Gai; and Esther was brought to Gai the keeper of the women. (9) And the damsel pleased him, and she found favour in his sight; and he hasted to give her the things for purification, and her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the palace: and he treated her and her maidens well in the women’s apartment. (10) But Esther discovered not her family nor her kindred: for Mardochaeus had charged her not to tell. (11) But Mardochaeus used to walk every day by the women’s court, to see what would become of Esther. (12) Now this was the time for a virgin to go into the king, when she should have fulfilled twelve months; for so are the days of purification fulfilled, six months while they are anointing themselves with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and women’s purifications. (13) And then the damsel goes in to the king; and the officer to whomsoever he shall give the command, will bring her to come in with him from the women’s apartment to the king’s chamber. (14) She enters in the evening, and in the morning she departs to the second women’s apartment, where Gai the king’s chamberlain is keeper of the women: and she goes not in to the king again, unless she should be called by name. (15) And when the time. was fulfilled for Esther the daughter of Aminadab the brother of Mardochaeus’ father to go in to the king, she neglected nothing which the chamberlain, the women’s keeper, commanded; for Esther found grace in the sight of all that looked upon her. (16) So Esther went in to king Artaxerxes in the twelfth month, which is Adar, in the seventh year of his reign. (17) And the king loved Esther, and she found favour beyond all the other virgins: and he put on her the queen’s crown. (18) And the king made a banquet for all his friends and great men for seven days, and he highly celebrated the marriage of Esther; and he made a release to those who were under his dominion. (19) But Mardochaeus served in the palace. (20) Now Esther had not discovered her kindred; for so Mardochaeus commanded her, to fear God, and perform his commandments, as when she was with him: and Esther changed not her manner of life. (21) And two chamberlains of the king, the chiefs of the body-guard, were grieved, because Mardochaeus was promoted; and they sought to kill king Artaxerxes. (22) And the matter was discovered to Mardochaeus, and he made it known to Esther, and she declared to the king the matter of the conspiracy. (23) And the king examined the two chamberlains, and hanged them: and the king gave orders to make a note for a memorial in the royal records of the good offices of Mardochaeus, as a commendation.

3

(1) And after this king Artaxerxes highly honoured Aman son of Amadathes, the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends. (2) And all in the palace did him obeisance, for so the king had given orders to do: but Mardochaeus did not do him obeisance. (3) And they in the king’s palace said to Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why dost thou transgress the commands of the king? (4) Thus they spoke daily to him, but he hearkened not unto them; so they represented to Aman that Mardochaeus resisted the commands of the king: and Mardochaeus had shewn to them that he was a Jew. (5) And when Aman understood that Mardochaeus did not obeisance to him, he was greatly enraged, (6) and took counsel to destroy utterly all the Jews who were under the rule of Artaxerxes. (7) And he made a decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to slay in one day the race of Mardochaeus: and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month which is Adar. (8) And he spoke to king Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered among the nations in all thy kingdom, and their laws differ from those of all the other nations; and they disobey the laws of the king; and it is not expedient for the king to let them alone. (9) If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them: and I will remit into the king’s treasury ten thousand talents of silver. (10) And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Aman, to seal the decrees against the Jews. (11) And the king said to Aman, Keep the silver, and treat the nation as thou wilt. (12) So the king’s recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their several languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes. (13) And the message was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy utterly the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods. And the following is the copy of the letter; The great king Artaxerxes writes thus to the rulers and inferior governors of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who hold authority under him. Ruling over many nations and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was minded (not elated by the confidence of power, but ever conducting myself with great moderation and gentleness) to make the lives of my subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quiet and orderly to its utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. But when I had enquired of my counsellors how this should be brought to pass. Aman, who excels in soundness of judgment among us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and had obtained the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is mixed up with all the tribes throughout the world, opposed in their law to every other nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the king, so that the united government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation alone of all others is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests, and against the happy establishment of the monarchy; we signified to you in the letter written by Aman, who is set over the public affairs and is our second governor, to destroy them all utterly with their wives and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed to us having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually a well constituted and quiet state of affairs. (14) And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready against that day. (15) And the business was hastened, and that at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.

4

(1) But Mardochaeus having perceived what was done, rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself; and having rushed forth through the open street of the city, he cried with a loud voice, A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed. (2) And he came to the king’s gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to enter into the palace, wearing sackcloth and ashes. (3) And in every province where the letters were published, there was crying and lamentation and great mourning on the part of the Jews: they spread for themselves sackcloth and ashes. (4) And the queen’s maids and chamberlains went in and told her: and when she had heard what was done, she was disturbed; and she sent to clothe Mardochaeus, and take away his sackcloth; but he consented not. (5) So Esther called for her chamberlain Achrathaeus, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from Mardochaeus. (6) (7) And Mardochaeus shewed him what was done, and the promise which Aman had made the king of ten thousand talents to be paid into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews. (8) And he gave him the copy of the writing that was published in Susa concerning their destruction, to shew to Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and intreat the king, and to beg him for the people, remembering, said he, the days of thy low estate, how thou wert nursed by my hand: because Aman who holds the next place to the king has spoken against us for death. Do thou call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death. (9) So Achrathaeus went in and told her all these words. (10) And Esther said to Achrathaeus, Go to Mardochaeus, and say, (11) All the nations of the empire know, that whoever, man or woman, shall go in to the king into the inner court uncalled, that person cannot live: only to whomsoever the king shall stretch out his golden sceptre, he shall live: and I have not been called to go into the king, for these thirty days. (12) And Achrathaeus reported to Mardochaeus all the words of Esther. (13) Then Mardochaeus said to Achrathaeus, Go, and say to her, Esther, say not to thyself that thou alone wilt escape in the kingdom, more than all the other Jews. (14) For if thou shalt refuse to hearken on this occasion, help and protection will be to the Jews from another quarter; but thou and thy father’s house will perish: and who knows, if thou hast been made queen for this very occasion? (15) And Esther sent the man that came to her to Mardochaeus, saying, (16) Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast ye for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day: and I also and my maidens will fast; and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die. (17) So Mardochaeus went and did all that Esther commanded him.

C

[And he besought the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord; and he said, Lord God, king ruling over all, for all things are in thy power, and there is no one that shall oppose thee, in thy purpose to save Israel. - For thou hast made the heaven and the earth and every wonderful thing in the world under heaven. And thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist thee Lord. Thou knowest all things: thou knowest, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor haughtiness, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse obeisance to the haughty Aman. For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. But I have done this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God: and I will not worship any one except thee, my Lord, and I will not do these things in haughtiness. And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraam, spare thy people, for our enemies are looking upon us to our destruction, and they have desired to destroy thine ancient inheritance. Do not overlook thy peculiar people, whom thou hast redeemed for thyself out of the land of Egypt. Hearken to my prayer, and be propitious to thine inheritance, and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to thy name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mouth of them that praise thee, O Lord. And all Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes. And queen Esther betook herself for refuge to the Lord, being taken as it were in the agony of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning; and instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung, and she greatly brought down her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the torn curls of her hair. And she besought the Lord God of Israel, and said, O my Lord, thou alone art our king: help me who am destitute, and have no helper but thee, for my danger is near at hand. I have heard from my birth, in the tribe of my kindred that thou, Lord, tookest Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and hast wrought for them all that thou hast said. And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we honoured their gods: thou art righteous, O Lord. But now they have not been contented with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols, in order to abolish the decree of thy mouth, and utterly to destroy thine inheritances, and to stop the mouth of them that praise thee, and to extinguish the glory of thine house and thine alter, and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and in order that a mortal king should be admired for ever. O Lord, do not resign thy scepter to them that are not, and let them not laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel, against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us. Remember us, O Lord, manifest thyself in the time of our affliction, and encourage me, O King of gods, and ruler of all dominion. Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him that fights against us, to the utter destruction of him that consent with him. But deliver us by thine hand, and help me who am destitute, and have none but the, O Lord. Thou knowest all things, and knowest that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the couch of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. Thou knowest my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendour: I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I wear it not in the days of my tranquility. And thy handmaid has not eaten at the table of Aman, and I have not honoured the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. Neither has thy handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in thee, O Lord God of Abraam. O god, who has power over all, hearken to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of them that devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.

D

(5:1) And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she was blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face was cheerful, and it were benevolent, but her heart was straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her. But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is the matter, Esther? I am thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared to thee, Draw nigh. (5:2) And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw thee, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, my lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face is full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.

5

(3) And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine. (4) And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day. (5) And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken. (6) And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is thy request, queen Esther? speak, and thou shalt have all that thou requirest. (7) And she said, My request and my petition are: (8) if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Aman come again to-morrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and to-morrow I will do the same. (9) So Aman went out from the king very glad and merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged. (10) And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara. (11) And he shewed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom. (12) And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited to-morrow. (13) But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court. (14) And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a gallows made for thee of fifty cubits, and in the morning do thou speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus be hanged on the gallows: but do thou go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased Aman, and the gallows was prepared.

6

(1) But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night: and he told his servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read to him. (2) And he found the records written concerning Mardochaeus, how he had told the king concerning the two chamberlains of the king, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Artaxerxes. (3) And the king said, What honour or favour have we done to Mardochaeus? And the king’s servants said, Thou hast not done anything to him. (4) And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mardochaeus, behold, Aman was in the court. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Aman was come in to speak to the king, that he should hang Mardochaeus on the gallows, which he had prepared. (5) And the king’s servants said, Behold, Aman stands in the court. And the king said, Call him. (6) And the king said to Aman, What shall I do to the man whom I wish to honour? And Aman said within himself, Whom would the king honour but myself? (7) and he said to the king, As for the man whom the king wishes to honour, (8) let the king’s servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides, (9) and let him give it to one of the king’s noble friends, and let him array the man whom the king loves; and let him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the street of the city, saying, Thus shall it be done to every man whom the king honours. (10) Then the king said to Aman, Thou hast well said: so do to Mardochaeus the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what thou hast spoken be neglected. (11) So Aman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mardochaeus, and mounted him on the horse, and went through the street of the city, and proclaimed, saying, Thus shall it be to every man whom the king wishes to honour. (12) And Mardochaeus returned to the palace: but Aman went home mourning, and having his head covered. (13) And Aman related the events that had befallen him to Zosara his wife, and to his friends: and his friends and his wife said to him, If Mardochaeus be of the race of the Jews, and thou hast begun to be humbled before him, thou wilt assuredly fall, and thou wilt not be able to withstand him, for the living God is with him. (14) While they were yet speaking, the chamberlains arrived, to hasten Aman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

7

(1) So the king and Aman went in to drink with the queen. (2) And the king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, What is it, queen Esther? and what is thy request, and what is thy petition? and it shall be done for thee, to the half of my kingdom. (3) And she answered and said, If I have found favour in the sight of the king, let my life be granted to my petition, and my people to my request. (4) For both I and my people are sold for destruction, and pillage, and slavery; both we and our children for bondmen and bondwomen: and I consented not to it, for the slanderer is not worthy of the king’s palace. (5) And the king said, Who is this that has dared to do this thing? (6) And Esther said, the adversary is Aman, this wicked man. Then Aman was troubled before the king and the queen. (7) And the king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden: and Aman began to intreat the queen; for he saw that he was in an evil case. (8) And the king returned from the garden; and Aman had fallen upon the bed, intreating the queen. And the king said, Wilt thou even force my wife in my house? And when Aman heard it, he changed countenance. (9) And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, Behold, Aman has also prepared a gallows for Mardochaeus, who spoke concerning the king, and a gallows of fifty cubits high has been set up in the premises of Aman. And the king said, Let him be hanged thereon. (10) So Aman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mardochaeus: and then the king’s wrath was appeased.

8

(1) And in that day king Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Aman the slanderer: and Mardochaeus was called by the king; for Esther had shewn that he was related to her. (2) And the king took the ring which he had taken away from Aman, and gave it to Mardochaeus: and Esther appointed Mardochaeus over all that had been Aman’s. (3) And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and besought him to do away the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews. (4) Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden sceptre: and Esther arose to stand near the king. (5) And Esther said, If it seem good to thee, and I have found favour in thy sight, let an order be sent that the letters sent by Aman may be reversed, that were written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in thy kingdom. (6) For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall I be able to survive the destruction of my kindred? (7) And the king said to Esther, If I have given and freely granted thee all that was Aman’s, and hanged him on a gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what dost thou yet further seek? (8) Write ye also in my name, as it seems good to you, and seal it with my ring: for whatever orders are written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not lawful to gainsay them. (9) So the scribes were called in the first-month, which is Nisan, on the three and twentieth day of the same year; and orders were written to the Jews, whatever the king had commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India even to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, according to the several provinces, according to their dialects. (10) And they were written by order of the king, and sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by the posts: (11) wherein he charged them to use their own laws in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries, and those who attacked them, as they pleased, (12) on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar. And the following is the copy of the letter of the orders. The great king Artaxerxes sends greetings to the rulers of provinces in a hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, from India to Ethiopia, even to those who are faithful to our interests. Many who have been frequently honored by the most abundant kindness of their benefactors have conceived ambitious designs, and not only endeavour to hurt our subjects, but moreover, not being able to bear prosperity, they also endeavour to plot against their own benefactors. And they not only would utterly abolish gratitude from among men, but also, elated by the boastings of men who are strangers to all that is good, they supposed that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of the ever-seeing God. And oftentimes evil exhortation has made partakers of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and has involved in irremediable calamities, many of those who had been appointed to offices of authority, who had been entrusted with the management of their friends' affairs; while men, by the false sophistry of an evil disposition, have deceived the simple candour of the ruling powers. And it is possible to see this, not so much from more ancient traditionary accounts, as it is immediately in your power to see it by examining what things have been wickedly perpetrated by the baseness of men unworthily holding power. And it is right to take heed with regard to the future, that we may maintain the government in undistributed peace for all men, adopting needful changes, and ever judging those cases which come under our notices, with truly equitable decision. For whereas Aman, a Macedonian, the son of Amadathes, in reality an alien from the blood of the Persians, and differing widely from our mild course of government, having been hospitable entertained by us, obtained so large a share of our universal kindness, as to be called our father, and to continue the person next to the royal throne, reverenced of all; he however, overcome by the pride of his station, endeavored to deprive us of our dominion, and our life: having by various and subtle artifices demanded for destruction both Mardochaeus our deliverer and perpetual benefactor, and Esther the blameless consort of our kingdom, with their whole nation. For by these methods he thought, having surprised us in a defenceless state, to transfer the dominion of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we find that the Jews, who have been consigned to destruction by the most abominable of men, are not malefactors, but living according to the justest laws, and being the sons of the living God, the most high and mighty, who maintains the kingdom. to us as well as to our forefathers, in the most excellent order. Ye will therefore do well in refusing to obey the letter sent by Aman the son of Amadathes, because he that has done these things, has been hanged with his whole family at the gates of Susa, Almighty God having swiftly returned to him a worthy recompence, We enjoin you then, having openly published a copy of this letter in every place, to give the Jews permission to use their own lawful customs, and to strengthen them, that on the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar, on the self-same day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them in a time of affliction. For in the place of the destruction of the chosen race, Almighty God has granted them this time of gladness. Do ye therefore also, among your notable feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and hereafter it may be a day of deliverance to us and who are well disposed toward the Persians, but to those that plotted against us a memorial of destruction. And every city and province collectively, which shall not do accordingly, shall be consumed with vengeance by spear and fire: it shall be made not only inaccessible to men, but most hateful to wild beasts and birds for ever.] (13) And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom, and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies. (14) So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king’s commands; and the ordinance was also published in Susa. (15) And Mardochaeus went forth robed in the royal apparel, and wearing a golden crown, and a diadem of fine purple linen: and the people in Susa saw it and rejoiced. (16) And the Jews had light and gladness, (17) in every city and province wherever the ordinance was published: wherever the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth: and many of the Gentiles were circumcised, and became Jews, for fear of the Jews.

9

(1) For in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived. (2) In that day the adversaries of the Jews perished: for no one resisted, through fear of them. (3) For the chiefs of the satraps, and the princes and the royal scribes, honoured the Jews; for the fear of Mardochaeus lay upon them. (4) For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom. (5) (6) And in the city Susa the Jews slew five hundred men: (7) both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga, (8) and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca, (9) and Marmasima, and Ruphaeus, and Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus, (10) the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews, and they plundered their property on the same day: (11) and the number of them that perished in Susa was rendered to the king. (12) And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city Susa; and how, thinkest thou, have they used them in the rest of the country? What then dost thou yet ask, that it may be done for thee? (13) And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Jews so to treat them tomorrow as to hand the ten sons of Aman. (14) And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city the bodies of the sons of Aman to hang. (15) And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth day of Adar, and slew three hundred men, but plundered no property. (16) And the rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies: for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth day of Adar, but took no spoil. (17) And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness. (18) And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness. (19) On this account then it is that the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar as a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour. (20) And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off, (21) to establish these as joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar; (22) for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies; and as to the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it in good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor. (23) And the Jews consented to this accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them, (24) shewing how Aman the son of Amadathes the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to destroy them utterly; (25) also how he went in to the king, telling him to hang Mardochaeus: but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself, and he was hanged, and his children. (26) Therefore these days were called Phrurae, because of the lots; (for in their language they are called Phrurae;)because of the words of this letter, and because of all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them. (27) And Mardochaeus established it, and the Jews took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon those that were joined to them to observe it, neither would they on any account behave differently: but these days were to be a memorial kept in every generation, and city, and family, and province. (28) And these days of the Phrurae, said they,shall be kept for ever, and their memorial shall not fail in any generation. (29) And queen Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, and Mardochaeus the Jew, wrote all that they had done, and the confirmation of the letter of Phrurae. (31) And Mardochaeus and Esther the queen appointed a fast for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their own health. (32) And Esther established it by a command for ever, and it was written for a memorial.

10

(1) And the king levied a tax upon his kingdom both by land and sea. (2) And as for his strength and valour, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written in the book of the Persians and Medes, for a memorial. (3) And Mardochaeus was viceroy to king Artaxerxes, and was a great man in the kingdom, and honoured by the Jews, and passed his life beloved of all his nation.

F

And Mardocheus said, These things have been done of God. For I remember the dream which I had concerning these matters: for not one particular of them has failed. There was the little fountain which became a river, and there was light, and the sun and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. And the two serpents are I and Aman. And the nations are those nations that combined to destroy the name of the Jews. But as for my nation, this is Israel, even they that cried to God and were delivered: for the Lord delivered his people. And the Lord rescued us out of all these calamities; and God wrought such signs and great wonders as have not been done among the nations. Therefore did he ordain two lots. One for the people of God, and one for all the other nations. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgment, before God, and for all the nations. And God remembered his people, and vindicated his inheritance. And they shall observe these days in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth day of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness before God, throughout the generations for ever among his people Israel. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest and Levite, and Ptolemeus his son, brought this epistle of Phurim, which they said was the same, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemeus, that was in Jerusalem, had interpreted it.

Judith

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1

(1) In the twelfth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, who reigned in Nineve, the great city; in the days of Arphaxad, which reigned over the Medes in Ecbatane, (2) And built in Ecbatane walls round about of stones hewn three cubits broad and six cubits long, and made the height of the wall seventy cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits: (3) And set the towers thereof upon the gates of it an hundred cubits high, and the breadth thereof in the foundation threescore cubits: (4) And he made the gates thereof, even gates that were raised to the height of seventy cubits, and the breadth of them was forty cubits, for the going forth of his mighty armies, and for the setting in array of his footmen: (5) Even in those days king Nabuchodonosor made war with king Arphaxad in the great plain, which is the plain in the borders of Ragau. (6) And there came unto him all they that dwelt in the hill country, and all that dwelt by Euphrates, and Tigris and Hydaspes, and the plain of Arioch the king of the Elymeans, and very many nations of the sons of Chelod, assembled themselves to the battle. (7) Then Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians sent unto all that dwelt in Persia, and to all that dwelt westward, and to those that dwelt in Cilicia, and Damascus, and Libanus, and Antilibanus, and to all that dwelt upon the sea coast, (8) And to those among the nations that were of Carmel, and Galaad, and the higher Galilee, and the great plain of Esdrelom, (9) And to all that were in Samaria and the cities thereof, and beyond Jordan unto Jerusalem, and Betane, and Chelus, and Kades, and the river of Egypt, and Taphnes, and Ramesse, and all the land of Gesem, (10) Until ye come beyond Tanis and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt, until ye come to the borders of Ethiopia. (11) But all the inhabitants of the land made light of the commandment of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, neither went they with him to the battle; for they were not afraid of him: yea, he was before them as one man, and they sent away his ambassadors from them without effect, and with disgrace. (12) Therefore Nabuchodonosor was very angry with all this country, and sware by his throne and kingdom, that he would surely be avenged upon all those coasts of Cilicia, and Damascus, and Syria, and that he would slay with the sword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all Judea, and all that were in Egypt, till ye come to the borders of the two seas. (13) Then he marched in battle array with his power against king Arphaxad in the seventeenth year, and he prevailed in his battle: for he overthrew all the power of Arphaxad, and all his horsemen, and all his chariots, (14) And became lord of his cities, and came unto Ecbatane, and took the towers, and spoiled the streets thereof, and turned the beauty thereof into shame. (15) He took also Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau, and smote him through with his darts, and destroyed him utterly that day. (16) So he returned afterward to Nineve, both he and all his company of sundry nations being a very great multitude of men of war, and there he took his ease, and banqueted, both he and his army, an hundred and twenty days.

2

(1) And in the eighteenth year, the two and twentieth day of the first month, there was talk in the house of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians that he should, as he said, avenge himself on all the earth. (2) So he called unto him all his officers, and all his nobles, and communicated with them his secret counsel, and concluded the afflicting of the whole earth out of his own mouth. (3) Then they decreed to destroy all flesh, that did not obey the commandment of his mouth. (4) And when he had ended his counsel, Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians called Holofernes the chief captain of his army, which was next unto him, and said unto him. (5) Thus saith the great king, the lord of the whole earth, Behold, thou shalt go forth from my presence, and take with thee men that trust in their own strength, of footmen an hundred and twenty thousand; and the number of horses with their riders twelve thousand. (6) And thou shalt go against all the west country, because they disobeyed my commandment. (7) And thou shalt declare unto that they prepare for me earth and water: for I will go forth in my wrath against them and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of mine army, and I will give them for a spoil unto them: (8) So that their slain shall fill their valleys and brooks and the river shall be filled with their dead, till it overflow: (9) And I will lead them captives to the utmost parts of all the earth. (10) Thou therefore shalt go forth. and take beforehand for me all their coasts: and if they will yield themselves unto thee, thou shalt reserve them for me till the day of their punishment. (11) But concerning them that rebel, let not thine eye spare them; but put them to the slaughter, and spoil them wheresoever thou goest. (12) For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, whatsoever I have spoken, that will I do by mine hand. (13) And take thou heed that thou transgress none of the commandments of thy lord, but accomplish them fully, as I have commanded thee, and defer not to do them. (14) Then Holofernes went forth from the presence of his lord, and called all the governors and captains, and the officers of the army of Assur; (15) And he mustered the chosen men for the battle, as his lord had commanded him, unto an hundred and twenty thousand, and twelve thousand archers on horseback; (16) And he ranged them, as a great army is ordered for the war. (17) And he took camels and asses for their carriages, a very great number; and sheep and oxen and goats without number for their provision: (18) And plenty of victual for every man of the army, and very much gold and silver out of the king’s house. (19) Then he went forth and all his power to go before king Nabuchodonosor in the voyage, and to cover all the face of the earth westward with their chariots, and horsemen, and their chosen footmen. (20) A great number also sundry countries came with them like locusts, and like the sand of the earth: for the multitude was without number. (21) And they went forth of Nineve three days’ journey toward the plain of Bectileth, and pitched from Bectileth near the mountain which is at the left hand of the upper Cilicia. (22) Then he took all his army, his footmen, and horsemen and chariots, and went from thence into the hill country; (23) And destroyed Phud and Lud, and spoiled all the children of Rasses, and the children of Israel, which were toward the wilderness at the south of the land of the Chellians. (24) Then he went over Euphrates, and went through Mesopotamia, and destroyed all the high cities that were upon the river Arbonai, till ye come to the sea. (25) And he took the borders of Cilicia, and killed all that resisted him, and came to the borders of Japheth, which were toward the south, over against Arabia. (26) He compassed also all the children of Madian, and burned up their tabernacles, and spoiled their sheepcotes. (27) Then he went down into the plain of Damascus in the time of wheat harvest, and burnt up all their fields, and destroyed their flocks and herds, also he spoiled their cities, and utterly wasted their countries, and smote all their young men with the edge of the sword. (28) Therefore the fear and dread of him fell upon all the inhabitants of the sea coasts, which were in Sidon and Tyrus, and them that dwelt in Sur and Ocina, and all that dwelt in Jemnaan; and they that dwelt in Azotus and Ascalon feared him greatly.

3

(1) So they sent ambassadors unto him to treat of peace, saying, (2) Behold, we the servants of Nabuchodonosor the great king lie before thee; use us as shall be good in thy sight. (3) Behold, our houses, and all our places, and all our fields of wheat, and flocks, and herds, and all the lodges of our tents lie before thy face; use them as it pleaseth thee. (4) Behold, even our cities and the inhabitants thereof are thy servants; come and deal with them as seemeth good unto thee. (5) So the men came to Holofernes, and declared unto him after this manner. (6) Then came he down toward the sea coast, both he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities, and took out of them chosen men for aid. (7) So they and all the country round about received them with garlands, with dances, and with timbrels. (8) Yet he did cast down their frontiers, and cut down their groves: for he had decreed to destroy all the gods of the land, that all nations should worship Nabuchodonosor only, and that all tongues and tribes should call upon him as god. (9) Also he came over against Esdraelon near unto Judea, over against the great strait of Judea. (10) And he pitched between Geba and Scythopolis, and there he tarried a whole month, that he might gather together all the carriages of his army.

4

(1) Now the children of Israel, that dwelt in Judea, heard all that Holofernes the chief captain of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians had done to the nations, and after what manner he had spoiled all their temples, and brought them to nought. (2) Therefore they were exceedingly afraid of him, and were troubled for Jerusalem, and for the temple of the Lord their God: (3) For they were newly returned from the captivity, and all the people of Judea were lately gathered together: and the vessels, and the altar, and the house, were sanctified after the profanation. (4) Therefore they sent into all the coasts of Samaria, and the villages and to Bethoron, and Belmen, and Jericho, and to Choba, and Esora, and to the valley of Salem: (5) And possessed themselves beforehand of all the tops of the high mountains, and fortified the villages that were in them, and laid up victuals for the provision of war: for their fields were of late reaped. (6) Also Joacim the high priest, which was in those days in Jerusalem, wrote to them that dwelt in Bethulia, and Betomestham, which is over against Esdraelon toward the open country, near to Dothaim, (7) Charging them to keep the passages of the hill country: for by them there was an entrance into Judea, and it was easy to stop them that would come up, because the passage was straight, for two men at the most. (8) And the children of Israel did as Joacim the high priest had commanded them, with the ancients of all the people of Israel, which dwelt at Jerusalem. (9) Then every man of Israel cried to God with great fervency, and with great vehemency did they humble their souls: (10) Both they, and their wives and their children, and their cattle, and every stranger and hireling, and their servants bought with money, put sackcloth upon their loins. (11) Thus every man and women, and the little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple, and cast ashes upon their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord: also they put sackcloth about the altar, (12) And cried to the God of Israel all with one consent earnestly, that he would not give their children for a prey, and their wives for a spoil, and the cities of their inheritance to destruction, and the sanctuary to profanation and reproach, and for the nations to rejoice at. (13) So God heard their prayers, and looked upon their afflictions: for the people fasted many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty. (14) And Joacim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and they which ministered unto the Lord, had their loins girt with sackcloth, and offered the daily burnt offerings, with the vows and free gifts of the people, (15) And had ashes on their mitres, and cried unto the Lord with all their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel graciously.

5

(1) Then was it declared to Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, that the children of Israel had prepared for war, and had shut up the passages of the hill country, and had fortified all the tops of the high hills and had laid impediments in the champaign countries: (2) Wherewith he was very angry, and called all the princes of Moab, and the captains of Ammon, and all the governors of the sea coast, (3) And he said unto them, Tell me now, ye sons of Chanaan, who this people is, that dwelleth in the hill country, and what are the cities that they inhabit, and what is the multitude of their army, and wherein is their power and strength, and what king is set over them, or captain of their army; (4) And why have they determined not to come and meet me, more than all the inhabitants of the west. (5) Then said Achior, the captain of all the sons of Ammon, Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of thy servant, and I will declare unto thee the truth concerning this people, which dwelleth near thee, and inhabiteth the hill countries: and there shall no lie come out of the mouth of thy servant. (6) This people are descended of the Chaldeans: (7) And they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea. (8) For they left the way of their ancestors, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew: so they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days. (9) Then their God commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go into the land of Chanaan: where they dwelt, and were increased with gold and silver, and with very much cattle. (10) But when a famine covered all the land of Chanaan, they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, while they were nourished, and became there a great multitude, so that one could not number their nation. (11) Therefore the king of Egypt rose up against them, and dealt subtilly with them, and brought them low with labouring in brick, and made them slaves. (12) Then they cried unto their God, and he smote all the land of Egypt with incurable plagues: so the Egyptians cast them out of their sight. (13) And God dried the Red sea before them, (14) And brought them to mount Sina, and Cades-Barne, and cast forth all that dwelt in the wilderness. (15) So they dwelt in the land of the Amorites, and they destroyed by their strength all them of Esebon, and passing over Jordan they possessed all the hill country. (16) And they cast forth before them the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, and the Sychemite, and all the Gergesites, and they dwelt in that country many days. (17) And whilst they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because the God that hateth iniquity was with them. (18) But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were led captives into a land that was not their’s, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by the enemies. (19) But now are they returned to their God, and are come up from the places where they were scattered, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country; for it was desolate. (20) Now therefore, my lord and governor, if there be any error against this people, and they sin against their God, let us consider that this shall be their ruin, and let us go up, and we shall overcome them. (21) But if there be no iniquity in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and we become a reproach before all the world. (22) And when Achior had finished these sayings, all the people standing round about the tent murmured, and the chief men of Holofernes, and all that dwelt by the sea side, and in Moab, spake that he should kill him. (23) For, say they, we will not be afraid of the face of the children of Israel: for, lo, it is a people that have no strength nor power for a strong battle (24) Now therefore, lord Holofernes, we will go up, and they shall be a prey to be devoured of all thine army.

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(1) And when the tumult of men that were about the council was ceased, Holofernes the chief captain of the army of Assur said unto Achior and all the Moabites before all the company of other nations, (2) And who art thou, Achior, and the hirelings of Ephraim, that thou hast prophesied against us as to day, and hast said, that we should not make war with the people of Israel, because their God will defend them? and who is God but Nabuchodonosor? (3) He will send his power, and will destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God shall not deliver them: but we his servants will destroy them as one man; for they are not able to sustain the power of our horses. (4) For with them we will tread them under foot, and their mountains shall be drunken with their blood, and their fields shall be filled with their dead bodies, and their footsteps shall not be able to stand before us, for they shall utterly perish, saith king Nabuchodonosor, lord of all the earth: for he said, None of my words shall be in vain. (5) And thou, Achior, an hireling of Ammon, which hast spoken these words in the day of thine iniquity, shalt see my face no more from this day, until I take vengeance of this nation that came out of Egypt. (6) And then shall the sword of mine army, and the multitude of them that serve me, pass through thy sides, and thou shalt fall among their slain, when I return. (7) Now therefore my servants shall bring thee back into the hill country, and shall set thee in one of the cities of the passages: (8) And thou shalt not perish, till thou be destroyed with them. (9) And if thou persuade thyself in thy mind that they shall be taken, let not thy countenance fall: I have spoken it, and none of my words shall be in vain. (10) Then Holofernes commanded his servants, that waited in his tent, to take Achior, and bring him to Bethulia, and deliver him into the hands of the children of Israel. (11) So his servants took him, and brought him out of the camp into the plain, and they went from the midst of the plain into the hill country, and came unto the fountains that were under Bethulia. (12) And when the men of the city saw them, they took up their weapons, and went out of the city to the top of the hill: and every man that used a sling kept them from coming up by casting of stones against them. (13) Nevertheless having gotten privily under the hill, they bound Achior, and cast him down, and left him at the foot of the hill, and returned to their lord. (14) But the Israelites descended from their city, and came unto him, and loosed him, and brought him to Bethulia, and presented him to the governors of the city: (15) Which were in those days Ozias the son of Micha, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel. (16) And they called together all the ancients of the city, and all their youth ran together, and their women, to the assembly, and they set Achior in the midst of all their people. Then Ozias asked him of that which was done. (17) And he answered and declared unto them the words of the council of Holofernes, and all the words that he had spoken in the midst of the princes of Assur, and whatsoever Holofernes had spoken proudly against the house of Israel. (18) Then the people fell down and worshipped God, and cried unto God. saying, (19) O Lord God of heaven, behold their pride, and pity the low estate of our nation, and look upon the face of those that are sanctified unto thee this day. (20) Then they comforted Achior, and praised him greatly. (21) And Ozias took him out of the assembly unto his house, and made a feast to the elders; and they called on the God of Israel all that night for help.

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(1) The next day Holofernes commanded all his army, and all his people which were come to take his part, that they should remove their camp against Bethulia, to take aforehand the ascents of the hill country, and to make war against the children of Israel. (2) Then their strong men removed their camps in that day, and the army of the men of war was an hundred and seventy thousand footmen, and twelve thousand horsemen, beside the baggage, and other men that were afoot among them, a very great multitude. (3) And they camped in the valley near unto Bethulia, by the fountain, and they spread themselves in breadth over Dothaim even to Belmaim, and in length from Bethulia unto Cynamon, which is over against Esdraelon. (4) Now the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, were greatly troubled, and said every one to his neighbour, Now will these men lick up the face of the earth; for neither the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills, are able to bear their weight. (5) Then every man took up his weapons of war, and when they had kindled fires upon their towers, they remained and watched all that night. (6) But in the second day Holofernes brought forth all his horsemen in the sight of the children of Israel which were in Bethulia, (7) And viewed the passages up to the city, and came to the fountains of their waters, and took them, and set garrisons of men of war over them, and he himself removed toward his people. (8) Then came unto him all the chief of the children of Esau, and all the governors of the people of Moab, and the captains of the sea coast, and said, (9) Let our lord now hear a word, that there be not an overthrow in thine army. (10) For this people of the children of Israel do not trust in their spears, but in the height of the mountains wherein they dwell, because it is not easy to come up to the tops of their mountains. (11) Now therefore, my lord, fight not against them in battle array, and there shall not so much as one man of thy people perish. (12) Remain in thy camp, and keep all the men of thine army, and let thy servants get into their hands the fountain of water, which issueth forth of the foot of the mountain: (13) For all the inhabitants of Bethulia have their water thence; so shall thirst kill them, and they shall give up their city, and we and our people shall go up to the tops of the mountains that are near, and will camp upon them, to watch that none go out of the city. (14) So they and their wives and their children shall be consumed with fire, and before the sword come against them, they shall be overthrown in the streets where they dwell. (15) Thus shalt thou render them an evil reward; because they rebelled, and met not thy person peaceably. (16) And these words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he appointed to do as they had spoken. (17) So the camp of the children of Ammon departed, and with them five thousand of the Assyrians, and they pitched in the valley, and took the waters, and the fountains of the waters of the children of Israel. (18) Then the children of Esau went up with the children of Ammon, and camped in the hill country over against Dothaim: and they sent some of them toward the south, and toward the east over against Ekrebel, which is near unto Chusi, that is upon the brook Mochmur; and the rest of the army of the Assyrians camped in the plain, and covered the face of the whole land; and their tents and carriages were pitched to a very great multitude. (19) Then the children of Israel cried unto the Lord their God, because their heart failed, for all their enemies had compassed them round about, and there was no way to escape out from among them. (20) Thus all the company of Assur remained about them, both their footmen, chariots, and horsemen, four and thirty days, so that all their vessels of water failed all the inhibitants of Bethulia. (21) And the cisterns were emptied, and they had not water to drink their fill for one day; for they gave them drink by measure. (22) Therefore their young children were out of heart, and their women and young men fainted for thirst, and fell down in the streets of the city, and by the passages of the gates, and there was no longer any strength in them. (23) Then all the people assembled to Ozias, and to the chief of the city, both young men, and women, and children, and cried with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, (24) God be judge between us and you: for ye have done us great injury, in that ye have not required peace of the children of Assur. (25) For now we have no helper: but God hath sold us into their hands, that we should be thrown down before them with thirst and great destruction. (26) Now therefore call them unto you, and deliver the whole city for a spoil to the people of Holofernes, and to all his army. (27) For it is better for us to be made a spoil unto them, than to die for thirst: for we will be his servants, that our souls may live, and not see the death of our infants before our eyes, nor our wives nor our children to die. (28) We take to witness against you the heaven and the earth, and our God and Lord of our fathers, which punisheth us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers, that he do not according as we have said this day. (29) Then there was great weeping with one consent in the midst of the assembly; and they cried unto the Lord God with a loud voice. (30) Then said Ozias to them, Brethren, be of good courage, let us yet endure five days, in the which space the Lord our God may turn his mercy toward us; for he will not forsake us utterly. (31) And if these days pass, and there come no help unto us, I will do according to your word. (32) And he dispersed the people, every one to their own charge; and they went unto the walls and towers of their city, and sent the women and children into their houses: and they were very low brought in the city.

8

(1) Now at that time Judith heard thereof, which was the daughter of Merari, the son of Ox, the son of Joseph, the son of Ozel, the son of Elcia, the son of Ananias, the son of Gedeon, the son of Raphaim, the son of Acitho, the son of Eliu, the son of Eliab, the son of Nathanael, the son of Samael, the son of Salasadal, the son of Israel. (2) And Manasses was her husband, of her tribe and kindred, who died in the barley harvest. (3) For as he stood overseeing them that bound sheaves in the field, the heat came upon his head, and he fell on his bed, and died in the city of Bethulia: and they buried him with his fathers in the field between Dothaim and Balamo. (4) So Judith was a widow in her house three years and four months. (5) And she made her a tent upon the top of her house, and put on sackcloth upon her loins and ware her widow’s apparel. (6) And she fasted all the days of her widowhood, save the eves of the sabbaths, and the sabbaths, and the eves of the new moons, and the new moons and the feasts and solemn days of the house of Israel. (7) She was also of a goodly countenance, and very beautiful to behold: and her husband Manasses had left her gold, and silver, and menservants and maidservants, and cattle, and lands; and she remained upon them. (8) And there was none that gave her an ill word; ar she feared God greatly. (9) Now when she heard the evil words of the people against the governor, that they fainted for lack of water; for Judith had heard all the words that Ozias had spoken unto them, and that he had sworn to deliver the city unto the Assyrians after five days; (10) Then she sent her waitingwoman, that had the government of all things that she had, to call Ozias and Chabris and Charmis, the ancients of the city. (11) And they came unto her, and she said unto them, Hear me now, O ye governors of the inhabitants of Bethulia: for your words that ye have spoken before the people this day are not right, touching this oath which ye made and pronounced between God and you, and have promised to deliver the city to our enemies, unless within these days the Lord turn to help you. (12) And now who are ye that have tempted God this day, and stand instead of God among the children of men? (13) And now try the Lord Almighty, but ye shall never know any thing. (14) For ye cannot find the depth of the heart of man, neither can ye perceive the things that he thinketh: then how can ye search out God, that hath made all these things, and know his mind, or comprehend his purpose? Nay, my brethren, provoke not the Lord our God to anger. (15) For if he will not help us within these five days, he hath power to defend us when he will, even every day, or to destroy us before our enemies. (16) Do not bind the counsels of the Lord our God: for God is not as man, that he may be threatened; neither is he as the son of man, that he should be wavering. (17) Therefore let us wait for salvation of him, and call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it please him. (18) For there arose none in our age, neither is there any now in these days neither tribe, nor family, nor people, nor city among us, which worship gods made with hands, as hath been aforetime. (19) For the which cause our fathers were given to the sword, and for a spoil, and had a great fall before our enemies. (20) But we know none other god, therefore we trust that he will not dispise us, nor any of our nation. (21) For if we be taken so, all Judea shall lie waste, and our sanctuary shall be spoiled; and he will require the profanation thereof at our mouth. (22) And the slaughter of our brethren, and the captivity of the country, and the desolation of our inheritance, will he turn upon our heads among the Gentiles, wheresoever we shall be in bondage; and we shall be an offence and a reproach to all them that possess us. (23) For our servitude shall not be directed to favour: but the Lord our God shall turn it to dishonour. (24) Now therefore, O brethren, let us shew an example to our brethren, because their hearts depend upon us, and the sanctuary, and the house, and the altar, rest upon us. (25) Moreover let us give thanks to the Lord our God, which trieth us, even as he did our fathers. (26) Remember what things he did to Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, when he kept the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother. (27) For he hath not tried us in the fire, as he did them, for the examination of their hearts, neither hath he taken vengeance on us: but the Lord doth scourge them that come near unto him, to admonish them. (28) Then said Ozias to her, All that thou hast spoken hast thou spoken with a good heart, and there is none that may gainsay thy words. (29) For this is not the first day wherein thy wisdom is manifested; but from the beginning of thy days all the people have known thy understanding, because the disposition of thine heart is good. (30) But the people were very thirsty, and compelled us to do unto them as we have spoken, and to bring an oath upon ourselves, which we will not break. (31) Therefore now pray thou for us, because thou art a godly woman, and the Lord will send us rain to fill our cisterns, and we shall faint no more. (32) Then said Judith unto them, Hear me, and I will do a thing, which shall go throughout all generations to the children of our nation. (33) Ye shall stand this night in the gate, and I will go forth with my waitingwoman: and within the days that ye have promised to deliver the city to our enemies the Lord will visit Israel by mine hand. (34) But enquire not ye of mine act: for I will not declare it unto you, till the things be finished that I do. (35) Then said Ozias and the princes unto her, Go in peace, and the Lord God be before thee, to take vengeance on our enemies. (36) So they returned from the tent, and went to their wards.

9

(1) Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes upon her head, and uncovered the sackcloth wherewith she was clothed; and about the time that the incense of that evening was offered in Jerusalem in the house of the Lord Judith cried with a loud voice, and said, (2) O Lord God of my father Simeon, to whom thou gavest a sword to take vengeance of the strangers, who loosened the girdle of a maid to defile her, and discovered the thigh to her shame, and polluted her virginity to her reproach; for thou saidst, It shall not be so; and yet they did so: (3) Wherefore thou gavest their rulers to be slain, so that they dyed their bed in blood, being deceived, and smotest the servants with their lords, and the lords upon their thrones; (4) And hast given their wives for a prey, and their daughters to be captives, and all their spoils to be divided among thy dear children; which were moved with thy zeal, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called upon thee for aid: O God, O my God, hear me also a widow. (5) For thou hast wrought not only those things, but also the things which fell out before, and which ensued after; thou hast thought upon the things which are now, and which are to come. (6) Yea, what things thou didst determine were ready at hand, and said, Lo, we are here: for all thy ways are prepared, and thy judgments are in thy foreknowledge. (7) For, behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power; they are exalted with horse and man; they glory in the strength of their footmen; they trust in shield, and spear, and bow, and sling; and know not that thou art the Lord that breakest the battles: the Lord is thy name. (8) Throw down their strength in thy power, and bring down their force in thy wrath: for they have purposed to defile thy sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where thy glorious name resteth and to cast down with sword the horn of thy altar. (9) Behold their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads: give into mine hand, which am a widow, the power that I have conceived. (10) Smite by the deceit of my lips the servant with the prince, and the prince with the servant: break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman. (11) For thy power standeth not in multitude nor thy might in strong men: for thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope. (12) I pray thee, I pray thee, O God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and earth, Creator of the waters, king of every creature, hear thou my prayer: (13) And make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe, who have purposed cruel things against thy covenant, and thy hallowed house, and against the top of Sion, and against the house of the possession of thy children. (14) And make every nation and tribe to acknowledge that thou art the God of all power and might, and that there is none other that protecteth the people of Israel but thou.

10

(1) Now after that she had ceased to cry unto the God of Israel, and bad made an end of all these words. (2) She rose where she had fallen down, and called her maid, and went down into the house in the which she abode in the sabbath days, and in her feast days, (3) And pulled off the sackcloth which she had on, and put off the garments of her widowhood, and washed her body all over with water, and anointed herself with precious ointment, and braided the hair of her head, and put on a tire upon it, and put on her garments of gladness, wherewith she was clad during the life of Manasses her husband. (4) And she took sandals upon her feet, and put about her her bracelets, and her chains, and her rings, and her earrings, and all her ornaments, and decked herself bravely, to allure the eyes of all men that should see her. (5) Then she gave her maid a bottle of wine, and a cruse of oil, and filled a bag with parched corn, and lumps of figs, and with fine bread; so she folded all these things together, and laid them upon her. (6) Thus they went forth to the gate of the city of Bethulia, and found standing there Ozias and the ancients of the city, Chabris and Charmis. (7) And when they saw her, that her countenance was altered, and her apparel was changed, they wondered at her beauty very greatly, and said unto her. (8) The God, the God of our fathers give thee favour, and accomplish thine enterprizes to the glory of the children of Israel, and to the exaltation of Jerusalem. Then they worshipped God. (9) And she said unto them, Command the gates of the city to be opened unto me, that I may go forth to accomplish the things whereof ye have spoken with me. So they commanded the young men to open unto her, as she had spoken. (10) And when they had done so, Judith went out, she, and her maid with her; and the men of the city looked after her, until she was gone down the mountain, and till she had passed the valley, and could see her no more. (11) Thus they went straight forth in the valley: and the first watch of the Assyrians met her, (12) And took her, and asked her, Of what people art thou? and whence comest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am a woman of the Hebrews, and am fled from them: for they shall be given you to be consumed: (13) And I am coming before Holofernes the chief captain of your army, to declare words of truth; and I will shew him a way, whereby he shall go, and win all the hill country, without losing the body or life of any one of his men. (14) Now when the men heard her words, and beheld her countenance, they wondered greatly at her beauty, and said unto her, (15) Thou hast saved thy life, in that thou hast hasted to come down to the presence of our lord: now therefore come to his tent, and some of us shall conduct thee, until they have delivered thee to his hands. (16) And when thou standest before him, be not afraid in thine heart, but shew unto him according to thy word; and he will entreat thee well. (17) Then they chose out of them an hundred men to accompany her and her maid; and they brought her to the tent of Holofernes. (18) Then was there a concourse throughout all the camp: for her coming was noised among the tents, and they came about her, as she stood without the tent of Holofernes, till they told him of her. (19) And they wondered at her beauty, and admired the children of Israel because of her, and every one said to his neighbour, Who would despise this people, that have among them such women? surely it is not good that one man of them be left who being let go might deceive the whole earth. (20) And they that lay near Holofernes went out, and all his servants and they brought her into the tent. (21) Now Holofernes rested upon his bed under a canopy, which was woven with purple, and gold, and emeralds, and precious stones. (22) So they shewed him of her; and he came out before his tent with silver lamps going before him. (23) And when Judith was come before him and his servants they all marvelled at the beauty of her countenance; and she fell down upon her face, and did reverence unto him: and his servants took her up.

11

(1) Then said Holofernes unto her, Woman, be of good comfort, fear not in thine heart: for I never hurt any that was willing to serve Nabuchodonosor, the king of all the earth. (2) Now therefore, if thy people that dwelleth in the mountains had not set light by me, I would not have lifted up my spear against them: but they have done these things to themselves. (3) But now tell me wherefore thou art fled from them, and art come unto us: for thou art come for safeguard; be of good comfort, thou shalt live this night, and hereafter: (4) For none shall hurt thee, but entreat thee well, as they do the servants of king Nabuchodonosor my lord. (5) Then Judith said unto him, Receive the words of thy servant, and suffer thine handmaid to speak in thy presence, and I will declare no lie to my lord this night. (6) And if thou wilt follow the words of thine handmaid, God will bring the thing perfectly to pass by thee; and my lord shall not fail of his purposes. (7) As Nabuchodonosor king of all the earth liveth, and as his power liveth, who hath sent thee for the upholding of every living thing: for not only men shall serve him by thee, but also the beasts of the field, and the cattle, and the fowls of the air, shall live by thy power under Nabuchodonosor and all his house. (8) For we have heard of thy wisdom and thy policies, and it is reported in all the earth, that thou only art excellent in all the kingdom, and mighty in knowledge, and wonderful in feats of war. (9) Now as concerning the matter, which Achior did speak in thy council, we have heard his words; for the men of Bethulia saved him, and he declared unto them all that he had spoken unto thee. (10) Therefore, O lord and governor, reject not his word; but lay it up in thine heart, for it is true: for our nation shall not be punished, neither can sword prevail against them, except they sin against their God. (11) And now, that my lord be not defeated and frustrate of his purpose, even death is now fallen upon them, and their sin hath overtaken them, wherewith they will provoke their God to anger whensoever they shall do that which is not fit to be done: (12) For their victuals fail them, and all their water is scant, and they have determined to lay hands upon their cattle, and purposed to consume all those things, that God hath forbidden them to eat by his laws: (13) And are resolved to spend the firstfruits of the the tenths of wine and oil, which they had sanctified, and reserved for the priests that serve in Jerusalem before the face of our God; the which things it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch with their hands. (14) For they have sent some to Jerusalem, because they also that dwell there have done the like, to bring them a licence from the senate. (15) Now when they shall bring them word, they will forthwith do it, and they shall be given to thee to be destroyed the same day. (16) Wherefore I thine handmaid, knowing all this, am fled from their presence; and God hath sent me to work things with thee, whereat all the earth shall be astonished, and whosoever shall hear it. (17) For thy servant is religious, and serveth the God of heaven day and night: now therefore, my lord, I will remain with thee, and thy servant will go out by night into the valley, and I will pray unto God, and he will tell me when they have committed their sins: (18) And I will come and shew it unto thee: then thou shalt go forth with all thine army, and there shall be none of them that shall resist thee. (19) And I will lead thee through the midst of Judea, until thou come before Jerusalem; and I will set thy throne in the midst thereof; and thou shalt drive them as sheep that have no shepherd, and a dog shall not so much as open his mouth at thee: for these things were told me according to my foreknowledge, and they were declared unto me, and I am sent to tell thee. (20) Then her words pleased Holofernes and all his servants; and they marvelled at her wisdom, and said, (21) There is not such a woman from one end of the earth to the other, both for beauty of face, and wisdom of words. (22) Likewise Holofernes said unto her. God hath done well to send thee before the people, that strength might be in our hands and destruction upon them that lightly regard my lord. (23) And now thou art both beautiful in thy countenance, and witty in thy words: surely if thou do as thou hast spoken thy God shall be my God, and thou shalt dwell in the house of king Nabuchodonosor, and shalt be renowned through the whole earth.

12

(1) Then he commanded to bring her in where his plate was set; and bade that they should prepare for her of his own meats, and that she should drink of his own wine. (2) And Judith said, I will not eat thereof, lest there be an offence: but provision shall be made for me of the things that I have brought. (3) Then Holofernes said unto her, If thy provision should fail, how should we give thee the like? for there be none with us of thy nation. (4) Then said Judith unto him As thy soul liveth, my lord, thine handmaid shall not spend those things that I have, before the Lord work by mine hand the things that he hath determined. (5) Then the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept till midnight, and she arose when it was toward the morning watch, (6) And sent to Holofernes, saving, Let my lord now command that thine handmaid may go forth unto prayer. (7) Then Holofernes commanded his guard that they should not stay her: thus she abode in the camp three days, and went out in the night into the valley of Bethulia, and washed herself in a fountain of water by the camp. (8) And when she came out, she besought the Lord God of Israel to direct her way to the raising up of the children of her people. (9) So she came in clean, and remained in the tent, until she did eat her meat at evening. (10) And in the fourth day Holofernes made a feast to his own servants only, and called none of the officers to the banquet. (11) Then said he to Bagoas the eunuch, who had charge over all that he had, Go now, and persuade this Hebrew woman which is with thee, that she come unto us, and eat and drink with us. (12) For, lo, it will be a shame for our person, if we shall let such a woman go, not having had her company; for if we draw her not unto us, she will laugh us to scorn. (13) Then went Bagoas from the presence of Holofernes, and came to her, and he said, Let not this fair damsel fear to come to my lord, and to be honoured in his presence, and drink wine, and be merry with us and be made this day as one of the daughters of the Assyrians, which serve in the house of Nabuchodonosor. (14) Then said Judith unto him, Who am I now, that I should gainsay my lord? surely whatsoever pleaseth him I will do speedily, and it shall be my joy unto the day of my death. (15) So she arose, and decked herself with her apparel and all her woman’s attire, and her maid went and laid soft skins on the ground for her over against Holofernes, which she had received of Bagoas for her daily use, that she might sit and eat upon them. (16) Now when Judith came in and sat down, Holofernes his heart was ravished with her, and his mind was moved, and he desired greatly her company; for he waited a time to deceive her, from the day that he had seen her. (17) Then said Holofernes unto her, Drink now, and be merry with us. (18) So Judith said, I will drink now, my lord, because my life is magnified in me this day more than all the days since I was born. (19) Then she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared. (20) And Holofernes took great delight in her, and drank more wine than he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born.

13

(1) Now when the evening was come, his servants made haste to depart, and Bagoas shut his tent without, and dismissed the waiters from the presence of his lord; and they went to their beds: for they were all weary, because the feast had been long. (2) And Judith was left along in the tent, and Holofernes lying along upon his bed: for he was filled with wine. (3) Now Judith had commanded her maid to stand without her bedchamber, and to wait for her. coming forth, as she did daily: for she said she would go forth to her prayers, and she spake to Bagoas according to the same purpose. (4) So all went forth and none was left in the bedchamber, neither little nor great. Then Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of all power, look at this present upon the works of mine hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. (5) For now is the time to help thine inheritance, and to execute thine enterprizes to the destruction of the enemies which are risen against us. (6) Then she came to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes’ head, and took down his fauchion from thence, (7) And approached to his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day. (8) And she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and she took away his head from him. (9) And tumbled his body down from the bed, and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; and anon after she went forth, and gave Holofernes his head to her maid; (10) And she put it in her bag of meat: so they twain went together according to their custom unto prayer: and when they passed the camp, they compassed the valley, and went up the mountain of Bethulia, and came to the gates thereof. (11) Then said Judith afar off, to the watchmen at the gate, Open, open now the gate: God, even our God, is with us, to shew his power yet in Jerusalem, and his forces against the enemy, as he hath even done this day. (12) Now when the men of her city heard her voice, they made haste to go down to the gate of their city, and they called the elders of the city. (13) And then they ran all together, both small and great, for it was strange unto them that she was come: so they opened the gate, and received them, and made a fire for a light, and stood round about them. (14) Then she said to them with a loud voice, Praise, praise God, praise God, I say, for he hath not taken away his mercy from the house of Israel, but hath destroyed our enemies by mine hands this night. (15) So she took the head out of the bag, and shewed it, and said unto them, behold the head of Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, and behold the canopy, wherein he did lie in his drunkenness; and the Lord hath smitten him by the hand of a woman. (16) As the Lord liveth, who hath kept me in my way that I went, my countenance hath deceived him to his destruction, and yet hath he not committed sin with me, to defile and shame me. (17) Then all the people were wonderfully astonished, and bowed themselves and worshipped God, and said with one accord, Blessed be thou, O our God, which hast this day brought to nought the enemies of thy people. (18) Then said Ozias unto her, O daughter, blessed art thou of the most high God above all the women upon the earth; and blessed be the Lord God, which hath created the heavens and the earth, which hath directed thee to the cutting off of the head of the chief of our enemies. (19) For this thy confidence shall not depart from the heart of men, which remember the power of God for ever. (20) And God turn these things to thee for a perpetual praise, to visit thee in good things because thou hast not spared thy life for the affliction of our nation, but hast revenged our ruin, walking a straight way before our God. And all the people said; So be it, so be it.

14

(1) Then said Judith unto them, Hear me now, my brethren, and take this head, and hang it upon the highest place of your walls. (2) And so soon as the morning shall appear, and the sun shall come forth upon the earth, take ye every one his weapons, and go forth every valiant man out of the city, and set ye a captain over them, as though ye would go down into the field toward the watch of the Assyrians; but go not down. (3) Then they shall take their armour, and shall go into their camp, and raise up the captains of the army of Assur, and shall run to the tent of Holofernes, but shall not find him: then fear shall fall upon them, and they shall flee before your face. (4) So ye, and all that inhabit the coast of Israel, shall pursue them, and overthrow them as they go. (5) But before ye do these things, call me Achior the Ammonite, that he may see and know him that despised the house of Israel, and that sent him to us as it were to his death. (6) Then they called Achior out of the house of Ozias; and when he was come, and saw the head of Holofernes in a man’s hand in the assembly of the people, he fell down on his face, and his spirit failed. (7) But when they had recovered him, he fell at Judith’s feet, and reverenced her, and said, Blessed art thou in all the tabernacles of Juda, and in all nations, which hearing thy name shall be astonished. (8) Now therefore tell me all the things that thou hast done in these days. Then Judith declared unto him in the midst of the people all that she had done, from the day that she went forth until that hour she spake unto them. (9) And when she had left off speaking, the people shouted with a loud voice, and made a joyful noise in their city. (10) And when Achior had seen all that the God of Israel had done, he believed in God greatly, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and was joined unto the house of Israel unto this day. (11) And as soon as the morning arose, they hanged the head of Holofernes upon the wall, and every man took his weapons, and they went forth by bands unto the straits of the mountain. (12) But when the Assyrians saw them, they sent to their leaders, which came to their captains and tribunes, and to every one of their rulers. (13) So they came to Holofernes’ tent, and said to him that had the charge of all his things, Waken now our lord: for the slaves have been bold to come down against us to battle, that they may be utterly destroyed. (14) Then went in Bagoas, and knocked at the door of the tent; for he thought that he had slept with Judith. (15) But because none answered, he opened it, and went into the bedchamber, and found him cast upon the floor dead, and his head was taken from him. (16) Therefore he cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and sighing, and a mighty cry, and rent his garments. (17) After he went into the tent where Judith lodged: and when he found her not, he leaped out to the people, and cried, (18) These slaves have dealt treacherously; one woman of the Hebrews hath brought shame upon the house of king Nabuchodonosor: for, behold, Holofernes lieth upon the ground without a head. (19) When the captains of the Assyrians army heard these words, they rent their coats and their minds were wonderfully troubled, and there was a cry and a very great noise throughout the camp.

15

(1) And when they that were in the tents heard, they were astonished at the thing that was done. (2) And fear and trembling fell upon them, so that there was no man that durst abide in the sight of his neighbour, but rushing out all together, they fled into every way of the plain, and of the hill country. (3) They also that had camped in the mountains round about Bethulia fled away. Then the children of Israel, every one that was a warrior among them, rushed out upon them. (4) Then sent Ozias to Betomasthem, and to Bebai, and Chobai, and Cola and to all the coasts of Israel, such as should tell the things that were done, and that all should rush forth upon their enemies to destroy them. (5) Now when the children of Israel heard it, they all fell upon them with one consent, and slew them unto Chobai: likewise also they that came from Jerusalem, and from all the hill country, (for men had told them what things were done in the camp of their enemies) and they that were in Galaad, and in Galilee, chased them with a great slaughter, until they were past Damascus and the borders thereof. (6) And the residue that dwelt at Bethulia, fell upon the camp of Assur, and spoiled them, and were greatly enriched. (7) And the children of Israel that returned from the slaughter had that which remained; and the villages and the cities, that were in the mountains and in the plain, gat many spoils: for the multitude was very great. (8) Then Joacim the high priest, and the ancients of the children of Israel that dwelt in Jerusalem, came to behold the good things that God had shewed to Israel, and to see Judith, and to salute her. (9) And when they came unto her, they blessed her with one accord, and said unto her, Thou art the exaltation of Jerusalem, thou art the great glory of Israel, thou art the great rejoicing of our nation: (10) Thou hast done all these things by thine hand: thou hast done much good to Israel, and God is pleased therewith: blessed be thou of the Almighty Lord for evermore. And all the people said, So be it. (11) And the people spoiled the camp the space of thirty days: and they gave unto Judith Holofernes his tent, and all his plate, and beds, and vessels, and all his stuff: and she took it and laid it on her mule; and made ready her carts, and laid them thereon. (12) Then all the women of Israel ran together to see her, and blessed her, and made a dance among them for her: and she took branches in her hand, and gave also to the women that were with her. (13) And they put a garland of olive upon her and her maid that was with her, and she went before all the people in the dance, leading all the women: and all the men of Israel followed in their armour with garlands, and with songs in their mouths. (16:1) Then Judith began to sing this thanksgiving in all Israel, and all the people sang after her this song of praise.

16

(2) And Judith said, Begin unto my God with timbrels, sing unto my Lord with cymbals: tune unto him a new psalm: exalt him, and call upon his name. (3) For God breaketh the battles: for among the camps in the midst of the people he hath delivered me out of the hands of them that persecuted me. (4) Assur came out of the mountains from the north, he came with ten thousands of his army, the multitude whereof stopped the torrents, and their horsemen have covered the hills. (5) He bragged that he would burn up my borders, and kill my young men with the sword, and dash the sucking children against the ground, and make mine infants as a prey, and my virgins as a spoil. (6) But the Almighty Lord hath disappointed them by the hand of a woman. (7) For the mighty one did not fall by the young men, neither did the sons of the Titans smite him, nor high giants set upon him: but Judith the daughter of Merari weakened him with the beauty of her countenance. (8) For she put off the garment of her widowhood for the exaltation of those that were oppressed in Israel, and anointed her face with ointment, and bound her hair in a tire, and took a linen garment to deceive him. (9) Her sandals ravished his eyes, her beauty took his mind prisoner, and the fauchion passed through his neck. (10) The Persians quaked at her boldness, and the Medes were daunted at her hardiness. (11) Then my afflicted shouted for joy, and my weak ones cried aloud; but they were astonished: these lifted up their voices, but they were overthrown. (12) The sons of the damsels have pierced them through, and wounded them as fugatives’ children: they perished by the battle of the Lord. (13) I will sing unto the Lord a new song: O Lord, thou art great and glorious, wonderful in strength, and invincible. (14) Let all creatures serve thee: for thou spakest, and they were made, thou didst send forth thy spirit, and it created them, and there is none that can resist thy voice. (15) For the mountains shall be moved from their foundations with the waters, the rocks shall melt as wax at thy presence: yet thou art merciful to them that fear thee. (16) For all sacrifice is too little for a sweet savour unto thee, and all the fat is not sufficient for thy burnt offering: but he that feareth the Lord is great at all times. (17) Woe to the nations that rise up against my kindred! the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh; and they shall feel them, and weep for ever. (18) Now as soon as they entered into Jerusalem, they worshipped the Lord; and as soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, and their free offerings, and their gifts. (19) Judith also dedicated all the stuff of Holofernes, which the people had given her, and gave the canopy, which she had taken out of his bedchamber, for a gift unto the Lord. (20) So the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for the space of three months and Judith remained with them. (21) After this time every one returned to his own inheritance, and Judith went to Bethulia, and remained in her own possession, and was in her time honourable in all the country. (22) And many desired her, but none knew her all the days of her life, after that Manasses her husband was dead, and was gathered to his people. (23) But she increased more and more in honour, and waxed old in her husband’s house, being an hundred and five years old, and made her maid free; so she died in Bethulia: and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasses. (24) And the house of Israel lamented her seven days: and before she died, she did distribute her goods to all them that were nearest of kindred to Manasses her husband, and to them that were the nearest of her kindred. (25) And there was none that made the children of Israel any more afraid in the days of Judith, nor a long time after her death.

Tobit

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1

(1) The book of the words of Tobit, son of Tobiel, the son of Ananiel, the son of Aduel, the son of Gabael, of the seed of Asael, of the tribe of Nephthali; (2) Who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in Galilee above Aser. (3) I Tobit have walked all the days of my life in the ways of truth and justice, and I did many almsdeeds to my brethren, and my nation, who came with me to Nineve, into the land of the Assyrians. (4) And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel being but young, all the tribe of Nephthali my father fell from the house of Jerusalem, which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, that all the tribes should sacrifice there, where the temple of the habitation of the most High was consecrated and built for all ages. (5) Now all the tribes which together revolted, and the house of my father Nephthali, sacrificed unto the heifer Baal. (6) But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, having the firstfruits and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. (7) The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at Jerusalem: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at Jerusalem: (8) And the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father’s mother had commanded me, because I was left an orphan by my father. (9) Furthermore, when I was come to the age of a man, I married Anna of mine own kindred, and of her I begat Tobias. (10) And when we were carried away captives to Nineve, all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the Gentiles. (11) But I kept myself from eating; (12) Because I remembered God with all my heart. (13) And the most High gave me grace and favour before Enemessar, so that I was his purveyor. (14) And I went into Media, and left in trust with Gabael, the brother of Gabrias, at Rages a city of Media ten talents of silver. (15) Now when Enemessar was dead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead; whose estate was troubled, that I could not go into Media. (16) And in the time of Enemessar I gave many alms to my brethren, and gave my bread to the hungry, (17) And my clothes to the naked: and if I saw any of my nation dead, or cast about the walls of Nineve, I buried him. (18) And if the king Sennacherib had slain any, when he was come, and fled from Judea, I buried them privily; for in his wrath he killed many; but the bodies were not found, when they were sought for of the king. (19) And when one of the Ninevites went and complained of me to the king, that I buried them, and hid myself; understanding that I was sought for to be put to death, I withdrew myself for fear. (20) Then all my goods were forcibly taken away, neither was there any thing left me, beside my wife Anna and my son Tobias. (21) And there passed not five and fifty days, before two of his sons killed him, and they fled into the mountains of Ararath; and Sarchedonus his son reigned in his stead; who appointed over his father’s accounts, and over all his affairs, Achiacharus my brother Anael’s son. (22) And Achiacharus intreating for me, I returned to Nineve. Now Achiacharus was cupbearer, and keeper of the signet, and steward, and overseer of the accounts: and Sarchedonus appointed him next unto him: and he was my brother’s son.

2

(1) Now when I was come home again, and my wife Anna was restored unto me, with my son Tobias, in the feast of Pentecost, which is the holy feast of the seven weeks, there was a good dinner prepared me, in the which I sat down to eat. (2) And when I saw abundance of meat, I said to my son, Go and bring what poor man soever thou shalt find out of our brethren, who is mindful of the Lord; and, lo, I tarry for thee. (3) But he came again, and said, Father, one of our nation is strangled, and is cast out in the marketplace. (4) Then before I had tasted of any meat, I started up, and took him up into a room until the going down of the sun. (5) Then I returned, and washed myself, and ate my meat in heaviness, (6) Remembering that prophecy of Amos, as he said, Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, and all your mirth into lamentation. (7) Therefore I wept: and after the going down of the sun I went and made a grave, and buried him. (8) But my neighbours mocked me, and said, This man is not yet afraid to be put to death for this matter: who fled away; and yet, lo, he burieth the dead again. (9) The same night also I returned from the burial, and slept by the wall of my courtyard, being polluted and my face was uncovered: (10) And I knew not that there were sparrows in the wall, and mine eyes being open, the sparrows muted warm dung into mine eyes, and a whiteness came in mine eyes: and I went to the physicians, but they helped me not: moreover Achiacharus did nourish me, until I went into Elymais. (11) And my wife Anna did take women’s works to do. (12) And when she had sent them home to the owners, they paid her wages, and gave her also besides a kid. (13) And when it was in my house, and began to cry, I said unto her, From whence is this kid? is it not stolen? render it to the owners; for it is not lawful to eat any thing that is stolen. (14) But she replied upon me, It was given for a gift more than the wages. Howbeit I did not believe her, but bade her render it to the owners: and I was abashed at her. But she replied upon me, Where are thine alms and thy righteous deeds? behold, thou and all thy works are known.

3

(1) Then I being grieved did weep, and in my sorrow prayed, saying, (2) O Lord, thou art just, and all thy works and all thy ways are mercy and truth, and thou judgest truly and justly for ever. (3) Remember me, and look on me, punish me not for my sins and ignorances, and the sins of my fathers, who have sinned before thee: (4) For they obeyed not thy commandments: wherefore thou hast delivered us for a spoil, and unto captivity, and unto death, and for a proverb of reproach to all the nations among whom we are dispersed. (5) And now thy judgments are many and true: deal with me according to my sins and my fathers’: because we have not kept thy commandments, neither have walked in truth before thee. (6) Now therefore deal with me as seemeth best unto thee, and command my spirit to be taken from me, that I may be dissolved, and become earth: for it is profitable for me to die rather than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and have much sorrow: command therefore that I may now be delivered out of this distress, and go into the everlasting place: turn not thy face away from me. (7) It came to pass the same day, that in Ecbatane a city of Media Sara the daughter of Raguel was also reproached by her father’s maids; (8) Because that she had been married to seven husbands, whom Asmodeus the evil spirit had killed, before they had lain with her. Dost thou not know, said they, that thou hast strangled thine husbands? thou hast had already seven husbands, neither wast thou named after any of them. (9) Wherefore dost thou beat us for them? if they be dead, go thy ways after them, let us never see of thee either son or daughter. (10) When she heard these things, she was very sorrowful, so that she thought to have strangled herself; and she said, I am the only daughter of my father, and if I do this, it shall be a reproach unto him, and I shall bring his old age with sorrow unto the grave. (11) Then she prayed toward the window, and said, Blessed art thou, O Lord my God, and thine holy and glorious name is blessed and honourable for ever: let all thy works praise thee for ever. (12) And now, O Lord, I set I mine eyes and my face toward thee, (13) And say, Take me out of the earth, that I may hear no more the reproach. (14) Thou knowest, Lord, that I am pure from all sin with man, (15) And that I never polluted my name, nor the name of my father, in the land of my captivity: I am the only daughter of my father, neither hath he any child to be his heir, neither any near kinsman, nor any son of his alive, to whom I may keep myself for a wife: my seven husbands are already dead; and why should I live? but if it please not thee that I should die, command some regard to be had of me, and pity taken of me, that I hear no more reproach. (16) So the prayers of them both were heard before the majesty of the great God. (17) And Raphael was sent to heal them both, that is, to scale away the whiteness of Tobit’s eyes, and to give Sara the daughter of Raguel for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit; and to bind Asmodeus the evil spirit; because she belonged to Tobias by right of inheritance. The selfsame time came Tobit home, and entered into his house, and Sara the daughter of Raguel came down from her upper chamber.

4

(1) In that day Tobit remembered the money which he had committed to Gabael in Rages of Media, (2) And said with himself, I have wished for death; wherefore do I not call for my son Tobias that I may signify to him of the money before I die? (3) And when he had called him, he said, My son, when I am dead, bury me; and despise not thy mother, but honour her all the days of thy life, and do that which shall please her, and grieve her not. (4) Remember, my son, that she saw many dangers for thee, when thou wast in her womb: and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. (5) My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin, or to transgress his commandments: do uprightly all thy life long, and follow not the ways of unrighteousness. (6) For if thou deal truly, thy doings shall prosperously succeed to thee, and to all them that live justly. (7) Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. (8) If thou hast abundance give alms accordingly: if thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little: (9) For thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity. (10) Because that alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness. (11) For alms is a good gift unto all that give it in the sight of the most High. (12) Beware of all whoredom, my son, and chiefly take a wife of the seed of thy fathers, and take not a strange woman to wife, which is not of thy father’s tribe: for we are the children of the prophets, Noe, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: remember, my son, that our fathers from the beginning, even that they all married wives of their own kindred, and were blessed in their children, and their seed shall inherit the land. (13) Now therefore, my son, love thy brethren, and despise not in thy heart thy brethren, the sons and daughters of thy people, in not taking a wife of them: for in pride is destruction and much trouble, and in lewdness is decay and great want: for lewdness is the mother of famine. (14) Let not the wages of any man, which hath wrought for thee, tarry with thee, but give him it out of hand: for if thou serve God, he will also repay thee: be circumspect my son, in all things thou doest, and be wise in all thy conversation. (15) Do that to no man which thou hatest: drink not wine to make thee drunken: neither let drunkenness go with thee in thy journey. (16) Give of thy bread to the hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked; and according to thine abundance give alms: and let not thine eye be envious, when thou givest alms. (17) Pour out thy bread on the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked. (18) Ask counsel of all that are wise, and despise not any counsel that is profitable. (19) Bless the Lord thy God alway, and desire of him that thy ways may be directed, and that all thy paths and counsels may prosper: for every nation hath not counsel; but the Lord himself giveth all good things, and he humbleth whom he will, as he will; now therefore, my son, remember my commandments, neither let them be put out of thy mind. (20) And now I signify this to they that I committed ten talents to Gabael the son of Gabrias at Rages in Media. (21) And fear not, my son, that we are made poor: for thou hast much wealth, if thou fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is pleasing in his sight.

5

(1) Tobias then answered and said, Father, I will do all things which thou hast commanded me: (2) But how can I receive the money, seeing I know him not? (3) Then he gave him the handwriting, and said unto him, Seek thee a man which may go with thee, whiles I yet live, and I will give him wages: and go and receive the money. (4) Therefore when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel. (5) But he knew not; and he said unto him, Canst thou go with me to Rages? and knowest thou those places well? (6) To whom the angel said, I will go with thee, and I know the way well: for I have lodged with our brother Gabael. (7) Then Tobias said unto him, Tarry for me, till I tell my father. (8) Then he said unto him, Go and tarry not. So he went in and said to his father, Behold, I have found one which will go with me. Then he said, Call him unto me, that I may know of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee. (9) So he called him, and he came in, and they saluted one another. (10) Then Tobit said unto him, Brother, shew me of what tribe and family thou art. (11) To whom he said, Dost thou seek for a tribe or family, or an hired man to go with thy son? Then Tobit said unto him, I would know, brother, thy kindred and name. (12) Then he said, I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, and of thy brethren. (13) Then Tobit said, Thou art welcome, brother; be not now angry with me, because I have enquired to know thy tribe and thy family; for thou art my brother, of an honest and good stock: for I know Ananias and Jonathas, sons of that great Samaias, as we went together to Jerusalem to worship, and offered the firstborn, and the tenths of the fruits; and they were not seduced with the error of our brethren: my brother, thou art of a good stock. (14) But tell me, what wages shall I give thee? wilt thou a drachm a day, and things necessary, as to mine own son? (15) Yea, moreover, if ye return safe, I will add something to thy wages. (16) So they were well pleased. Then said he to Tobias, Prepare thyself for the journey, and God send you a good journey. And when his son had prepared all things far the journey, his father said, Go thou with this man, and God, which dwelleth in heaven, prosper your journey, and the angel of God keep you company. So they went forth both, and the young man’s dog with them. (17) But Anna his mother wept, and said to Tobit, Why hast thou sent away our son? is he not the staff of our hand, in going in and out before us? (18) Be not greedy to add money to money: but let it be as refuse in respect of our child. (19) For that which the Lord hath given us to live with doth suffice us. (20) Then said Tobit to her, Take no care, my sister; he shall return in safety, and thine eyes shall see him. (21) For the good angel will keep him company, and his journey shall be prosperous, and he shall return safe. (22) Then she made an end of weeping.

6

(1) And as they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they lodged there. (2) And when the young man went down to wash himself, a fish leaped out of the river, and would have devoured him. (3) Then the angel said unto him, Take the fish. And the young man laid hold of the fish, and drew it to land. (4) To whom the angel said, Open the fish, and take the heart and the liver and the gall, and put them up safely. (5) So the young man did as the angel commanded him; and when they had roasted the fish, they did eat it: then they both went on their way, till they drew near to Ecbatane. (6) Then the young man said to the angel, Brother Azarias, to what use is the heart and the liver and the gal of the fish? (7) And he said unto him, Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed. (8) As for the gall, it is good to anoint a man that hath whiteness in his eyes, and he shall be healed. (9) And when they were come near to Rages, (10) The angel said to the young man, Brother, to day we shall lodge with Raguel, who is thy cousin; he also hath one only daughter, named Sara; I will speak for her, that she may be given thee for a wife. (11) For to thee doth the right of her appertain, seeing thou only art of her kindred. (12) And the maid is fair and wise: now therefore hear me, and I will speak to her father; and when we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage: for I know that Raguel cannot marry her to another according to the law of Moses, but he shall be guilty of death, because the right of inheritance doth rather appertain to thee than to any other. (13) Then the young man answered the angel, I have heard, brother Azarias that this maid hath been given to seven men, who all died in the marriage chamber. (14) And now I am the only son of my father, and I am afraid, lest if I go in unto her, I die, as the other before: for a wicked spirit loveth her, which hurteth no body, but those which come unto her; wherefore I also fear lest I die, and bring my father’s and my mother’s life because of me to the grave with sorrow: for they have no other son to bury them. (15) Then the angel said unto him, Dost thou not remember the precepts which thy father gave thee, that thou shouldest marry a wife of thine own kindred? wherefore hear me, O my brother; for she shall be given thee to wife; and make thou no reckoning of the evil spirit; for this same night shall she be given thee in marriage. (16) And when thou shalt come into the marriage chamber, thou shalt take the ashes of perfume, and shalt lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish, and shalt make a smoke with it: (17) And the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never come again any more: but when thou shalt come to her, rise up both of you, and pray to God which is merciful, who will have pity on you, and save you: fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee. Moreover I suppose that she shall bear thee children. Now when Tobias had heard these things, he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her.

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(1) And when they were come to Ecbatane, they came to the house of Raguel, and Sara met them: and after they had saluted one another, she brought them into the house. (2) Then said Raguel to Edna his wife, How like is this young man to Tobit my cousin! (3) And Raguel asked them, From whence are ye, brethren? To whom they said, We are of the sons of Nephthalim, which are captives in Nineve. (4) Then he said to them, Do ye know Tobit our kinsman? And they said, We know him. Then said he, Is he in good health? (5) And they said, He is both alive, and in good health: and Tobias said, He is my father. (6) Then Raguel leaped up, and kissed him, and wept, (7) And blessed him, and said unto him, Thou art the son of an honest and good man. But when he had heard that Tobit was blind, he was sorrowful, and wept. (8) And likewise Edna his wife and Sara his daughter wept. Moreover they entertained them cheerfully; and after that they had killed a ram of the flock, they set store of meat on the table. Then said Tobias to Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak of those things of which thou didst talk in the way, and let this business be dispatched. (9) So he communicated the matter with Raguel: and Raguel said to Tobias, Eat and drink, and make merry: (10) For it is meet that thou shouldest marry my daughter: nevertheless I will declare unto thee the truth. (11) I have given my daughter in marriage to seven men, who died that night they came in unto her: nevertheless for the present be merry. But Tobias said, I will eat nothing here, till we agree and swear one to another. (12) Raguel said, Then take her from henceforth according to the manner, for thou art her cousin, and she is thine, and the merciful God give you good success in all things. (13) Then he called his daughter Sara, and she came to her father, and he took her by the hand, and gave her to be wife to Tobias, saying, Behold, take her after the law of Moses, and lead her away to thy father. And he blessed them; (14) And called Edna his wife, and took paper, and did write an instrument of covenants, and sealed it. (15) Then they began to eat. (16) After Raguel called his wife Edna, and said unto her, Sister, prepare another chamber, and bring her in thither. (17) Which when she had done as he had bidden her, she brought her thither: and she wept, and she received the tears of her daughter, and said unto her, (18) Be of good comfort, my daughter; the Lord of heaven and earth give thee joy for this thy sorrow: be of good comfort, my daughter.

8

(1) And when they had supped, they brought Tobias in unto her. (2) And as he went, he remembered the words of Raphael, and took the ashes of the perfumes, and put the heart and the liver of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith. (3) The which smell when the evil spirit had smelled, he fled into the utmost parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. (4) And after that they were both shut in together, Tobias rose out of the bed, and said, Sister, arise, and let us pray that God would have pity on us. (5) Then began Tobias to say, Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed is thy holy and glorious name for ever; let the heavens bless thee, and all thy creatures. (6) Thou madest Adam, and gavest him Eve his wife for an helper and stay: of them came mankind: thou hast said, It is not good that man should be alone; let us make unto him an aid like unto himself. (7) And now, O Lord, I take not this my sister for lush but uprightly: therefore mercifully ordain that we may become aged together. (8) And she said with him, Amen. (9) So they slept both that night. And Raguel arose, and went and made a grave, (10) Saying, I fear lest he also be dead. (11) But when Raguel was come into his house, (12) He said unto his wife Edna. Send one of the maids, and let her see whether he be alive: if he be not, that we may bury him, and no man know it. (13) So the maid opened the door, and went in, and found them both asleep, (14) And came forth, and told them that he was alive. (15) Then Raguel praised God, and said, O God, thou art worthy to be praised with all pure and holy praise; therefore let thy saints praise thee with all thy creatures; and let all thine angels and thine elect praise thee for ever. (16) Thou art to be praised, for thou hast made me joyful; and that is not come to me which I suspected; but thou hast dealt with us according to thy great mercy. (17) Thou art to be praised because thou hast had mercy of two that were the only begotten children of their fathers: grant them mercy, O Lord, and finish their life in health with joy and mercy. (18) Then Raguel bade his servants to fill the grave. (19) And he kept the wedding feast fourteen days. (20) For before the days of the marriage were finished, Raguel had said unto him by an oath, that he should not depart till the fourteen days of the marriage were expired; (21) And then he should take the half of his goods, and go in safety to his father; and should have the rest when I and my wife be dead.

9

(1) Then Tobias called Raphael, and said unto him, (2) Brother Azarias, take with thee a servant, and two camels, and go to Rages of Media to Gabael, and bring me the money, and bring him to the wedding. (3) For Raguel hath sworn that I shall not depart. (4) But my father counteth the days; and if I tarry long, he will be very sorry. (5) So Raphael went out, and lodged with Gabael, and gave him the handwriting: who brought forth bags which were sealed up, and gave them to him. (6) And early in the morning they went forth both together, and came to the wedding: and Tobias blessed his wife.

10

(1) Now Tobit his father counted every day: and when the days of the journey were expired, and they came not, (2) Then Tobit said, Are they detained? or is Gabael dead, and there is no man to give him the money? (3) Therefore he was very sorry. (4) Then his wife said unto him, My son is dead, seeing he stayeth long; and she began to wail him, and said, (5) Now I care for nothing, my son, since I have let thee go, the light of mine eyes. (6) To whom Tobit said, Hold thy peace, take no care, for he is safe. (7) But she said, Hold thy peace, and deceive me not; my son is dead. And she went out every day into the way which they went, and did eat no meat on the daytime, and ceased not whole nights to bewail her son Tobias, until the fourteen days of the wedding were expired, which Raguel had sworn that he should spend there. Then Tobias said to Raguel, (8) Let me go, for my father and my mother look no more to see me. (9) But his father in law said unto him, Tarry with me, and I will send to thy father, and they shall declare unto him how things go with thee. (10) But Tobias said, No; but let me go to my father. (11) Then Raguel arose, and gave him Sara his wife, and half his goods, servants, and cattle, and money: (12) And he blessed them, and sent them away, saying, The God of heaven give you a prosperous journey, my children. (13) And he said to his daughter, Honour thy father and thy mother in law, which are now thy parents, that I may hear good report of thee. And he kissed her. Edna also said to Tobias, The Lord of heaven restore thee, my dear brother, and grant that I may see thy children of my daughter Sara before I die, that I may rejoice before the Lord: behold, I commit my daughter unto thee of special trust; where are do not entreat her evil.

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(1) After these things Tobias went his way, praising God that he had given him a prosperous journey, and blessed Raguel and Edna his wife, and went on his way till they drew near unto Nineve. (2) Then Raphael said to Tobias, Thou knowest, brother, how thou didst leave thy father: (3) Let us haste before thy wife, and prepare the house. (4) And take in thine hand the gall of the fish. So they went their way, and the dog went after them. (5) Now Anna sat looking about toward the way for her son. (6) And when she espied him coming, she said to his father, Behold, thy son cometh, and the man that went with him. (7) Then said Raphael, I know, Tobias, that thy father will open his eyes. (8) Therefore anoint thou his eyes with the gall, and being pricked therewith, he shall rub, and the whiteness shall fall away, and he shall see thee. (9) Then Anna ran forth, and fell upon the neck of her son, and said unto him, Seeing I have seen thee, my son, from henceforth I am content to die. And they wept both. (10) Tobit also went forth toward the door, and stumbled: but his son ran unto him, (11) And took hold of his father: and he strake of the gall on his fathers’ eyes, saying, Be of good hope, my father. (12) And when his eyes began to smart, he rubbed them; (13) And the whiteness pilled away from the corners of his eyes: and when he saw his son, he fell upon his neck. (14) And he wept, and said, Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever; and blessed are all thine holy angels: (15) For thou hast scourged, and hast taken pity on me: for, behold, I see my son Tobias. And his son went in rejoicing, and told his father the great things that had happened to him in Media. (16) Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter in law at the gate of Nineve, rejoicing and praising God: and they which saw him go marvelled, because he had received his sight. (17) But Tobias gave thanks before them, because God had mercy on him. And when he came near to Sara his daughter in law, he blessed her, saying, Thou art welcome, daughter: God be blessed, which hath brought thee unto us, and blessed be thy father and thy mother. And there was joy among all his brethren which were at Nineve. (18) And Achiacharus, and Nasbas his brother’s son, came: (19) And Tobias’ wedding was kept seven days with great joy.

12

(1) Then Tobit called his son Tobias, and said unto him, My son, see that the man have his wages, which went with thee, and thou must give him more. (2) And Tobias said unto him, O father, it is no harm to me to give him half of those things which I have brought: (3) For he hath brought me again to thee in safety, and made whole my wife, and brought me the money, and likewise healed thee. (4) Then the old man said, It is due unto him. (5) So he called the angel, and he said unto him, Take half of all that ye have brought and go away in safety. (6) Then he took them both apart, and said unto them, Bless God, praise him, and magnify him, and praise him for the things which he hath done unto you in the sight of all that live. It is good to praise God, and exalt his name, and honourably to shew forth the works of God; therefore be not slack to praise him. (7) It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but it is honourable to reveal the works of God. Do that which is good, and no evil shall touch you. (8) Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: (9) For alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life: (10) But they that sin are enemies to their own life. (11) Surely I will keep close nothing from you. For I said, It was good to keep close the secret of a king, but that it was honourable to reveal the works of God. (12) Now therefore, when thou didst pray, and Sara thy daughter in law, I did bring the remembrance of your prayers before the Holy One: and when thou didst bury the dead, I was with thee likewise. (13) And when thou didst not delay to rise up, and leave thy dinner, to go and cover the dead, thy good deed was not hid from me: but I was with thee. (14) And now God hath sent me to heal thee and Sara thy daughter in law. (15) I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One. (16) Then they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces: for they feared. (17) But he said unto them, Fear not, for it shall go well with you; praise God therefore. (18) For not of any favour of mine, but by the will of our God I came; wherefore praise him for ever. (19) All these days I did appear unto you; but I did neither eat nor drink, but ye did see a vision. (20) Now therefore give God thanks: for I go up to him that sent me; but write all things which are done in a book. (21) And when they arose, they saw him no more. (22) Then they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and how the angel of the Lord had appeared unto them.

13

(1) Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said, Blessed be God that liveth for ever, and blessed be his kingdom. (2) For he doth scourge, and hath mercy: he leadeth down to hell, and bringeth up again: neither is there any that can avoid his hand. (3) Confess him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel: for he hath scattered us among them. (4) There declare his greatness, and extol him before all the living: for he is our Lord, and he is the God our Father for ever. (5) And he will scourge us for our iniquities, and will have mercy again, and will gather us out of all nations, among whom he hath scattered us. (6) If ye turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and deal uprightly before him, then will he turn unto you, and will not hide his face from you. Therefore see what he will do with you, and confess him with your whole mouth, and praise the Lord of might, and extol the everlasting King. In the land of my captivity do I praise him, and declare his might and majesty to a sinful nation. O ye sinners, turn and do justice before him: who can tell if he will accept you, and have mercy on you? (7) I will extol my God, and my soul shall praise the King of heaven, and shall rejoice in his greatness. (8) Let all men speak, and let all praise him for his righteousness. (9) O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will scourge thee for thy children’s works, and will have mercy again on the sons of the righteous. (10) Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: and praise the everlasting King, that his tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy, and let him make joyful there in thee those that are captives, and love in thee for ever those that are miserable. (11) Many nations shall come from far to the name of the Lord God with gifts in their hands, even gifts to the King of heaven; all generations shall praise thee with great joy. (12) Cursed are all they which hate thee, and blessed shall all be which love thee for ever. (13) Rejoice and be glad for the children of the just: for they shall be gathered together, and shall bless the Lord of the just. (14) O blessed are they which love thee, for they shall rejoice in thy peace: blessed are they which have been sorrowful for all thy scourges; for they shall rejoice for thee, when they have seen all thy glory, and shall be glad for ever. (15) Let my soul bless God the great King. (16) For Jerusalem shall be built up with sapphires and emeralds, and precious stone: thy walls and towers and battlements with pure gold. (17) And the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stones of Ophir. (18) And all her streets shall say, Alleluia; and they shall praise him, saying, Blessed be God, which hath extolled it for ever.

14

(1) So Tobit made an end of praising God. (2) And he was eight and fifty years old when he lost his sight, which was restored to him after eight years: and he gave alms, and he increased in the fear of the Lord God, and praised him. (3) And when he was very aged he called his son, and the sons of his son, and said to him, My son, take thy children; for, behold, I am aged, and am ready to depart out of this life. (4) Go into Media my son, for I surely believe those things which Jonas the prophet spake of Nineve, that it shall be overthrown; and that for a time peace shall rather be in Media; and that our brethren shall lie scattered in the earth from that good land: and Jerusalem shall be desolate, and the house of God in it shall be burned, and shall be desolate for a time; (5) And that again God will have mercy on them, and bring them again into the land, where they shall build a temple, but not like to the first, until the time of that age be fulfilled; and afterward they shall return from all places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the house of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building, as the prophets have spoken thereof. (6) And all nations shall turn, and fear the Lord God truly, and shall bury their idols. (7) So shall all nations praise the Lord, and his people shall confess God, and the Lord shall exalt his people; and all those which love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoice, shewing mercy to our brethren. (8) And now, my son, depart out of Nineve, because that those things which the prophet Jonas spake shall surely come to pass. (9) But keep thou the law and the commandments, and shew thyself merciful and just, that it may go well with thee. (10) And bury me decently, and thy mother with me; but tarry no longer at Nineve. Remember, my son, how Aman handled Achiacharus that brought him up, how out of light he brought him into darkness, and how he rewarded him again: yet Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his reward: for he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him: but Aman fell into the snare, and perished. (11) Wherefore now, my son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteousness doth deliver. When he had said these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed, being an hundred and eight and fifty years old; and he buried him honourably. (12) And when Anna his mother was dead, he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and children to Ecbatane to Raguel his father in law, (13) Where he became old with honour, and he buried his father and mother in law honourably, and he inherited their substance, and his father Tobit’s. (14) And he died at Ecbatane in Media, being an hundred and seven and twenty years old. (15) But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.

First Maccabees

Second Maccabees

Psalms

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115a 115b 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151

1

(1) Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of evil men. (2) But his pleasure is in the law of the Lord; and in his law will he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be as a tree planted by the brooks of waters, which shall yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall off; and whatsoever he shall do shall be prospered. (4) Not so the ungodly; —not so: but rather as the chaff which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just. (6) For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

2

(1) Wherefore did the heathen rage, and the nations imagine vain things? (2) The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against his Christ; (3) saying, Let us break through their bonds, and cast away their yoke from us. (4) He that dwells in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn, and the Lord shall mock them. (5) Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his fury. (6) But I have been made king by him on Sion his holy mountain, (7) declaring the ordinance of the Lord: the Lord said to me, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. (8) Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession. (9) Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces as a potter’s vessel. (10) Now therefore understand, ye kings: be instructed, all ye that judge the earth. (11) Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling. (12) Accept correction, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and ye should perish from the righteous way: whensoever his wrath shall be suddenly kindled, blessed are all they that trust in him.

3

A Psalm of David, when he fled from the presence of his son Abessalom. (1) O Lord, why are they that afflict me multiplied? many rise up against me. (2) Many say concerning my soul, There is no deliverance for him in his God. Pause. (3) But thou, O Lord, art my helper: my glory, and the one that lifts up my head. (4) I cried to the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy mountain. Pause. (5) I lay down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord will help me. (6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, who beset me round about. (7) Arise, Lord; deliver me, my God: for thou hast smitten all who were without cause mine enemies; thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. (8) Deliverance is the Lord’s, and thy blessing is upon thy people.

4

For the End, a Song of David among the Psalms. (1) When I called upon him, the God of my righteousness heard me: thou hast made room for me in tribulation; pity me, and hearken to my prayer. (2) O ye sons on men, how long will ye be slow of heart? wherefore do ye love vanity, and seek falsehood? Pause. (3) But know ye that the Lord has done wondrous things for his holy one: the Lord will hear me when I cry to him. (4) Be ye angry, and sin not; feel compunction upon your beds for what ye say in your hearts. Pause. (5) Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and trust in the Lord. (6) Many say, Who will shew us good things? the light of thy countenance, O Lord, has been manifested towards us. (7) Thou hast put gladness into my heart: they have been satisfied with the fruit of their corn and wine and oil. (8) I will both lie down in peace and sleep: for thou, Lord, only hast caused me to dwell securely.

5

For the end, a Psalm of David, concerning her that inherits. (1) Hearken to my words, O Lord, attend to my cry. (2) Attend to the voice of my supplication, my King, and my God: for to thee, O Lord, will I pray. (3) In the morning thou shalt hear my voice: in the morning will I wait upon thee, and will look up. (4) For thou art not a god that desires iniquity; neither shall the worker of wickedness dwell with thee. (5) Neither shall the transgressors continue in thy sight: thou hatest, O Lord, all them that work iniquity. (6) Thou wilt destroy all that speak falsehood: the Lord abhors the bloody and deceitful man. (7) But I will enter into thine house in the multitude of thy mercy: I will worship in thy fear toward thy holy temple. (8) Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make my way plain before thy face. (9) For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain; their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit. (10) Judge them, O God; let them fail of their counsels: cast them out according to the abundance of their ungodliness; for they have provoked thee, O Lord. (11) But let all that trust on thee be glad in thee: they shall exult for ever, and thou shalt dwell among them; and all that love thy name shall rejoice in thee. (12) For thou, Lord, shalt bless the righteous: thou hast compassed us as with a shield of favour.

6

For the End, a Psalm of David among the Hymns for the eighth. (1) O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thine anger. (2) Pity me, O Lord; for I am weak: heal me, O Lord; for my bones are vexed. (3) My soul also is grievously vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long? (4) Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: save me for thy mercy’s sake. (5) For in death no man remembers thee: and who will give thee thanks in Hades? (6) I am wearied with my groaning; I shall wash my bed every night; I shall water my couch with tears. (7) Mine eye is troubled because of my wrath; I am worn out because of all my enemies. (8) Depart from me, all ye that work iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. (9) The Lord has hearkened to my petition; the Lord has accepted my prayer. (10) Let all mine enemies be put to shame and sore troubled: let them be turned back and grievously put to shame speedily.

7

A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord because of the words of Chusi the Benjamite. (1) O Lord my God, in thee have I trusted: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. (2) Lest at any time the enemy seize my soul as a lion, while there is none to ransom, nor to save. (3) O Lord my God, if I have done this; (if there is unrighteousness in my hands;) (4) if I have requited with evil those who requited me with good; may I then perish empty by means of my enemies. (5) Let the enemy persecute my soul, an take it; and let him trample my life on the ground, and lay my glory in the dust. Pause. (6) Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath; be exalted in the utmost boundaries of mine enemies: awake, O Lord my God, according to the decree which thou didst command. (7) And the congregation of the nations shall compass thee: and for this cause do thou return on high. (8) The Lord shall judge the nations: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my innocence that is in me. (9) Oh let the wickedness of sinners come to an end; and then thou shalt direct the righteous, O God that searchest the hearts and reins. (10) My help is righteous, coming from God who saves the upright in heart. (11) God is a righteous judge, and strong, and patient, not inflicting vengeance every day. (12) If ye will not repent, he will furbish his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready. (13) And on it he has fitted the instruments of death; he has completed his arrows for the raging ones. (14) Behold, he has travailed with unrighteousness, he has conceived trouble, and brought forth iniquity. (15) He has opened a pit, and dug it up, and he shall fall into the ditch which he has made. (16) His trouble shall return on his own head, and his unrighteousness shall come down on his own crown. (17) I will give thanks to the Lord according to his righteousness; I will sing to the name of the Lord most high.

8

For the end, concerning the wine-presses, a Psalm of David. (1) O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth! for thy magnificence is exalted above the heavens. (2) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise, because of thine enemies; that thou mightest put down the enemy and avenger. (3) For I will regard the heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and stars, which thou hast established. (4) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) Thou madest him a little less than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; (6) and thou hast set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things under his feet: (7) sheep and all oxen, yea and the cattle of the field; (8) the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, the creatures passing through the paths of the sea. (9) O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth!

9

For the end, a Psalm of David, concerning the secrets of the Son. (1) I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all thy wonderful works. (2) I will be glad and exult in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou Most High. (3) When mine enemies are turned back, they shall be feeble and perish at thy presence. (4) For thou hast maintained my cause and my right; thou satest on the throne, that judgest righteousness. (5) Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one has perished; thou hast blotted out their name for ever, even for ever and ever. (6) The swords of the enemy have failed utterly; and thou hast destroyed cities: their memorial has been destroyed with a noise, (7) but the Lord endures for ever: he has prepared his throne for judgment. (8) And he will judge the world in righteousness, he will judge the nations in uprightness. (9) The Lord also is become a refuge for the poor, a seasonable help, in affliction. (10) And let them that know thy name hope in thee: for thou, O Lord, hast not failed them that diligently seek thee. (11) Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Sion: declare his dealings among the nations. (12) For he remembered them, in making inquisition for blood: he has not forgotten the supplication of the poor. (13) Have mercy upon me, O Lord; look upon my affliction which I suffer of mine enemies, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: (14) that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion: I will exult in thy salvation. (15) The heathen are caught in the destruction which they planned: in the very snare which they hid is their foot taken. (16) The Lord is known as executing judgments: the sinner is taken in the works of his hands. A song of Pause. (17) Let sinners be driven away into Hades, even all the nations that forget God. (18) For the poor shall not be forgotten for ever: the patience of the needy ones shall not perish for ever. (19) Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged before thee. (20) Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: let the heathen know that they are men. Pause. (21) Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why dost thou overlook us in times of need, in affliction? (22) While the ungodly one acts proudly, the poor is hotly pursued: the wicked are taken in the crafty counsels which they imagine. (23) Because the sinner praises himself for the desires of his heart; and the unjust one blesses himself. (24) The sinner has provoked the Lord: according to the abundance of his pride he will not seek after him: God is not before him. (25) His ways are profane at all times; thy judgments are removed from before him: he will gain the mastery over all his enemies. (26) For he has said in his heart, I shall not be moved, continuing without evil from generation to generation. (27) Whose mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness, and fraud: under his tongue are trouble and pain. (28) He lies in wait with rich men in secret places, in order to slay the innocent: his eyes are set against the poor. (29) He lies in wait in secret as a lion in his den: he lies in wait to ravish the poor, to ravish the poor when he draws him after him: he will bring him down in his snare. (30) He will bow down and fall when he has mastered the poor. (31) For he has said in his heart, God has forgotten: he has turned away his face so as never to look. (32) Arise, O Lord God; let thy hand be lifted up: forget not the poor. (33) Wherefore, has the wicked provoked God? for he has said in his heart, He will not require it. (34) Thou seest it; for thou dost observe trouble and wrath, to deliver them into thy hands: the poor has been left to thee; thou wast a helper to the orphan. (35) Break thou the arm of the sinner and wicked man: his sin shall be sought for, and shall not be found. (36) The Lord shall reign for ever, even for ever and ever: ye Gentiles shall perish out his land. (37) The Lord has heard the desire of the poor: thine ear has inclined to the preparation of their heart; (38) to plead for the orphan and afflicted, that man may no more boast upon the earth.

10

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) In the Lord I have put my trust: how will ye say to my soul, Flee to the mountains as a sparrow? (2) For behold the sinners have bent their bow, they have prepared their arrows for the quiver, to shoot privily at the upright in heart. (3) For they have pulled down what thou didst frame, but what has the righteous done? (4) The Lord is in his holy temple, as for the Lord, his throne is in heaven: his eyes look upon the poor, his eyelids try the sons of men. (5) The Lord tries the righteous and the ungodly: and he that loves unrighteousness hates his own soul. (6) He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire, and brimstone, and a stormy blast shall be the portion of their cup. (7) For the Lord is righteous, and loves righteousness; his face beholds uprightness.

11

For the end, A Psalm of David, upon the eighth. (1) Save me, O Lord; for the godly man has failed; for truth is diminished from among the children of men. (2) Every one has spoken vanity to his neighbour: their lips are deceitful, they have spoken with a double heart. (3) Let the Lord destroy all the deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks great words: (4) who have said, We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own: who is Lord of us? (5) Because of the misery of the poor, and because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set them in safety; I will speak to them thereof openly. (6) The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles; as silver tried in the fire, proved in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (7) Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us, and shalt preserve us, from this generation, and for ever. (8) The ungodly walk around: according to thy greatness thou has greatly exalted the sons of men.

12

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me? for ever? how long wilt thou turn away thy face from me? (2) How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrows in my heart daily? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (3) Look on me, hearken to me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep in death; (4) lest at any time mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him: my persecutors will exult if ever I should be moved. (5) But I have hoped in thy mercy; my heart shall exult in thy salvation. (6) I will sing to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with me, and I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord most high.

13

For the end, Psalm of David. (1) The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in their devices; there is none that does goodness, there is not even so much as one. (2) The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after god. (3) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become good for nothing, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. (4) Will not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they would eat bread? they have not called upon the Lord. (5) There were they alarmed with fear, where there was no fear; for God is in the righteous generation. (6) Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his hope. (7) Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Sion? when the Lord brings back the captivity of his people, let Jacob exult, and Israel be glad.

14

A Psalm of David. (1) O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? and who shall dwell in thy holy mountain? (2) He that walks blameless, and works righteousness, who speaks truth in his heart. (3) Who has not spoken craftily with is tongue, neither has done evil to his neighbour, nor taken up a reproach against them that dwelt nearest to him. (4) In his sight an evil-worker is set at nought, but he honours them that fear the Lord. He swears to his neighbour, and disappoints him not. (5) He has not lent his money on usury, and has not received bribes against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.

15

A writing of David. (1) Keep me, O Lord; for I have hoped in thee. (2) I said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord; for thou has no need of my goodness. (3) On behalf of the saints that are in his land, he has magnified all his pleasure in them. (4) Their weaknesses have been multiplied; afterward they hasted. I will by no means assemble their bloody meetings, neither will I make mention of their names with my lips. (5) The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou art he that restores my inheritance to me. (6) The lines have fallen to me in the best places, yea, I have a most excellent heritage. (7) I will bless the Lord who has instructed me; my reins too have chastened me even till night. (8) I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. (9) Therefore my heart rejoiced an my tongue exulted; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: (10) because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (11) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt fill me with joy with thy countenance: at thy right hand there are delights for ever.

16

A prayer of David. (1) Hearken, O Lord of my righteousness, attend to my petition; give ear to my prayer not uttered with deceitful lips. (2) Let my judgment come forth from thy presence; let mine eyes behold righteousness. (3) Thou has proved mine heart; thou hast visited me by night; thou hast tried me as with fire, and unrighteousness has not been found in me: I am purposed that my mouth shall not speak amiss. (4) As for the works of men, by the words of thy lips I have guarded myself from hard ways. (5) Direct my steps in thy paths, that my steps slip not. (6) I have cried, for thou heardest me, O God: incline thine ear to me, and hearken to my words. (7) Shew the marvels of thy mercies, thou that savest them that hope in thee. (8) Keep me as the apple of the eye from those that resist thy right hand: thou shalt screen me by the covering of thy wings, (9) from the face of the ungodly that have afflicted me: mine enemies have compassed about my soul. (10) They have enclosed themselves with their own fat: their mouth has spoken pride. (11) They have now cast me out and compassed me round about: they have set their eyes so as to bow them down to the ground. (12) They laid wait for me as a lion ready for prey, and like a lion’s whelp dwelling in secret places. (13) Arise, O Lord, prevent them, and cast them down: deliver my soul from the ungodly: draw thy sword, (14) because of the enemies of thine hand: O Lord, destroy them from the earth; scatter them in their life, though their belly has been filled with thy hidden treasures: they have been satisfied with uncleanness, and have left the remnant of their possessions to their babes. (15) But I shall appear in righteousness before thy face: I shall be satisfied when thy glory appears.

17

For the end, a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord; the words which he spoke to the Lord, even the words of this Song, in the day in which the Lord delivered him out the hand of all his enemies, and out the hand of Saul: and he said: (1) I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. (2) The Lord is my firm support, and my refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper, I will hope in him; he is my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my helper. (3) I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from mine enemies. (4) The pangs of death compassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness troubled me exceedingly. (5) The pangs of hell came round about me: the snares of death prevented me. (6) And when I was afflicted I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of this holy temple, and my cry shall enter before him, even into his ears. (7) Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them. (8) There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire burst into a flame at his presence: coals were kindled at it. (9) And he bowed the heaven, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet. (10) And he mounted on cherubs and flew: he flew on the wings of winds. (11) And he made darkness his secret place: round about him was his tabernacle, even dark water in the clouds of the air. (12) At the brightness before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. (13) The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Highest uttered his voice. (14) And he sent forth his weapons, and scattered them; and multiplied lightnings, and routed them. (15) And the springs of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the breath of thy wrath. (16) He sent from on high and took me, he drew me to himself out of many waters. (17) He will deliver me from my mighty enemies, and from them that hate me; for they are stronger than I. (18) They prevented me in the day of mine affliction: but the Lord was my stay against them. (19) And he brought me out into a wide place: he will deliver me, because he has pleasure in me. (20) And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands will he recompense me. (21) For I have kept the way of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. (22) For all his judgments were before me, and his ordinances departed not from me. (23) And I shall be blameless with hem, and shall keep myself from mine iniquity. (24) And the Lord shall recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands before his eyes. (25) With the holy thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent. (26) And with the excellent man thou wilt be excellent; and with the perverse thou wilt shew frowardness. (27) For thou wilt save the lowly people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud. (28) For thou, O Lord, wilt light my lamp: my God, thou wilt lighten my darkness. (29) For by thee shall I be delivered from a troop; and by my God I will pass over a wall. (30) As for my God, his way is perfect: the oracles of the Lord are tried in the fire; he is a protector of all them that hope in him. (31) For who is God but the Lord? and who is a God except our God? (32) It is God that girds me with strength, and has made my way blameless: (33) who strengthens my feet as hart’s feet, and sets me upon high places. (34) He instructs my hands for war: and thou hast made my arms as a brazen bow. (35) And thou hast made me secure in my salvation: and thy right hand has helped me, and thy correction has upheld me to the end; yea, thy correction itself shall instruct me. (36) Thou has made room for my goings under me, and by footsteps did not fail. (37) I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; and I will not turn back until they are consumed. (38) I will dash them to pieces and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet. (39) For thou hast girded me with strength for war: thou hast beaten down under me all that rose up against me. (40) And thou has made mine enemies turn their backs before me; and thou hast destroyed them that hated me. (41) They cried, but there was no deliverer: even to the Lord, but he hearkened not to them. (42) I will grind them as the mud of the streets: and I will beat them small as dust before the wind. (43) Deliver me from the gain sayings of the people: thou shalt make me head of the Gentiles: a people whom I knew not served me, (44) at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me: the strange children lied to me. (45) The strange children waxed old, and fell away from their paths through lameness. (46) The Lord lives; and blessed be my God; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. (47) It is God that avenges me, and has subdued the nations under me; (48) my deliverer from angry enemies: thou shalt set me on high above them that rise up against me: thou shalt deliver me from the unrighteous man. (49) Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name. (50) God magnifies the deliverances of his king; and deals mercifully with David his anointed, and his seed, for ever.

18

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. (2) Day to day utters speech, and night to night proclaims knowledge. (3) There are no speeches or words, in which their voices are not heard. (4) Their voice is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. (5) In the sun he has set his tabernacle; and he comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber: he will exult as a giant to run his course. (6) His going forth is from the extremity of heaven, and his circuit to the other end of heaven: and no one shall be hidden from his heat. (7) The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, instructing babes. (8) The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. (9) The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, and justified altogether. (10) To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone: sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. (11) For thy servant keeps to them: in the keeping of them there is great reward. (12) Who will understand his transgressions? purge thou me from my secret sins. (13) And spare thy servant the attack of strangers: if they do not gain the dominion over me, then shall I be blameless, and I shall be clear from great sin. (14) So shall the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing continually before thee, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer.

19

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. (2) Send thee help from the sanctuary, and aid thee out of Sion. (3) Remember all thy sacrifice, and enrich thy whole-burnt-offering. Pause. (4) Grant thee according to thy heart, and fulfill all thy desire. (5) We will exult in thy salvation, and in the name of our God shall we be magnified: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. (6) Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ: he shall hear him from his holy heaven: the salvation of his right hand is mighty. (7) Some glory in chariots, and some in horses: but we will glory in the name of the Lord our God. (8) They are overthrown and fallen: but we are risen, and have been set upright. (9) O Lord, save the king: and hear us in whatever day we call upon thee.

20

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) O Lord, the king shall rejoice in thy strength; and in thy salvation he shall greatly exult. (2) Thou hast granted him the desire of his soul, and hast not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause. (3) For thou hast prevented him with blessings of goodness: thou has set upon his head a crown of precious stone. (4) He asked life of thee, and thou gavest him length of days for ever and ever. (5) His glory is great in thy salvation: thou wilt crown him with glory and majesty. (6) For thou wilt give him a blessing for ever and ever: thou wilt gladden him with joy with thy countenance. (7) For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Highest he shall not be moved. (8) Let thy hand be found by all thine enemies: let thy right hand find all that hate thee. (9) Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven at the time of thy presence: the Lord shall trouble them in his anger, and fire shall devour them. (10) Thou shalt destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from among the sons of men. (11) For they intended evils against thee; they imagined a device which they shall by no means be able to perform. (12) For thou shalt make them turn their back in thy latter end, thou wilt prepare their face. (13) Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy strength: we will sing and praise thy mighty acts.

21

For the end, concerning the morning aid, a Psalm of David. (1) O God, my God, attend to me: why hast thou forsaken me? the account of my transgressions is far from my salvation. (2) O my God, I will cry to thee by day, but thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be accounted for folly to me. (3) But thou, the praise of Israel, dwellest in a sanctuary. (4) Our fathers hoped in thee; they hoped, and thou didst deliver them. (5) They cried to thee, and were saved: they hoped in thee, and were not ashamed. (6) But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of men, and scorn of the people. (7) All that saw me mocked me: they spoke with their lips, they shook the head, saying, (8) He hoped in the Lord: let him deliver him, let him save him, because he takes pleasure in him. (9) For thou art he that drew me out of the womb; my hope from my mother’s breasts. (10) I was cast on thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. (11) Stand not aloof from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper. (12) Many bullocks have compassed me: fat bulls have beset me round. (13) They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. (14) I am poured out like water, and all my bones are loosened: my heart in the midst of my belly is become like melting wax. (15) My strength is dried up, like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. (16) For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet. (17) They counted all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me. (18) They parted my garments among themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment. (19) But thou, O Lord, remove not my help afar off: be ready for mine aid. (20) Deliver my soul from the sword; my only-begotten one from the power of the dog. (21) Save me from the lion’s mouth; and regard my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns. (22) I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee. (23) Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye seed of Jacob, glorify him: let all the seed of Israel fear him. (24) For he has not despised nor been angry at the supplication of the poor; nor turned away his face from me; but when I cried to him, he heard me. (25) My praise is of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. (26) The poor shall eat and be satisfied; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their heart shall live for ever. (27) All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him. (28) For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he is the governor of the nations. (29) All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped: all that go down to the earth shall fall down before him: my soul also lives to him. (30) And my seed shall serve him: the generation that is coming shall be reported to the Lord. (31) And they shall report his righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made.

22

A Psalm of David. (1) The Lord tends me as a shepherd, and I shall want nothing. (2) In a place of green grass, there he has made me dwell: he has nourished me by the water of rest. (3) He has restored my soul: he has guided me into the paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake. (4) Yea, even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid of evils: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, these have comforted me. (5) Thou has prepared a table before me in presence of them that afflict me: thou hast thoroughly anointed my head with oil; and thy cup cheers me like the best wine. (6) Thy mercy also shall follow me all the days of my life: and my dwelling shall be in the house of the Lord for a very long time.

23

A Psalm for David on the first day of the week. (1) The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and all that dwell in it. (2) He has founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the rivers. (3) Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place? (4) He that is innocent in his hands and pure in his heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour. (5) He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour. (6) This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek the face of the God of Jacob. Pause. (7) Lift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in. (8) Who is this king of Glory? the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. (9) Lift up your gates, ye princes; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in. (10) Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is this king of glory.

24

A Psalm of David. (1) To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. (2) O my God, I have trusted in thee: let me not be confounded, neither let mine enemies laugh me to scorn. (3) For none of them that wait on thee shall in any wise be ashamed: let them be ashamed that transgress without cause. (4) Shew me thy ways, O Lord; and teach me thy paths. (5) Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art God my Saviour: and I have waited on thee all the day. (6) Remember thy compassions, O Lord, and thy mercies, for they are from everlasting. (7) Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my sins of ignorance: remember me according to thy mercy, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. (8) Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he instruct sinners in the way. (9) The meek will he guide in judgment: the meek will he teach his ways. (10) All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to them that seek his covenant and his testimonies. (11) For thy name’s sake, O Lord, do thou also be merciful to my sin; for it is great. (12) Who is the man that fears the Lord? he shall instruct him in the way which he has chosen. (13) His soul shall dwell in prosperity; and his seed shall inherit the earth. (14) The Lord is the strength of them that fear him; and his covenant is to manifest truth to them. (15) Mine eyes are continually to the Lord; for he shall draw my feet out of the snare. (16) Look upon me, and have mercy upon me; for I am an only child and poor. (17) The afflictions of my heart have been multiplied; deliver me from my distresses. (18) Look upon mine affliction and my trouble; and forgive all my sins. (19) Look upon mine enemies; for they have been multiplied; and they have hated me with unjust hatred. (20) Keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I have hoped in thee. (21) The harmless and upright joined themselves to me: for I waited for thee, O Lord. (22) Deliver Israel, O God, out of all his afflictions.

25

A Psalm of David. (1) Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in my innocence: and hoping in the Lord I shall not be moved. (2) Prove me, O Lord, and try me; purify as with fire my reins and my heart. (3) For thy mercy is before mine eyes: and I am well pleased with thy truth. (4) I have not sat with the council of vanity, and will in nowise enter in with transgressors. (5) I have hated the assembly of wicked doers; and will not sit with ungodly men. (6) I will wash my hands in innocency, and compass thine altar, O Lord: (7) to hear the voice of praise, and to declare all thy wonderful works. (8) O Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place of the tabernacle of thy glory. (9) Destroy not my soul together with the ungodly, nor my life with bloody men: (10) in whose hands are iniquities, and their right hand is filled with bribes. (11) But I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy upon me. (12) My foot stands in an even place: in the congregations will I bless thee, O Lord.

26

A Psalm of David, before he was anointed. (1) The Lord is my light and my Saviour; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (2) When evil-doers drew nigh against me to eat up my flesh, my persecutors and mine enemies, they fainted and fell. (3) Though an army should set itself in array against me, my heart shall not be afraid: though war should rise up against me, in this am I confident. (4) One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I earnestly seek: that I should dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, that I should behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and survey his temple. (5) For in the day of mine afflictions he hid me in his tabernacle: he sheltered me in the secret of his tabernacle; he set me up on a rock. (6) And now, behold, he has lifted up mine head over mine enemies: I went round and offered in his tabernacle the sacrifice of joy; I will sing even sing psalms to the Lord. (7) Hear, O Lord, my voice which I have uttered aloud: pity me, and hearken to me. (8) My heart said to thee, I have diligently sought thy face: thy face, O Lord, I will seek. (9) Turn not thy face away from me, turn not thou away from thy servant in anger: be thou my helper, forsake me not; and, O God my Saviour, overlook me not. (10) For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me to himself. (11) Teach me, O Lord, in thy way, and guide me in a right path, because of mine enemies. (12) Deliver me not over to the desire of them that afflict me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and injustice has lied within herself. (13) I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (14) Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and let thy heart be strengthened: yea wait on the Lord.

27

A Psalm of David. (1) To thee, O Lord, have I cried; my God, be not silent toward me: lest thou be silent toward me, and so I should be likened to them that go down to the pit. (2) Hearken to the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy temple. (3) Draw not away my soul with sinners, and destroy me not with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbours, but evils are in their hearts. (4) Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their devices: give them according to the works of their hands; render their recompense unto them. (5) Because they have not attended to the works of the Lord, even to the works of his hands, thou shalt pull them down, and shalt not build them up. (6) Blessed be the Lord, for he has hearkened to the voice of my petition. (7) The Lord is my helper and my defender; my heart has hoped in him, and I am helped: my flesh has revived, and willingly will I give praise to him. (8) The Lord is the strength of his people, and the saving defender of his anointed. (9) Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: and take care of them, and lift them up for ever.

28

A Psalm of David on the occasion of the solemn assembly of the Tabernacle. (1) Bring to the Lord, ye sons of God, bring to the Lord young rams; bring to the Lord glory and honour. (2) Bring to the Lord glory, due to his name; worship the lord in his holy court. (3) The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory has thundered: the Lord is upon many waters. (4) The voice of the Lord is mighty; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. (5) There is the voice of the Lord who breaks the cedars; the Lord will break the cedars of Libanus. (6) And he will beat them small, even Libanus itself, like a calf; and the beloved one is as a young unicorn. (7) There is a voice of the Lord who divides a flame of fire. (8) A voice of the Lord who shakes the wilderness; the Lord will shake the wilderness of Cades. (9) The voice of the Lord strengthens the hinds, and will uncover the thickets: and in his temple every one speaks of his glory. (10) The Lord will dwell on the waterflood: and the Lord will sit a king for ever. (11) The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

29

For the end, a Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. (1) I will exalt thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and not caused mine enemies to rejoice over me. (2) O Lord my God, I cried to thee, and thou didst heal me. (3) O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Hades, thou hast delivered me from among them that go down to the pit. (4) Sing to the Lord, ye his saints, and give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness. (5) For anger is in his wrath, but life in his favour: weeping shall tarry for the evening, but joy shall be in the morning. (6) And I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. (7) O Lord, in thy good pleasure thou didst add strength to my beauty: but thou didst turn away thy face, and I was troubled. (8) To thee, O Lord, will I cry; and to my God will I make supplication. (9) What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to destruction? Shall the dust give praise to thee? or shall it declare thy truth? (10) The Lord heard, and had compassion upon me; the Lord is become my helper. (11) Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me: thou hast rent off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; (12) that my glory may sing praise to thee, and I may not be pierced with sorrow. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

30

For the end, a Psalm of David, an utterance of extreme fear. (1) O Lord, I have hoped in thee; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness and rescue me. (2) Incline thine ear to me; make haste to rescue me: be thou to me for a protecting God, and for a house of refuge to save me. (3) For thou art my strength and my refuge; and thou shalt guide me for thy name’s sake, and maintain me. (4) Thou shalt bring me out of the snare which they have hidden for me; for thou, O Lord, art my defender. (5) Into thine hands I will commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. (6) Thou has hated them that idly persist in vanities: but I have hoped in the Lord. (7) I will exult and be glad in thy mercy: for thou hast looked upon mine affliction; thou hast saved my soul from distresses. (8) And thou hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a wide place. (9) Pity me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with indignation, my soul and by belly. (10) For my life is spent with grief, and my years with groanings: my strength has been weakened through poverty, and my bones are troubled. (11) I became a reproach among all mine enemies, but exceedingly so to my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that saw me without fled from me. (12) I have been forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am become as a broken vessel. (13) For I heard the slander of many that dwelt round about: when they were gathered together against me, they took counsel to take my life. (14) But I hoped in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. (15) My lots are in thy hands: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, (16) and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me in thy mercy. (17) O Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I have called upon thee: let the ungodly be ashamed, and brought down to Hades. (18) Let the deceitful lips become dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous with pride and scorn. (19) How abundant is the multitude of thy goodness, O Lord, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee! thou hast wrought it out for them that hope on thee, in the presence of the sons of men. (20) Thou wilt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the vexation of man: thou wilt screen them in a tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. (21) Blessed be the Lord: for he has magnified his mercy in a fortified city. (22) But I said in my extreme fear, I am cast out from the sight of thine eyes: therefore thou didst hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication when I cried to thee. (23) Love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord seeks for truth, and renders a reward to them that deal very proudly. (24) Be of good courage, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

31

A Psalm of instruction by David. (1) Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and who sins are covered. (2) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, and whose mouth there is no guile. (3) Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old, from my crying all the day. (4) For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I became thoroughly miserable while a thorn was fastened in me. Pause. (5) I acknowledged my sin, and hid not mine iniquity: I said, I will confess mine iniquity to the Lord against myself; and thou forgavest the ungodliness of my heart. Pause. (6) Therefore shall every holy one pray to thee in a fit time: only in the deluge of many waters they shall not come nigh to him. (7) Thou art my refuge from the affliction that encompasses me; my joy, to deliver me from them that have compassed me. Pause. (8) I will instruct thee and guide thee in this way wherein thou shalt go: I will fix mine eyes upon thee. (9) Be ye not as horse and mule, which have no understanding; but thou must constrain their jaws with bit and curb, lest they should come nigh to thee. (10) Many are the scourges of the sinner: but him that hopes in the Lord mercy shall compass about. (11) Be glad in the Lord, and exult, ye righteous: and glory, all ye that are upright in heart.

32

A Psalm of David. (1) Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; praise becomes the upright. (2) Praise the Lord on the harp; platy to him on a psaltery of ten strings. (3) Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. (4) For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are faithful. (5) He loves mercy and judgment; the earth is full the mercy of the Lord. (6) By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. (7) Who gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; who lays up the deeps in treasuries. (8) Let all the earth fear the Lord; and let all that dwell in the world be moved because of him. (9) For he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created. (10) The Lord frustrates the counsels of the nations; he brings to nought also the reasonings of the peoples, and brings to nought the counsels of princes. (11) But the counsel of the Lord endures for ever, the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation. (12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. (13) The Lord looks out of heaven; he beholds all the sons of men. (14) He looks from his prepared habitation on all the dwellers on the earth; (15) who fashioned their hearts alone; who understands all their works. (16) A king is not saved by reason of a great host; and a giant shall not be delivered by the greatness of his strength. (17) A horse is vain for safety; neither shall he be delivered by the greatness of his power. (18) Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him, those that hope in his mercy; (19) to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (20) Our soul waits on the Lord; for he is our helper and defender. (21) For our heart shall rejoice in him, and we have hoped in his holy name. (22) Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in thee.

33

A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he departed. (1) I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be continually in my mouth. (2) My soul shall boast herself in the Lord: let the meek hear, and rejoice. (3) Magnify ye the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. (4) I sought the Lord diligently, and he hearkened to me, and delivered me from all my sojournings. (5) Draw near to him, and be enlightened: and your faces shall not by any means be ashamed. (6) This poor man cried, and the Lord hearkened to him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions. (7) The angel of the Lord will encamp round about them that fear him, and will deliver them. (8) Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who hopes in him. (9) Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. (10) The rich have become poor and hungry: but they that seek the Lord diligently shall not want any good thing. Pause. (11) Come, ye children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (12) What man is there that desires life, loving to see good days? (13) Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. (14) Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. (15) The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer: (16) but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord hearkened to them, (17) and delivered them out of all their afflictions. (18) The Lord is near to them that are of a contrite heart; and will save the lowly in spirit. (19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but out of them all Lord will deliver them. (20) He keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. (21) The death of sinners is evil: and they that hate righteousness will go wrong. (22) The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of those that hope in him shall go wrong.

34

A Psalm of David. (1) Judge thou, O Lord, them that injure me, fight against them that fight against me. (2) Take hold of shield and buckler, and arise for my help. (3) Bring forth a sword, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say to my soul, I am thy salvation. (4) Let them that seek my soul be ashamed and confounded: let them that devise evils against me be turned back and put to shame. (5) Let them be as dust before the wind, and an angel of the Lord afflicting them. (6) Let their way be dark and slippery, and an angel of the Lord persecuting them. (7) For without cause they have hid for me their destructive snare: without a cause they have reproached my soul. (8) Let a snare which they know not come upon them; and the gin which they hid take them; and let them fall into the very same snare. (9) But my soul shall exult in the Lord: it shall delight in his salvation. (10) All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like to thee? delivering the poor out of the hand of them that are stronger than he, yea, the poor and needy one from them that spoil him. (11) Unjust witnesses arose, and asked me of things I new not. (12) They rewarded me evil for good, and bereavement to my soul. (13) But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting: and my prayer shall return to my own bosom. (14) I behaved agreeably towards them as if it had been our neighbour or brother: I humbled myself as one mourning and sad of countenance. (15) Yet they rejoiced against me, and plagues were plentifully brought against me, and I knew it not: they were scattered, but repented not. (16) They tempted me, they sneered at me most contemptuously, they gnashed their teeth upon me. (17) O Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? Deliver my soul from their mischief, mine only-begotten one from the lions. (18) I will give thanks to thee even in a great congregation: in an abundant people I will praise thee. (19) Let not them that are mine enemies without a cause rejoice against me; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes. (20) For to me they spoke peaceably, but imagined deceits in their anger. (21) And they opened wide their mouth upon me; they said Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it. (22) Thou hast seen it, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, withdraw not thyself from me. (23) Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord. (24) Judge me, O Lord, according to thy righteousness, O Lord my God; and let them not rejoice against me. (25) Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, aha, it is pleasing to our soul: neither let them say, We have devoured him. (26) Let them be confounded and ashamed together that rejoice at my afflictions: let them be clothed with shame and confusion that speak great swelling words against me. (27) Let them that rejoice in my righteousness exult and be glad: and let them say continually, The Lord be magnified, who desire the peace of his servant. (28) And my tongue shall meditate on thy righteousness, and on thy praise all the day.

35

For the end, by David the servant of the Lord. (1) The transgressor, that he may sin, says within himself, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. (2) For he has dealt craftily before him, to discover his iniquity and hate it. (3) The words of his mouth are transgression and deceit: he is not inclined to understand how to do good. (4) He devises iniquity on his bed; he gives himself to every evil way; and does not abhor evil. (5) O Lord, thy mercy is in the heaven; and thy truth reaches to the clouds. (6) Thy righteousness is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are as a great deep: O Lord, thou wilt preserve men and beasts. (7) How hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! so the children of men shall trust in the shelter of thy wings. (8) They shall be fully satisfied with the fatness of thine house; and thou shalt cause them to drink of the full stream of thy delights. (9) For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light we shall see light. (10) Extend thy mercy to them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. (11) Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of sinners move me. (12) There have all the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast out, and shall not be able to stand.

36

A Psalm of David. (1) Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of them that do iniquity. (2) For they shall soon be withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs. (3) Hope in the Lord, and do good; and dwell on the land, and thou shalt be fed with the wealth of it. (4) Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall grant thee the requests of thine heart. (5) Disclose thy way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (6) And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. (7) Submit thyself to the Lord, and supplicate him: fret not thyself because of him that prospers in his way, at the man that does unlawful deeds. (8) ease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself so as to do evil. (9) For evil-doers shall be destroyed: but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land. (10) And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and thou shalt seek for his place, and shalt not find it. (11) But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (12) The sinner will watch for the righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him. (13) But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foresees that his day will come. (14) Sinners have drawn their swords, they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy one, and to slay the upright in heart. (15) Let their sword enter into their own heart, and their bows be broken. (16) A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners. (17) For the arms of sinners shall be broken; but the Lord supports the righteous. (18) The Lord knows the ways of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever. (19) They shall not be ashamed in an evil time; and in days of famine they shall be satisfied. (20) For the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honoured and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke. (21) The sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and gives. (22) For they that bless him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed. (23) The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way. (24) When he falls, he shall not be ruined: for the Lord supports his hand. (25) I was once young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. (26) He is merciful, and lends continually; and his seed shall be blessed. (27) Turn aside from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever. (28) For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; they shall be preserved for ever: the blameless shall be avenged, but the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed. (29) But the righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell upon it for ever. (30) The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment. (31) The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slide. (32) The sinner watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. (33) But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor by any means condemn him when he is judged. (34) Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are destroyed, thou shalt see it. (35) I saw the ungodly very highly exalting himself, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Libanus. (36) Yet I passed by, and lo! he was not: and I sought him, but his place was not found. (37) Maintain innocence, and behold uprightness: for there is a remnant to the peaceable man. (38) But the transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed. (39) But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of affliction. (40) And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: and he shall rescue them from sinners, and save them, because they have hoped in him.

37

A Psalm of David for remembrance concerning the Sabbath-day. (1) O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thine anger. (2) For thy weapons are fixed in me, and thou hast pressed thy hand heavily upon me. (3) For there is no health in my flesh because of thine anger; there is no peace to my bones because of my sins. (4) For my transgressions have gone over mine head: they have pressed heavily upon me like a weighty burden. (5) My bruises have become noisome and corrupt, because of my foolishness. (6) I have been wretched and bowed down continually: I went with a mourning countenance all the day. (7) For my soul is filled with mockings; and there is no health in my flesh. (8) I have been afflicted and brought down exceedingly: I have roared for the groaning of my heart. (9) But all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hidden from thee. (10) My heart is troubled, my strength has failed me; and the light of mine eyes is not with me. (11) My friends and my neighbours drew near before me, and stood still; and my nearest of kin stood afar off. (12) While they pressed hard upon me that sought my soul: and they that sought my hurt spoke vanities, and devised deceits all the day. (13) But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and was as a dumb man not opening his mouth. (14) And I was as a man that hears not, and who has no reproofs in his mouth. (15) For I hoped in thee, O Lord: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. (16) For I said, Lest mine enemies rejoice against me: for when my feet were moved, they spoke boastingly against me. (17) For I am ready for plagues, and my grief is continually before me. (18) For I will declare mine iniquity, and be distressed for my sin. (19) But mine enemies live, and are mightier than I: and they that hate me unjustly are multiplied. (20) They that reward evil for good slandered me; because I followed righteousness. (21) Forsake me not, O Lord my God: depart not from me. (22) Draw nigh to my help, O Lord of my salvation.

38

For the end, a Song of David, to Idithun. (1) I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I set a guard on my mouth, while the sinner stood in my presence. (2) I was dumb, and humbled myself, and kept silence from good words; and my grief was renewed. (3) My heart grew hot within me, and a fire would kindle in my meditation: I spoke with my tongue, (4) O Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days, what it is; that I may know what I lack. (5) Behold, thou hast made my days old; and my existence is as nothing before thee: nay, every man living is altogether vanity. Pause. (6) Surely man walks in a shadow; nay, he is disquieted in vain: he lays up treasures, and knows not for whom he shall gather them. (7) And now what is my expectation? is it not the Lord? and my ground of hope is with thee. Pause. (8) Deliver me from all my transgressions: thou hast made me a reproach to the foolish. (9) I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou art he that made me. (10) Remove thy scourges from me: I have fainted by reason of the strength of thine hand. (11) Thou chastenest man with rebukes for iniquity, and thou makest his life to consume away like a spider’s web; nay, every man is disquieted in vain. Pause. (12) O Lord, hearken to my prayer and my supplication: attend to my tears: be not silent, for I am a sojourner in the land, and a stranger, as all my fathers were. (13) Spare me, that I may be refreshed, before I depart, and be no more.

39

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) I waited patiently for the Lord; and he attended to me, and hearkened to my supplication. (2) And he brought me up out of a pit of misery, and from miry clay: and he set my feet on a rock, and ordered my goings aright. (3) And he put a new song into my mouth, even a hymn to our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall hope in the Lord. (4) Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and who has not regarded vanities and false frenzies. (5) O Lord my God, thou hast multiplied thy wonderful works, and in thy thoughts there is none who shall be likened to thee: I declared and spoke of them: they exceeded number. (6) Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require. (7) Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me, (8) I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine heart. (9) I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo! I will not refrain my lips; O Lord, thou knowest my righteousness. (10) I have not hid thy truth within my heart, and I have declared thy salvation; I have not hid thy mercy and thy truth from the great congregation. (11) But thou, Lord, remove not thy compassion far from me; thy mercy and thy truth have helped me continually. (12) For innumerable evils have encompassed me; my transgressions have taken hold of me, and I could not see; they are multiplied more than the hairs of my head; and my heart has failed me. (13) Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, draw nigh to help me. (14) Let those that seek my soul, to destroy it, be ashamed and confounded together; let those that wish me evil be turned backward and put to shame. (15) Let those that say to me, Aha, aha, quickly receive shame for their reward. (16) Let all those that seek thee, O Lord, exult and rejoice in thee; and let them that love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. (17) But I am poor and needy; the Lord will take care of me; thou art my helper, and my defender, O my God, delay not.

40

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) Blessed is the man who thinks, on the poor and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in an evil day. (2) May the Lord preserve him and keep him alive, and bless him on the earth, and not deliver him into the hands of his enemy. (3) May the Lord help him upon the bed of his pain; thou hast made all his bed in his sickness. (4) I said, O Lord, have mercy upon me; heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. (5) Mine enemies have spoken evil against me, saying, When shall he die, and his name perish? (6) And if he came to see me, his heart spoke vainly; he gathered iniquity to himself; he went forth and spoke in like manner. (7) All my enemies whispered against me; against me they devised my hurt. (8) They denounced a wicked word against me, saying, Now that he lies, shall he not rise up again? (9) For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, lifted up his heel against me. (10) But thou, O Lord, have compassion upon me, and raise me up, and I shall requite them. (11) By this I know that thou hast delighted in me, because mine enemy shall not rejoice over me. (12) But thou didst help me because of mine innocence, and hast established me before thee for ever. (13) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. So be it, so be it.

41

For the end, a Psalm for instruction, for the sons of Core. (1) As the hart earnestly desires the fountains of water, so my soul earnestly longs for thee, O God. (2) My soul has thirsted for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (3) My tears have been bread to me day and night, while they daily said to me, Where is thy God? (4) I remembered these things, and poured out my soul in me, for I will go to the place of thy wondrous tabernacle, even to the house of God, with a voice of exultation and thanksgiving and of the sound of those who keep festival. (5) Wherefore art thou very sad, O my soul? and wherefore dost thou trouble me? hope in God; for I will give thanks to him; he is the salvation of my countenance. (6) O my God, my soul has been troubled within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Ermonites, from the little hill. (7) Deep calls to deep at the voice of thy cataracts: all thy billows and thy waves have gone over me. (8) By day the Lord will command his mercy, and manifest it by night: with me is prayer to the God of my life. (9) I will say to God, Thou art my helper; why hast thou forgotten me? wherefore do I go sad of countenance, while the enemy oppresses me? (10) While my bones were breaking, they that afflicted me reproached me; while they said to me daily, Where is thy God? (11) Wherefore art thou very sad, O my soul? and wherefore dost thou trouble me? hope in God; for I will give thanks to him; he is the health of my countenance, and my God.

42

A Psalm of David. (1) Judge me, o God, and plead my cause, against an ungodly nation: deliver me from the unjust and crafty man. (2) For thou, O God, art my strength: wherefore hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sad of countenance, while the enemy oppresses me? (3) Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have led me, and brought me to thy holy mountain, and to thy tabernacles. (4) And I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gladdens my youth: I will give thanks to thee on the harp, O God, my God. (5) Wherefore art thou very sad, O my soul? and wherefore dost thou trouble me? Hope in God; for I will give thanks to him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

43

For the end, a Psalm for instruction, for the sons of Core. (1) O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, the work which thou wroughtest in their days, in the days of old. (2) Thine hand utterly destroyed the heathen, and thou didst plant them: thou didst afflict the nations, and cast them out. (3) For they inherited not the land by their own sword, and their own arm did not deliver them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou wert well pleased in them. (4) Thou art indeed my King and my God, who commandest deliverances for Jacob. (5) In thee will we push down our enemies, and in thy name will we bring to nought them that rise up against us. (6) For I will not trust in my bow, and my sword shall not save me. (7) For thou hast saved us from them that afflicted us, and hast put to shame them that hated us. (8) In God will we make our boast all the day, and to thy name will we give thanks for ever. Pause. (9) But now thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and thou wilt not go forth with our hosts. (10) Thou hast turned us back before our enemies; and they that hated us spoiled for themselves. (11) Thou madest us as sheep for meat; and thou scatteredst us among the nations. (12) Thou hast sold thy people without price, and there was no profit by their exchange. (13) Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision them that are round about us. (14) Thou hast made us a proverb among the Gentiles, a shaking of the head among the nations. (15) All the day my shame is before me, and the confusion of my face has covered me, (16) because of the voice of the slanderer and reviler; because of the enemy and avenger. (17) All these things are come upon us: but we have not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt unrighteously in thy covenant. (18) And our heart has not gone back; but thou hast turned aside our paths from thy way. (19) For thou hast laid us low in a place of affliction, and the shadow of death has covered us. (20) If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread out our hands to a strange god; shall not God search these things out? (21) for he knows the secrets of the heart. (22) For, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for slaughter. (23) Awake, wherefore sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and do not cast us off for ever. (24) Wherefore turnest thou thy face away, and forgettest our poverty and our affliction? (25) For our soul has been brought down to the dust; our belly has cleaved to the earth. (26) Arise, O Lord, help us, and redeem us for thy name’s sake.

44

For the end, for alternate strains by the sons of Core; for instruction, a Song concerning the beloved. (1) My heart has uttered a good matter: I declare my works to the king: my tongue is the pen of a quick writer. (2) Thou art more beautiful than the sons of men: grace has been shed forth on thy lips: therefore God has blessed thee for ever. (3) Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Mighty One, in thy comeliness, and in thy beauty; (4) and bend thy bow, and prosper, and reign, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall guide thee wonderfully. (5) Thy weapons are sharpened, Mighty One, (the nations shall fall under thee) they are in the heart of the king’s enemies. (6) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. (7) Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy fellows. (8) Myrrh, and stacte, and cassia are exhaled from thy garments, and out of the ivory palaces, (9) with which kings’ daughters have gladdened thee for thine honour: the queen stood by on thy right hand, clothed in vesture wrought with gold, and arrayed in divers colours. (10) Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; forget also thy people, and thy father’s house. (11) Because the king has desired thy beauty; for he is thy Lord. (12) And the daughter of Tyre shall adore him with gifts; the rich of the people of the land shall supplicate thy favour. (13) All her glory is that of the daughter of the king of Esebon, robed as she is in golden fringed garments, (14) in embroidered clothing: virgins shall be brought to the king after her: her fellows shall be brought to thee. (15) They shall be brought with gladness and exultation: they shall be led into the king’s temple. (16) Instead of thy fathers children are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth. (17) They shall make mention of thy name from generation to generation: therefore shall the nations give thanks to thee for ever, even for ever and ever.

45

For the end, for the sons of Core; a Psalm concerning secret things. (1) God is our refuge and strength, a help in the afflictions that have come heavily upon us. (2) Therefore will we not fear when the earth is troubled, and the mountains are removed into the depths of the seas. (3) Their waters have roared and been troubled, the mountains have been troubled by his might. Pause. (4) The flowings of the river gladden the city of God: the Most High has sanctified his tabernacle. (5) God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her with his countenance. (6) The nations were troubled, the kingdoms tottered: he uttered his voice, the earth shook. (7) The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our helper. Pause. (8) Come, and behold the works of the Lord, what wonders he has achieved on the earth. (9) Putting an end to wars as for the ends of the earth; he will crush the bow, and break in pieces the weapon, and burn the bucklers with fire. (10) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (11) The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our helper.

46

For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core. (1) Clap your hands, all ye nations; shout to God with a voice of exultation. (2) For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great king over all the earth. (3) He has subdued the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. (4) He has chosen out his inheritance for us, the beauty of Jacob which he loved. Pause. (5) God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with a sound of a trumpet. (6) Sing praises to our God, sing praises: sing praises to our King, sing praises. (7) For God is king of all the earth: sing praises with understanding. (8) God reigns over the nations: God sits upon the throne of his holiness. (9) The rulers of the people are assembled with the God of Abraam: for God’s mighty ones of the earth have been greatly exalted.

47

A Psalm of praise for the sons of Core on the second day of the week. (1) Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. (2) The city of the great King is well planted on the mountains of Sion, with the joy of the whole earth, on the sides of the north. (3) God is known in her palaces, when he undertakes to help her. (4) For, behold the kings of the earth were assembled, they came together. (5) They saw, and so they wondered: they were troubled, they were moved. (6) Trembling took hold on them: there were the pangs as of a woman in travail. (7) Thou wilt break the ships of Tharsis with a vehement wind. (8) As we have heard, so have we also seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God has founded it for ever. Pause. (9) We have thought of thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy people. (10) According to thy name, O God, so is also thy praise to the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. (11) Let mount Sion rejoice, let the daughters of Judaea exult, because of thy judgments, O Lord. (12) Go round about Sion, and encompass her: tell ye her towers. (13) Mark ye well her strength, and observe her palaces; that ye may tell the next generation. (14) For this is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide for evermore.

48

For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core. (1) Hear these words, all ye nations, hearken, all ye that dwell upon the earth: (2) both the sons of mean men, and sons of great men; the rich and poor man together. (3) My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall bring forth understanding. (4) I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my riddle on the harp. (5) Wherefore should I fear in the evil day? the iniquity of my heel shall compass me. (6) They that trust in their strength, and boast themselves in the multitude of their wealth— (7) A brother does not redeem, shall a man redeem? he shall not give to God a ransom for himself, (8) or the price of the redemption of his soul, though he labour for ever, (9) and live to the end, so that he should not see corruption. (10) When he shall see wise men dying, the fool and the senseless one shall perish together; and they shall leave their wealth to strangers. (11) And their sepulchres are their houses for ever, even their tabernacles to all generations: they have called their lands after their own names. (12) And man being in honour, understands not: he is compared to the senseless cattle, and is like to them. (13) This their way is an offence to them: yet afterwards men will commend their sayings. Pause. (14) They have laid them as sheep in Hades; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their help shall fail in Hades from their glory. (15) But God shall deliver my soul from the power of Hades, when he shall receive me. Pause. (16) Fear not when a man is enriched, and when the glory of his house is increased. (17) For he shall take nothing when he dies; neither shall his glory descend with him. (18) For his soul shall be blessed in his life: he shall give thanks to thee when thou dost well to him. (19) Yet he shall go in to the generation of his fathers; he shall never see light. (20) Man that is in honour, understands not: he is compared to the senseless cattle, and is like them.

49

A Psalm for Asaph. (1) The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. (2) Out of Sion comes the excellence of his beauty. (3) God, our God, shall come manifestly, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall be kindled before him, and round about him there shall be a very great tempest. (4) He shall summon the heaven above, and the earth, that he may judge his people. (5) Assemble ye his saints to him, those that have engaged in a covenant with him upon sacrifices. (6) And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge. Pause. (7) Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee, O Israel: and I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God. (8) I will not reprove thee on account of thy sacrifices; for thy whole-burnt-offerings are before me continually. (9) I will take no bullocks out of thine house, nor he-goats out of thy flocks. (10) For all the wild beasts of the thicket are mine, the cattle on the mountains, and oxen. (11) I know all the birds of the sky; and the beauty of the field is mine. (12) If I should be hungry, I will not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness of it. (13) Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? (14) Offer to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay thy vows to the Most High. (15) And call upon me in the day of affliction; and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Pause. (16) But to the sinner God has said, Why dost thou declare my ordinances, and take up my covenant in thy mouth? (17) Whereas thou hast hated instruction, and hast cast my words behind thee. (18) If thou sawest a thief, thou rannest along with him, and hast cast in thy lot with adulterers. (19) Thy mouth has multiplied wickedness, and thy tongue has framed deceit. (20) Thou didst sit and speak against thy brother, and didst scandalize thy mother’s son. (21) These things thou didst, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest wickedly that I should be like thee, but I will reprove thee, and set thine offences before thee. (22) Now consider these things, ye that forget God, lest he rend you, and there is no deliverer. (23) The sacrifice of praise will glorify me: and that is the way wherein I will shew to him the salvation of God.

50

For the end, a Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, when he had gone to Bersabee. (1) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my transgression. (2) Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I am conscious of mine iniquity; and my sin is continually before me. (4) Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil before thee: that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. (5) For, behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me. (6) For, behold, thou lovest truth: thou hast manifested to me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom. (7) Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be purified: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. (8) Thou shalt cause me to hear gladness and joy: the afflicted bones shall rejoice. (9) Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. (10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. (11) Cast me not away from thy presence; and remove not thy holy Spirit from me. (12) Restore to me the joy of thy salvation: establish me with thy directing Spirit. (13) Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and ungodly men shall turn to thee. (14) Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation: and my tongue shall joyfully declare thy righteousness. (15) O Lord, thou shalt open my lips; and my mouth shall declare thy praise. (16) For if thou desiredst sacrifice, I would have given it: thou wilt not take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings. (17) Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a broken and humbled heart God will not despise. (18) Do good, O Lord, to Sion in thy good pleasure; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. (19) Then shalt thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, offering, and whole-burnt-sacrifices: then shall they offer calves upon thine altar.

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For the end, a Psalm of instruction by David, when Doec the Idumean came and told Saul, and said to him, David is gone to the house of Abimelech. (1) Why dost thou, O mighty man, boast of iniquity in thy mischief? All the day (2) thy tongue has devised unrighteousness; like a sharpened razor thou hast wrought deceit. (3) Thou hast loved wickedness more than goodness; unrighteousness better than to speak righteousness. Pause. (4) Thou has loved all words of destruction, and a deceitful tongue. (5) Therefore may God destroy thee for ever, may he pluck thee up and utterly remove thee from thy dwelling, and thy root from the land of the living. Pause. (6) And the righteous shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him, and say, (7) Behold the man who made not God his help; but trusted in the abundance of his wealth, and strengthened himself in his vanity. (8) But I am as a fruitful olive in the house of God: I have trusted in the mercy of God for ever, even for evermore. (9) I will give thanks to thee for ever, for thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before the saints.

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For the end, a Psalm of David upon Maeleth, of instruction. (1) The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in iniquities: there is none that does good. (2) God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after God. (3) They have all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, there is not even one. (4) Will none of the workers of iniquity know, who devour my people as they would eat bread? they have not called upon God. There were they greatly afraid, where there was no fear: (5) or God has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers; they were ashamed, for God despised them. (6) Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Sion? When the Lord turns the captivity of his people, Jacob shall exult, and Israel shall be glad.

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For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Lo, is not David hid with us? (1) Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy might. (2) O God, hear my prayer; hearken to the words of my mouth. (3) For strangers have risen up against me, and mighty men have sought my life: they have not set God before them. Pause. (4) For lo! God assists me; and the Lord is the helper of my soul. (5) He shall return evil to mine enemies; utterly destroy them in thy truth. (6) I will willingly sacrifice to thee: I will give thanks to thy name, O Lord; for it is good. (7) For thou hast delivered me out of all affliction, and mine eye has seen my desire upon mine enemies.

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For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David. (1) Hearken, O God, to my prayer; and disregard not my supplication. (2) Attend to me, and hearken to me: I was grieved in my meditation, and troubled; (3) because of the voice of the enemy, and because of the oppression of the sinner: for they brought iniquity against me, and were wrathfully angry with me. (4) My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me. (5) Fear and trembling came upon me, and darkness covered me. (6) And I said, O that I had wings as those of a dove! then would I flee away, and be at rest. (7) Lo! I have fled afar off, and lodged in the wilderness. Pause. (8) I waited for him that should deliver me from distress of spirit and tempest. (9) Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen iniquity and gain saying in the city. (10) Day and night he shall go round about it upon its walls: iniquity and sorrow and unrighteousness are in the midst of it; (11) and usury and craft have not failed from its streets. (12) For if an enemy had reproached me, I would have endured it; and if one who hated me had spoken vauntingly against me, I would have hid myself from him. (13) But thou, O man like minded, my guide, and my acquaintance, (14) who in companionship with me sweetened our food: we walked in the house of God in concord. (15) Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into Hades, for iniquity is in their dwellings, in the midst of them. (16) I cried to God, and the Lord hearkened to me. (17) Evening, and morning, and at noon I will declare and make known my wants: and he shall hear my voice. (18) He shall deliver my soul in peace from them that draw nigh to me: for they were with me in many cases. (19) God shall hear, and bring them low, even he that has existed from eternity. Pause. For they suffer no reverse, and therefore they have not feared God. (20) He has reached forth his hand for retribution; they have profaned his covenant. (21) They were scattered at the anger of his countenance, and his heart drew nigh them. His words were smoother than oil, yet are they darts. (22) Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (23) But thou, O God, shalt bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloody and crafty men shall not live out half their days; but I will hope in thee, O Lord.

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For the end, concerning the people that were removed from the sanctuary, by David for a memorial, when the Philistines caught him in Geth. (1) Have mercy upon me, O God; for man has trodden me down; all the day long he warring has afflicted me. (2) Mine enemies have trodden me down all the day from the dawning of the day; for there are many warring against me. (3) They shall be afraid, but I will trust in thee. (4) In God I will praise my words; all the day have I hoped in God; I will not fear what flesh shall do to me. (5) All the day long they have abominated my words; all their devices are against me for evil. (6) They will dwell near and hide themselves; they will watch my steps, accordingly as I have waited patiently in my soul. (7) Thou wilt on no account save them; thou wilt bring down the people in wrath. (8) O God, I have declared my life to thee; thou has set my tears before thee, even according to thy promise. (9) Mine enemies shall be turned back, in the day wherein I shall call upon thee; behold, I know that thou art my God. (10) In God, will I praise his word; in the Lord will I praise his saying. (11) I have hoped in God; I will not be afraid of what man shall do to me. (12) The vows of thy praise, O God, which I will pay, are upon me. (13) For thou hast delivered my soul from death, and my feet from sliding, that I should be well-pleasing before God in the land of the living.

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For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial, when he fled from the presence of Saul to the cave. (1) Have mercy, upon me, O God, have mercy upon me: for my soul has trusted in thee: and in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until the iniquity have passed away. (2) I will cry to God most high; the God who has benefited me. Pause. (3) He sent from heaven and saved me; he gave to reproach them that trampled on me: God has sent forth his mercy and his truth; (4) and he has delivered my soul from the midst of lions’whelps: I lay down to sleep, though troubled. As for the sons of men, their teeth are arms and missile weapons, and their tongue a sharp sword. (5) Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth. (6) They have prepared snares for my feet, and have bowed down my soul: they have dug a pit before my face, and fallen into it themselves. Pause. (7) My heart, O God, is ready, my heart is ready: I will sing, yea will sing psalms. (8) Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I will awake early. (9) O Lord, I will give thanks to thee among the nations: I will sing to thee among the Gentiles. (10) For thy mercy has been magnified even to the heavens, and thy truth to the clouds. (11) Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.

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For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial. (1) If ye do indeed speak righteousness, then do ye judge rightly, ye sons of men. (2) For ye work iniquities in your hearts in the earth: your hands plot unrighteousness. (3) Sinners have gone astray from the womb: they go astray from the belly: they speak lies. (4) Their venom is like that of a serpent; as that of a deaf asp, and that stops her ears; (5) which will not hear the voice of charmers, nor heed the charm prepared skillfully by the wise. (6) God has crushed their teeth in their mouth: God has broken the cheek-teeth of the lions. (7) They shall utterly pass away like water running through: he shall bend his bow till they shall fail. (8) They shall be destroyed as melted wax: the fire has fallen and they have not seen the sun. (9) Before your thorns feel the white thorn, he shall swallow you up as living, as in his wrath. (10) The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the ungodly: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. (11) And a man shall say, Verily then there is a reward for the righteous: verily there is a God that judges them in the earth.

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For the end. Destroy not: by David for a memorial, when Saul sent, and watched his house to kill him. (1) Deliver me from mine enemies, O God; and ransom me from those that rise up against me. (2) Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. (3) For, behold, they have hunted after my soul; violent men have set upon me: neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord. (4) Without iniquity I ran and directed my course aright: awake to help me, and behold. (5) And thou, Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, draw nigh to visit all the heathen; pity not any that work iniquity. Pause. (6) They shall return at evening, and hunger like a dog, and go round about the city. (7) Behold, they shall utter a voice with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips; for who, say they, has heard? (8) But thou, Lord, wilt laugh them to scorn; thou wilt utterly set at nought all the heathen. (9) will keep my strength, looking to thee; for thou, O God, art my helper. (10) As for my God, his mercy shall go before me: my God will shew me vengeance on mine enemies. (11) Slay them not, lest they forget thy law; scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord, my defender. (12) For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips, let them be even taken in their pride. (13) And for their cursing and falsehood shall utter destruction be denounced: they shall fall by the wrath of utter destruction, and shall not be; so shall they know that the God of Jacob is Lord of the ends of the earth. Pause. (14) They shall return at evening, and be hungry as a dog, and go round about the city. (15) They shall be scattered hither and thither for meat; and if they be not satisfied, they shall even murmur. (16) But I will sing to thy strength, and in the morning will I exult in thy mercy; for thou hast been my supporter, and my refuge in the day of mine affliction. (17) Thou art my helper; to thee, my God, will I sing; thou art my supporter, O my God, and my mercy.

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For the end, for them that shall yet be changed; for an inscription by David for instruction, when he had burned Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria Sobal, and Joab had returned and smitten in the valley of salt twelve thousand. (1) O God, thou hast rejected and destroyed us; thou hast been angry, yet hast pitied us. (2) Thou hast shaken the earth, and troubled it; heal its breaches, for it has been shaken. (3) Thou hast shewn thy people hard things: thou has made us drink the wine of astonishment. (4) Thou hast given a token to them that fear thee, that they might flee from the bow. Pause. (5) That thy beloved ones may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me. (6) God has spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, and divide Sicima, and measure out the valley of tents. (7) Galaad is mine, and Manasse is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of my head; (8) Judas is my king; Moab is the caldron of my hope; over Idumea will I stretch out my shoe; the Philistines have been subjected to me. (9) Who will lead me into the fortified city? who will guide me as far a Idumea? (10) Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our forces? (11) Give us help from trouble: for vain is the deliverance of man. (12) In God will we do valiantly; and he shall bring to nought them that harass us.

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For the end, among the Hymns of David. (1) O God, hearken to my petition; attend to my prayer. (2) From the ends of the earth have I cried to thee, when my heart was in trouble: thou liftedst me up on a rock thou didst guide me: (3) because thou wert my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy. (4) I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever; I will shelter myself under the shadow of thy wings. Pause. (5) For thou, o God, hast heard my prayers; thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name. (6) Thou shalt add days to the days of the king; thou shalt lengthen his years to all generations. (7) He shall endure for ever before God: which of them will seek out his mercy and truth? (8) So will I sing to thy name for ever and ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

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For the end, a Psalm of David for Idithun. (1) Shall not my soul be subjected to God? for of him is my salvation. (2) For he is my God, and my saviour; my helper, I shall not be moved very much. (3) How long will ye assault a man? ye are all slaughtering as with a bowed wall and a broken hedge. (4) They only took counsel to set at nought mine honour: I ran in thirst: with their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed. Pause. (5) Nevertheless do thou, my soul, be subjected to God; for of him is my patient hope. (6) For he is my God and my Saviour; my helper, I shall not be moved. (7) In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God. (8) Hope in him, all ye congregation of the people; pour out your hearts before him, for God is our helper. Pause. (9) But the sons of men are vain; the sons of men are false, so as to be deceitful in the balances; they are all alike formed out of vanity. (10) Trust not in unrighteousness, and lust not after robberies: if wealth should flow in, set not your heart upon it. (11) God has spoken once, and I have heard these two things, that power is of God; (12) and mercy is thine, O Lord; for thou wilt recompense every one according to his works.

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A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Idumea. (1) O God, my God, I cry to thee early; my soul has thirsted for thee: how often has my flesh longed after thee, in a barren and trackless and dry land! (2) Thus have I appeared before thee in the sanctuary, that I might see thy power and thy glory. (3) For thy mercy is better than life: my lips shall praise thee. (4) Thus will I bless thee during my life: I will lift up my hands in thy name. (5) Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness; and my joyful lips shall praise thy name. (6) Forasmuch as I have remembered thee on my bed: in the early seasons I have meditated on thee. (7) For thou hast been my helper, and in the shelter of thy wings will I rejoice. (8) My soul has kept very close behind thee: thy right hand has upheld me. (9) But they vainly sought after my soul; they shall go into the lowest parts o the earth. (10) They shall be delivered up to the power of the sword; they shall be portions for foxes. (11) But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that swears by him shall be praised; for the mouth of them that speak unjust things has been stopped.

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For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) Hear my prayer, O God, when I make my petition to thee; deliver my soul from fear of the enemy. (2) Thou hast sheltered me from the conspiracy of them that do wickedly; from the multitude of them that work iniquity; (3) who have sharpened their tongues as a sword; they have bent their bow maliciously; (4) to shoot in secret at the blameless; they will shoot him suddenly, and will not fear. (5) They have set up for themselves an evil matter, they have given counsel to hide snares; they have said, Who shall see them? (6) They have searched out iniquity; they have wearied themselves with searching diligently, a man shall approach and the heart is deep, (7) and God shall be exalted, their wounds were caused by the weapon of the foolish children, (8) and their tongues have set him at nought, all that saw them were troubled; (9) and every man was alarmed, and they related the works of God, and understood his deeds. (10) The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord, and hope on him, and all the upright in heart shall be praised.

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For the end, a Psalm and Song of David. (1) Praise becomes thee, O God, in Sion; and to thee shall the vow be performed. (2) Hear my prayer; to thee all flesh shall come. (3) The words of transgressors have overpowered us; but do thou pardon our sins. (4) Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and adopted; he shall dwell in thy courts; we shall be filled with the good things of thy house; thy temple is holy. (5) Thou art wonderful in righteousness. Hearken to us, O God our Saviour; the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are on the sea afar off: (6) who dost establish the mountains in thy strength, being girded about with power; (7) who troublest the depth of the sea, the sounds of its waves. (8) The nations shall be troubled, and they that inhabit the ends of the earth shall be afraid of thy signs; thou wilt cause the outgoings of morning and evening to rejoice. (9) Thou hast visited the earth, and saturated it; thou hast abundantly enriched it. The river of God is filled with water; thou hast prepared their food, for thus is the preparation of it. (10) Saturate her furrows, multiply her fruits; the crop springing up shall rejoice in its drops. (11) Thou wilt bless the crown of the year because of thy goodness; and thy plains shall be filled with fatness. (12) The mountains of the wilderness shall be enriched; and the hills shall gird themselves with joy. (13) The rams of the flock are clothed with wool, and the valleys shall abound in corn; they shall cry aloud, yea they shall sing hymns.

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For the end, a Song of Psalm of resurrection. (1) Shout unto God, all the earth. (2) O sing praises to his name; give glory to his praise. (3) Say unto God, How awful are thy works! through the greatness of thy power thine enemies shall lie to thee. (4) Let all the earth worship thee, and sing to thee; let them sing to thy name. Pause. (5) Come and behold the works of God; he is terrible in his counsels beyond the children of men. (6) Who turns the sea into dry land; they shall go through the river on foot; there shall we rejoice in him, (7) who by his power is Lord over the age, his eyes look upon the nations; let not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves. Pause. (8) Bless our God, ye Gentiles, and make the voice of his praise to be heard; (9) who quickens my soul in life, and does not suffer my feet to be moved. (10) For thou, O God, has proved us; thou hast tried us with fire as silver is tried. (11) Thou broughtest us into the snare; thou laidest afflictions on our back. (12) Thou didst mount men upon our heads; we went through the fire and water; but thou broughtest us out into a place of refreshment. (13) I will go into thine house with whole-burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows, (14) which my lips framed, and my mouth uttered in my affliction. (15) I will offer to thee whole-burnt-sacrifices full of marrow, with incense and rams; I will sacrifice to thee oxen with goats. Pause. (16) Come, hear, and I will tell, all ye that fear God, how great things he has done for my soul. (17) I cried to him with my mouth, and exalted him with my tongue. (18) If I have regarded iniquity in my heart, let not the Lord hearken to me. (19) Therefore God has hearkened to me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (20) Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

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For the end, a Psalm of David among the Hymns. (1) God be merciful to us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Pause. (2) That men may know thy way on the earth, thy salvation among all nations. (3) Let the nations, O God, give thanks to thee; let all the nations give thanks to thee. (4) Let the nations rejoice and exult, for thou shalt judge the peoples in equity, and shalt guide the nations on the earth. Pause. (5) Let the peoples, O God, give thanks to thee; let all the peoples give thanks to thee. (6) The earth has yielded her fruit; let God, our God bless us. (7) Let God bless us; and let all the ends of the earth fear him.

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For the end, a Psalm of a Song by David. (1) Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; and let them that hate him flee from before him. (2) As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish from before God. (3) But let the righteous rejoice; let them exult before God: let them be delighted with joy. (4) Sing to God, sing praises to his name: make a way for him that rides upon the west (the Lord is his name) and exult before him. They shall be troubled before the face of him, (5) who is the father of the orphans, and judge of the widows: such is God in his holy place. (6) God settles the solitary in a house; leading forth prisoners mightily, also them that act provokingly, even them that dwell in tombs. (7) O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou wentest through the wilderness; Pause: (8) the earth quaked, yea, the heavens dropped water at the presence of the God of Sina, at the presence of the God of Israel. (9) O God, thou wilt grant to thine inheritance a gracious rain; for it was weary, but thou didst refresh it. (10) Thy creatures dwell in it: thou hast in thy goodness prepared for the poor. (11) The Lord God will give a word to them that preach it in a great company. (12) The king of the forces of the beloved, of the beloved, will even grant them for the beauty of the house to divide the spoils. (13) Even if ye should lie among the lots, ye shall have the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her breast with yellow gold. (14) When the heavenly One scatters kings upon it, they shall be made snow-white in Selmon. (15) The mountain of God is a rich mountain; a swelling mountain, a rich mountain. (16) Wherefore do ye conceive evil, ye swelling mountains? this is the mountain which God has delighted to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. (17) The chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of rejoicing ones: the Lord is among them, in Sina, in the holy place. (18) Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for man, yea, for they were rebellious, that thou mightest dwell among them. (19) Blessed be the Lord God, blessed be the Lord daily; and the God of our salvation shall prosper us. Pause. (20) Our God is the God of salvation; and to the Lord belong the issues from death. (21) But God shall crust the heads of his enemies; the hairy crown of them that go on in their trespasses. (22) The Lord said, I will bring again from Basan, I will bring my people again through the depths of the sea. (23) That thy foot may be dipped in blood, and the tongue of thy dogs be stained with that of thine enemies. (24) Thy goings, O God, have been seen; the goings of my God, the king, in the sanctuary. (25) The princes went first, next before the players on instruments, in the midst of damsels playing on timbrels. (26) Praise God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountains of Israel. (27) There is Benjamin the younger one in ecstasy, the princes of Juda their rulers, the princes of Zabulon, the princes of Nephthali. (28) O God, command thou thy strength: strengthen, O God, this which thou hast wrought in us. (29) Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents to thee. (30) Rebuke the wild beasts of the reed: let the crowd of bulls with the heifers of the nations be rebuked, so that they who have been proved with silver may not be shut out: scatter thou the nations that wish for wars. (31) Ambassadors shall arrive out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch out her hand readily to God. (32) Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth; sing psalms to the Lord. Pause. (33) Sing to God that rides on the heaven of heaven, eastward: lo, he will utter a mighty sound with his voice. (34) Give ye glory to God: his excellency is over Israel, and his power is in the clouds. (35) God is wonderful in his holy places, the God of Israel: he will give power and strength to his people: blessed be God.

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For the end, a Psalm of David, for alternate strains. (1) Save me, O God; for the waters have come in to my soul. (2) I am stuck fast in deep mire, and there is no standing: I am come in to the depths of the sea, and a storm has overwhelmed me. (3) I am weary of crying, my throat has become hoarse; mine eyes have failed by my waiting on my God. (4) They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: my enemies that persecute me unrighteously are strengthened: then I restored that which I took not away. (5) O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my transgressions are not hidden from thee. (6) Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord of hosts, be ashamed on my account: let not them that seek thee, be ashamed on my account, O God of Israel. (7) For I have suffered reproach for thy sake; shame has covered my face. (8) I became strange to my brethren, and a stranger to my mother’s children. (9) For the zeal of thine house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. (10) And I bowed down my soul with fasting, and that was made my reproach. (11) And I put on sackcloth for my covering; and I became a proverb to them. (12) They that sit in the gate talked against me, and they that drank wine sang against me. (13) But I will cry to thee, O Lord, in my prayer; O God, it is a propitious time: in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. (14) Save me from the mire, that I stick not in it: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and from the deep waters. (15) Let not the waterflood drown me, nor let the deep swallow me up; neither let the well shut its mouth upon me. (16) Hear me, O Lord; for thy mercy is good: according to the multitude of thy compassions look upon me. (17) And turn not away thy face from thy servant; for I am afflicted: hear me speedily. (18) Draw nigh to my soul and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. (19) For thou knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my confusion; all that afflict me are before thee. (20) My soul has waited for reproach and misery; and I waited for one to grieve with me, but there was none; and for one to comfort me, but I found none. (21) They gave me also gall for my food, and made me drink vinegar for my thirst. (22) Let their table before them be for a snare, and for a recompense, and for a stumbling-block. (23) Let their eyes be darkened that they should not see; and bow down their back continually. (24) Pour out thy wrath upon them, and let the fury of thine anger take hold on them. (25) Let their habitation be made desolate; and let there be no inhabitant in their tents: (26) Because they persecuted him whom thou hast smitten; and they have added to the grief of my wounds. (27) Add iniquity to their iniquity; and let them not come into thy righteousness. (28) Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous. (29) I am poor and sorrowful; but the salvation of thy countenance has helped me. (30) I will praise the name of my God with a song, I will magnify him with praise; (31) and this shall please God more than a young calf having horns and hoofs. (32) Let the poor see and rejoice; seek the Lord diligently, and ye shall live. (33) For the Lord hears the poor, and does not set at nought his fettered ones. (34) Let the heavens and the earth raise him, the sea, and all things moving in them. (35) For God will save Sion, and the cities of Judea shall be built; and men shall dwell there, and inherit it. (36) And the seed of his servants shall possess it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

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For the end, by David for a remembrance, that the Lord may save me. (1) Draw nigh, O God, to my help. (2) Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek my soul: let them be turned backward and put to shame, that wish me evil. (3) Let them that say to me, Aha, aha, be turned back and put to shame immediately. (4) Let all that seek thee exult and be glad in thee: and let those that love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. (5) But I am poor and needy; O God, help me: thou art my helper and deliverer, O Lord, delay not.

70

By David, a Psalm sung by the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive. (1) O Lord, I have hoped in thee: let me never be put to shame. (2) In thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me: incline thine ear to me, and save me. (3) Be to me a protecting God, and a strong hold to save me: for thou art my fortress and my refuge. (4) Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the sinner, from the hand of the transgressor and unjust man. (5) For thou art my support, O Lord; O Lord, thou art my hope from my youth. (6) On thee have I been stayed from the womb: from the belly of my mother thou art my protector: of thee is my praise continually. (7) I am become as it were a wonder to many: but thou art my strong helper. (8) Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may hymn thy glory, and thy majesty all the day. (9) Cast me not off at the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails. (10) For mine enemies have spoken against me; and they that lay wait for my soul have taken counsel together, (11) saying, God has forsaken him: persecute ye and take him; for there is none to deliver him. (12) O God, go not far from me, O my God, draw nigh to my help. (13) Let those that plot against my soul be ashamed and utterly fail: let those that seek my hurt be clothed with shame and dishonour. (14) But I will hope continually, and will praise thee more and more. (15) My mouth shall declare thy righteousness openly, and thy salvation all the day; for I am not acquainted with the affairs of men. (16) I will go on in the might of the Lord: O Lord, I will make mention of thy righteousness only. (17) O God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and until now will I declare thy wonders; (18) even until I am old and advanced in years. O God, forsake me not; until I shall have declared thine arm to all the generation that is to come: (19) even thy power and thy righteousness, O God, up to the highest heavens, even the mighty works which thou has done: O God, who is like to thee? (20) What afflictions many and sore hast thou shewed me! yet thou didst turn and quicken me, and broughtest me again from the depths of the earth. (21) Thou didst multiply thy righteousness, and didst turn and comfort me, and broughtest me again out of the depths of the earth. (22) I will also therefore give thanks to thee, O God, because of thy truth, on an instrument of psalmody: I will sing psalms to thee on the harp, O Holy One of Israel. (23) My lips shall rejoice when I sing to thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. (24) Moreover also my tongue shall dwell all the day upon thy righteousness; when they shall be ashamed and confounded that seek my hurt.

71

For Solomon. (1) O God, give thy judgment to the king, and thy righteousness to the king’s son; (2) that he may judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. (3) Let the mountains and the hills raise peace to thy people: (4) he shall judge the poor of the people in righteousness, and save the children of the needy; and shall bring low the false accuser. (5) And he shall continue as long as the sun, and before the moon for ever. (6) He shall come down as rain upon a fleece; and as drops falling upon the earth. (7) In his days shall righteousness spring up; and abundance of peace till the moon be removed. (8) And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. (9) The Ethiopians shall fall down before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. (10) The kings of Tharsis, and the isles, shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and Saba shall offer gifts. (11) And all kings shall worship him; all the Gentiles shall serve him. (12) For he has delivered the poor from the oppressor; and the needy who had no helper. (13) He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall deliver the souls of the needy. (14) He shall redeem their souls from usury and injustice: and their name shall be precious before him. (15) And he shall live, and there shall be given him of the gold of Arabia: and men shall pray for him continually; and all the day shall they praise him. (16) There shall be an establishment on the earth on the tops of the mountains: the fruit thereof shall be exalted above Libanus, and they of the city shall flourish as grass of the earth. (17) Let his name be blessed for ever: his name shall endure longer than the sun: and all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. (18) Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who alone does wonders. (19) And blessed is his glorious name for ever, even for ever and ever: and all the earth shall be filled with his glory. So be it, so be it. (20) The hymns of David the son of Jessae are ended.

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A Psalm for Asaph. (1) How good is God to Israel, to the upright in heart! (2) But my feet were almost overthrown; my goings very nearly slipped. (3) For I was jealous of the transgressors, beholding the tranquility of sinners. (4) For there is no sign of reluctance in their death: and they have firmness under their affliction. (5) They are not in the troubles of other men; and they shall not be scourged with other men. (6) Therefore pride has possessed them; they have clothed themselves with their injustice and ungodliness. (7) Their injustice shall go forth as out of fatness: they have fulfilled their intention. (8) They have taken counsel and spoken in wickedness: they have uttered unrighteousness loftily. (9) They have set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue has gone through upon the earth. (10) Therefore shall my people return hither: and full days shall be found with them. (11) And they said, How does God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? (12) Behold, these are the sinners, and they that prosper always: they have possessed wealth. (13) And I said, Verily in vain have I justified my heart, and washed my hands in innocency. (14) For I was plagued all the day, and my reproof was every morning. (15) If I said, I will speak thus; behold, I should have broken covenant with the generation of thy children. (16) And I undertook to understand this, but it is too hard for me, (17) until I go into the sanctuary of God; and so understand the latter end. (18) Surely thou hast appointed judgments to them because of their crafty dealings: thou hast cast them down when they were lifted up. (19) How have they become desolate! suddenly they have failed: they have perished because of their iniquity. (20) As the dream of one awakening, O Lord, in thy city thou wilt despise their image. (21) For my heart has rejoiced, and my reins have been gladdened. (22) But I was vile and knew not: I became brutish before thee. (23) Yet I am continually with thee: thou hast holden my right hand. (24) Thou hast guided me by thy counsel, and thou hast taken me to thyself with glory. (25) For what have I in heaven but thee? and what have I desired upon the earth beside thee? (26) My heart and my flesh have failed: but God is the strength of my heart, and God is my portion for ever. (27) For, behold, they that remove themselves far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed every one that goes a whoring from thee. (28) But it is good for me to cleave close to God, to put my trust in the Lord; that I may proclaim all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

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A Psalm of instruction for Asaph. (1) Wherefore hast thou rejected us, O God, for ever? wherefore is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture? (2) Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased from the beginning; thou didst ransom the rod of thine inheritance; this mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt. (3) Lift up thine hands against their pride continually; because of all that the enemy has done wickedly in thy holy places. (4) And they that hate thee have boasted in the midst of thy feast; they have set up their standards for signs, (5) ignorantly as it were in the entrance above; (6) they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter. (7) They have burnt thy sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of thy name. (8) They have said in their heart, even all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth. (9) We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and God will not know us any more. (10) How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke thy name forever? (11) Wherefore turnest thou away thine hand, and thy right hand from the midst of thy bosom for ever? (12) But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. (13) Thou didst establish the sea, in thy might, thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water. (14) Thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragon; thou didst give him for meat to the Ethiopian nations. (15) Thou didst cleave fountains and torrents; thou driedst up mighty rivers. (16) The day is thine, and the night is thine; thou hast prepared the sun and the moon. (17) Thou hast made all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and spring. (18) Remember this thy creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked thy name. (19) Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to thee: forget not for ever the souls of thy poor. (20) Look upon thy covenant: for the dark places of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity. (21) let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall praise thy name. (22) Arise, O God, plead thy cause: remember thy reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day. (23) Forget not the voice of thy suppliants: let the pride of them that hate thee continually ascend before thee.

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For the end, Destroy not, a Psalm of a Song for Asaph. (1) We will give thanks to thee, O God, we will give thanks, and call upon thy name: I will declare all thy wonderful works. (2) When I shall take a set time, I will judge righteously. (3) The earth is dissolved, and all that dwell in it: I have strengthened its pillars. Pause. (4) I said unto the transgressors, Do not transgress; and to the sinners, Lift not up the horn. (5) Lift not up your horn on high; speak not unrighteousness against God. (6) For good comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains. (7) For God is the judge; he puts down one, and raises up another. (8) For there is a cup in the hand of the Lord, full of unmingled wine; and he has turned it from side to side, but its dregs have not been wholly poured out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink them. (9) But I will exult for ever: I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. (10) And I will break all the horns of sinners; but the horns of the righteous one shall be exalted.

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For the end, among the Hymns, a Psalm for Asaph; a Song for the Assyrian. (1) God is known in Judea: his name is great in Israel. (2) And his place has been in peace, and his dwelling-place in Sion. (3) There he broke the power of the bows, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Pause. (4) Thou dost wonderfully shine forth from the everlasting mountains. (5) All the simple ones in heart were troubled; all the men of wealth have slept their sleep, and have found nothing in their hands. (6) At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, the riders on horses slumbered. (7) Thou art terrible; and who shall withstand thee, because of thine anger? (8) Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, (9) when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek in heart. Pause. (10) For the inward thought of man shall give thanks to thee: and the memorial of his inward thought shall keep a feast to thee. (11) Vow, and pay your vows to the Lord our God; all that are round about him shall bring gifts, even to him that is terrible, (12) and that takes away the spirits of princes; to him that is terrible among the kings of the earth.

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For the end, for Idithun, a Psalm of Asaph. (1) I cried to the Lord with my voice, yea, my voice was addressed to God; and he gave heed to me. (2) In the day of mine affliction I earnestly sought the Lord; even with my hands by night before him, and I was not deceived; my soul refused to be comforted. (3) I remembered God, and rejoiced; I poured out my complaint, and my soul fainted. Pause. (4) All mine enemies set a watch against me: I was troubled, and spoke not. (5) I considered the days of old, and remembered ancient years. (6) And I meditated; I communed with my heart by night, and diligently searched my spirit, saying, (7) Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be well pleased no more? (8) Will he cut off his mercy for ever, even for ever and ever? (9) Will God forget to pity? or will he shut up his compassions in his wrath? Pause. (10) And I said, Now I have begun; this is the change of the right hand of the Most High. (11) I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember thy wonders from the beginning. (12) And I will meditate on all thy works, and will consider thy doings. (13) O God, thy way is in the sanctuary; who is a great God as our God? (14) Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast made known thy power among the nations. (15) Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Pause. (16) The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and feared; and the depths were troubled. (17) There was an abundant sound of waters: the clouds uttered a voice; for thine arrows went abroad. (18) The voice of thy thunder was abroad, and around thy lightnings appeared to the world; the earth trembled a quaked. (19) Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters, and thy footsteps cannot be known. (20) Thou didst guide thy people as sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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A Psalm of instruction for Asaph. (1) Give heed, O my people, to my law: incline your ear to the words of my mouth. (2) I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter dark sayings which have been from the beginning. (3) All which we have heard and known, and our fathers have declared to us. (4) They were not hid from their children to a second generations; the fathers declaring the praises of the Lord, and his mighty acts, and his wonders which he wrought. (5) And he raised up a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, to make it known to their children: (6) that another generation might know, even the sons which should be born; and they should arise and declare them to their children. (7) That they might set their hope on God, and not forget the works of God, but diligently seek his commandments. (8) That they should not be as their fathers, a perverse and provoking generation; a generation which set not its heart aright, and its spirit was not steadfast with God. (9) The children of Ephraim, bending and shooting with the bow, turned back in the day of battle. (10) They kept not the covenant of God, and would not walk in his law. (11) And they forgot his benefits, and his miracles which he had shewed them; (12) the miracles which he wrought before their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the plain of Tanes. (13) He clave the sea, and led them through: he made the waters to stand as in a bottle. (14) And he guided them with a cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire. (15) he clave a rock in the wilderness, and made them drink as in a great deep. (16) And he brought water out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down as rivers. (17) And they sinned yet more against him; they provoked the Most High in the wilderness. (18) And they tempted God in their hearts, in asking meat for the desire of their souls. (19) They spoke also against God, and said, Will God be able to prepare a table in the wilderness? (20) Forasmuch as he smote the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents ran abundantly; will he be able also to give bread, or prepare a table for his people? (21) Therefore the Lord heard, and was provoked: and fire was kindled in Jacob, and wrath went up against Israel. (22) Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation. (23) Yet he commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, (24) and rained upon them manna to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven. (25) Man ate angels’ bread; he sent them provision to the full. (26) He removed the south wind from heaven; and by his might he brought in the south-west wind. (27) And he rained upon them flesh like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the seas. (28) And they fell into the midst of their camp, round about their tents. (29) So they ate, and were completely filled; and he gave them their desire. (30) They were not disappointed of their desire: but when their food was yet in their mouth, (31) then the indignation of God rose up against them, and slew the fattest of them, and overthrew the choice men of Israel. (32) In the midst of all this they sinned yet more, and believed not his miracles. (33) And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years with anxiety. (34) When he slew them, they sought him: and they returned and called betimes upon God. (35) And they remembered that God was their helper, and the most high God was their redeemer. (36) Yet they loved him only with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue. (37) For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. (38) But he is compassionate, and will forgive their sins, and will not destroy them: yea, he will frequently turn away his wrath, and will not kindle all his anger. (39) And he remembered that they are flesh; a wind that passes away, and returns not. (40) How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and anger him in a dry land! (41) Yea, they turned back, and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. (42) They remembered not his hand, the day in which he delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. (43) How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Tanes: (44) and had changed their rivers into blood; and their streams, that they should not drink. (45) He sent against them the dog-fly, and it devoured them; and the frog, and it spoiled them. (46) And he gave their fruit to the canker worm, and their labours to the locust. (47) He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. (48) And he gave up their cattle to hail, and their substance to the fire. (49) He sent out against them the fury of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and affliction, a message by evil angels. (50) He made a way for his wrath; he spared not their souls from death, but consigned their cattle to death; (51) and smote every first-born in the land of Egypt; the first-fruits of their labours in the tents of Cham. (52) And he removed his people like sheep; he led them as a flock in the wilderness. (53) And he guided them with hope, and they feared not: but the sea covered their enemies. (54) And he brought them in to the mountain of his sanctuary, this mountain which his right hand had purchased. (55) And he cast out the nations from before them, and made them to inherit by a line of inheritance, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. (56) Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies. (57) And they turned back, and broke covenant, even as also their fathers: they became like a crooked bow. (58) And they provoked him with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. (59) God heard and lightly regarded them, and greatly despised Israel. (60) And he rejected the tabernacle of Selom, his tent where he dwelt among men. (61) And he gave their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the enemy’s hand. (62) And he gave his people to the sword; and disdained his inheritance. (63) Fire devoured their young men; and their virgins mourned not. (64) Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows shall not be wept for. (65) So the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and as a mighty man who has been heated with wine. (66) And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he brought on them a perpetual reproach. (67) And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; (68) but chose the tribe of Juda, the mount Sion which he loved. (69) And he built his sanctuary as the place of unicorns; he founded it for ever on the earth. (70) He chose David also his servant, and took him up from the flocks of sheep. (71) He took him from following the ewes great with young, to be the shepherd of Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance. (72) So he tended them in the innocency of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

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A Psalm for Asaph. (1) O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; they have polluted thy holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a storehouse of fruits. (2) They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of thy holy ones for the wild beasts of the earth. (3) They have shed their blood as water, round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. (4) We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. (5) How long, O Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire? (6) Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms which have not called upon thy name. (7) For they have devoured Jacob, and laid his place waste. (8) Remember not our old transgressions; let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us; for we are greatly impoverished. (9) Help us, O God our Saviour; for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us; and be merciful to our sins, for thy name’s sake. (10) Lets haply they should say among the heathen, Where is their God? and let the avenging of thy servant’s blood that has been shed be known among the heathen before our eyes. (11) Let the groaning of the prisoners come in before thee; according to the greatness of thine arm preserve the sons of the slain ones. (12) Repay to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, with which they have reproached thee, O Lord. (13) For we are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture; we will give thee thanks for ever; we will declare thy praise throughout all generations.

79

For the end, for alternate strains, a testimony for Asaph, a Psalm concerning the Assyrian. (1) Attend, O Shepherd of Israel, who guidest Joseph like a flock; thou who sittest upon the cherubs, manifest thyself; (2) before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasse, stir up thy power, and come to deliver us. (3) Turn us, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be delivered. (4) O Lord God of hosts, how long art thou angry with the prayer of thy servant? (5) Thou wilt feed us with bread of tears; and wilt cause us to drink tears by measure. (6) Thou has made us a strife to our neighbours; and our enemies have mocked at us. (7) Turn us, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Pause. (8) Thou hast transplanted a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. (9) Thou madest a way before it, and didst cause its roots to strike, and the land was filled with it. (10) Its shadow covered the mountains, and its shoots equalled the goodly cedars. (11) It sent forth its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the river. (12) Wherefore hast thou broken down its hedge, while all that pass by the way pluck it? (13) The boar out of the wood has laid it waste, and the wild beast has devoured it. (14) O God of hosts, turn, we pray thee: look on us from heaven, and behold and visit this vine; (15) and restore that which thy right hand has planted: and look on the son of man whom thou didst strengthen for thyself. (16) It is burnt with fire and dug up: they shall perish at the rebuke of thy presence. (17) Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom thou didst strengthen for thyself. (18) So will we not depart from thee: thou shalt quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. (19) Turn us, O Lord God of hosts, and make thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

80

For the end, a Psalm for Asaph, concerning the wine-presses. (1) Rejoice ye in God our helper; shout aloud to the God of Jacob. (2) Take a psalm, and produce the timbrel, the pleasant psaltery with the harp. (3) Blow the trumpet at the new moon, in the glorious day of your feast. (4) For this is an ordinance for Israel, and a statute of the God of Jacob. (5) He made it to be a testimony in Joseph, when he came forth out of the land of Egypt: he heard a language which he understood not. (6) He removed his back from burdens: his hands slaved in making the baskets. (7) Thou didst call upon me in trouble, and I delivered thee; I heard thee in the secret place of the storm: I proved thee at the water of Strife. Pause. (8) Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee, O Israel; and I will testify to thee: if thou wilt hearken to me; (9) there shall be no new god in thee; neither shalt thou worship a strange god. (10) For I am the Lord thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (11) But my people hearkened not to my voice; and Israel gave no heed to me. (12) So I let them go after the ways of their own hearts: they will go on in their own ways. (13) If my people had hearkened to me, if Israel had walked in my ways, (14) I should have put down their enemies very quickly, and should have laid my hand upon those that afflicted them. (15) The Lord’s enemies should have lied to him: but their time shall be for ever. (16) And he fed them with the fat of wheat; and satisfied them with honey out of the rock.

81

A Psalm for Asaph. (1) God stands in the assembly of gods; and in the midst of them will judge gods. (2) How long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the persons of sinners? Pause. (3) Judge the orphan and poor: do justice to the low and needy. (4) Rescue the needy, and deliver the poor out of the hand of the sinner. (5) They know not, nor understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. (6) I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you children of the Most High. (7) But ye die as men, and fall as one of the princes. (8) Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

82

A Song of a Psalm for Asaph. (1) O God, who shall be compared to thee? be not silent, neither be still, O God. (2) For behold, thine enemies have made a noise; and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. (3) Against thy people they have craftily imagined a device, and have taken counsel against thy saints. (4) They have said, Come, and let us utterly destroy them out of the nation; and let the name of Israel be remembered no more at all. (5) For they have taken counsel together with one consent: they have made a confederacy against thee; (6) even the tents of the Idumeans, and the Ismaelites; Moab, and the Agarenes; (7) Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalec; the Philistines also, with them that dwell at Tyre. (8) Yea, Assur too is come with them: they have become a help to the children of Lot. Pause. (9) Do thou to them as to Madiam, and to Sisera; as to Jabin at the brook of Kison. (10) They were utterly destroyed at Aendor: they became as dung for the earth. (11) Make their princes as Oreb and Zeb, and Zebee and Salmana; even all their princes: (12) who said, let us take to ourselves the altar of God as an inheritance. (13) O my God, make them as a wheel; as stubble before the face of the wind. (14) As fire which shall burn up a wood, as the flame may consume the mountains; (15) so shalt thou persecute them with thy tempest, and trouble them in thine anger. (16) Fill their faces with dishonour; so shall they seek thy name, O Lord. (17) Let them be ashamed and troubled for evermore; yea, let them be confounded and destroyed. (18) And let them know that thy name is Lord; that thou alone art Most High over all the earth.

83

For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core, concerning the wine-presses. (1) How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! (2) My soul longs, and faints for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh have exulted in the living god. (3) Yea, the sparrow has found himself a home, and the turtle-dove a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. (4) Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will praise thee evermore. Pause. (5) Blessed is the man whose help is of thee, O Lord; in his heart he has purposed to go up (6) the valley of weeping, to the place which he has appointed, for there the law-giver will grant blessings. (7) They shall go from strength to strength: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. (8) O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: hearken, O God of Jacob. Pause. (9) Behold, O God our defender, and look upon the face of thine anointed. (10) For one day in thy courts is better than thousands. I would rather be an abject in the house of God, than dwell in the tents of sinners. (11) For the Lord loves mercy and truth: God will give grace and glory: the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence. (12) O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in thee.

84

For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core. (1) O Lord, thou has taken pleasure in thy land: thou hast turned back the captivity of Jacob. (2) Thou hast forgiven thy people their transgressions; thou has covered all their sins. Pause. (3) Thou has caused all thy wrath to cease: thou hast turned from thy fierce anger. (4) Turn us, O God of our salvation, and turn thy anger away from us. (5) Wouldest thou be angry with us for ever? or wilt thou continue thy wrath from generation to generation? (6) O God, thou wilt turn and quicken us; and thy people shall rejoice in thee. (7) Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. (8) I will hear what the Lord God will say concerning me: for he shall speak peace to his people, and to his saints, and to those that turn their heart toward him. (9) Moreover his salvation is near them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. (10) Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (11) Truth has sprung out of the earth; and righteousness has looked down from heaven. (12) For the Lord will give goodness; and our land shall yield her fruit. (13) Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set his steps in the way.

85

A Prayer of David. (1) O Lord, incline thine ear, and hearken to me; for I am poor and needy. (2) Preserve my soul, for I am holy; save thy servant, O God, who hopes in thee. (3) Pity me, O Lord: for to thee will I cry all the day. (4) Rejoice the sold of thy servant: for to thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. (5) For thou, O Lord, art kind, and gentle; and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee. (6) Give ear to my prayer, o Lord; and attend to the voice of my supplication. (7) In the day of my trouble I cried to thee: for thou didst hear me. (8) There is none like to thee, O Lord, among the god; and there are no works like to thy works. (9) All nations whom thou hast made shall come, and shall worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. (10) For thou art great, and doest wonders: thou art the only and the great God. (11) Guide me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth: let my heart rejoice, that I may fear thy name. (12) I will give thee thanks, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for ever. (13) For thy mercy is great toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. (14) O God, transgressors have risen up against me, and an assembly of violent men have sought my life; and have not set thee before them. (15) But thou, O Lord God, art compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy and true. (16) Look thou upon me, and have mercy upon me: give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. (17) Establish with me a token for good; and let them that hate me see it and be ashamed; because thou, O Lord, hast helped me, and comforted me.

86

A Psalm of a Song for the sons of Core. (1) His foundations are in the holy mountains. (2) The Lord loves the gates of Sion, more than all the tabernacles of Jacob. (3) Glorious things have been spoken of thee, O city of God. Pause. (4) I will make mention of Raab and Babylon to them that know me: behold also the Philistines, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians: these were born there. (5) A man shall say, Sion is my mother; and such a man was born in her; and the Highest himself has founded her. (6) The Lord shall recount it in the writing of the people, and of these princes that were born in her. (7) The dwelling of all within thee is as the dwelling of those that rejoice.

87

A song of a Psalm for the sons of Core for the end, upon Maeleth for responsive strains, of instruction for Æman the Israelite. (1) O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried by day and in the night before thee. (2) Let my prayer come in before thee; incline thine ear to my supplication, O Lord. (3) For my soul is filled with troubles, and my life has drawn nigh to Hades. (4) I have been reckoned with them that go down to the pit; I became as a man without help; (5) free among the dead, as the slain ones cast out, who sleep in the tomb; whom thou rememberest no more; and they are rejected from thy hand. (6) They laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, and in the shadow of death. (7) Thy wrath has pressed heavily upon me, and thou hast brought upon me all thy billows. Pause. (8) Thou hast removed my acquaintance far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves; I have been delivered up, and have not gone forth. (9) Mine eyes are dimmed from poverty; but I cried to thee, O Lord, all the day; I spread forth my hands to thee. (10) Wilt thou work wonders for the dead? or shall physicians raise them up, that they shall praise thee? (11) Shall any one declare thy mercy in the tomb? and thy truth in destruction? (12) Shall thy wonders be known in darkness? and thy righteousness in a forgotten land? (13) But I cried to thee, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. (14) Wherefore, O Lord, dost thou reject my prayer, and turn thy face away from me? (15) I am poor and in troubles from my youth; and having been exalted, I was brought low and into despair. (16) Thy wrath has passed over me; and thy terrors have greatly disquieted me. (17) They compassed me like water; all the day they beset me together. (18) Thou hast put far from me every friend, and mine acquaintances because of my wretchedness.

88

A Psalm of instruction for Ætham the Israelite. (1) I will sing of thy mercies, O Lord, for ever: I will declare thy truth with my mouth to all generations. (2) For thou hast said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy truth shall be established in the heavens. (3) I made a covenant with my chosen ones, I sware unto David my servant. (4) I will establish thy seed for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Pause. (5) The heavens shall declare thy wonders, O Lord; and thy truth in the assembly of the saints. (6) For who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord? and who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God? (7) God is glorified in the council of the saints; great and terrible toward all that are round about him. (8) O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee. (9) Thou rulest the power of the sea; and thou calmest the tumult of its waves. (10) Thou has brought down the proud as one that is slain; and with the arm of thy power thou has scattered thine enemies. (11) The heavens are thine, and the earth is thine: thou hast founded the world, and the fullness of it. (12) Thou hast created the north and the west: Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. (13) Thine is the mighty arm: let thy hand be strengthened, let thy right hand be exalted. (14) Justice and judgment are the establishment of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. (15) Blessed is the people that knows the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. (16) And in thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (17) For thou art the boast of their strength; and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted, (18) for our help is of the Lord; and of the Holy One of Israel, our king. (19) Then thou spokest in vision to thy children, and saidst, I have laid help on a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen out of my people. (20) I have found David my servant; I have anointed him by my holy mercy. (21) For my hand shall support him; and mine arm shall strengthen him. (22) The enemy shall have no advantage against him; and the son of transgression shall not hurt him again. (23) And I will hew down his foes before him, and put to flight those that hate him. (24) But my truth and my mercy shall be with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted. (25) And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. (26) He shall call upon me, saying, Thou art my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation. (27) And I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. (28) I will keep my mercy for him for ever, and my covenant shall be firm with him. (29) And I will establish his seed for ever and ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (30) If his children should forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; (31) if they should profane my ordinances, and not keep my commandments; (32) I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their sins with scourges. (33) But my mercy I will not utterly remove from him, nor wrong my truth. (34) Neither will I by any means profane my covenant; and I will not make void the things that proceed out of my lips. (35) Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie to David. (36) His see shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me; (37) and as the moon that is established for ever, and as the faithful witness in heaven. Pause. (38) But thou hast cast off and set at nought, thou has rejected thine anointed. (39) Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant; thou has profaned his sanctuary, casting it to the ground. (40) Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast made his strong holds a terror. (41) All that go by the way have spoiled him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours. (42) Thou hast exalted the right hand of his enemies; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. (43) Thou hast turned back the help of his sword, and hast not helped him in the battle. (44) Thou hast deprived him of glory: thou hast broken down his throne to the ground. (45) Thou hast shortened the days of his throne: thou hast poured shame upon him. Pause. (46) How long, O Lord, wilt thou turn away, for ever? shall thine anger flame out as fire? (47) Remember what my being is: for hast thou created all the sons of men in vain? (48) What man is there who shall live, and not see death? shall any one deliver his soul from the hand of Hades? Pause. (49) Where are thine ancient mercies, O Lord, which thou swarest to David in thy truth? (50) Remember, O Lord, the reproach of thy servants, which I have borne in my bosom, even the reproach of many nations; (51) wherewith thine enemies have reviled, O Lord: wherewith they have reviled the recompense of thine anointed. (52) Blessed be the Lord for ever. So be it, so be it.

89

A Prayer of Moses the man of God. (1) Lord, thou hast been our refuge in all generations. (2) Before the mountains existed, and before the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, Thou art. (3) Turn not man back to his low place, whereas thou saidst, Return, ye sons of men? (4) For a thousand years in thy sight are as the yesterday which is past, and as a watch in the night. (5) Years shall be vanity to them: let the morning pass away as grass. (6) In the morning let it flower, and pass away: in the evening let it droop, let it be withered and dried up. (7) For we have perished in thine anger, and in thy wrath we have been troubled. (8) Thou hast set our transgressions before thee: our age is in the light of thy countenance. (9) For all our days are gone, and we have passed away in thy wrath: our years have spun out their tale as a spider. (10) As for the days of our years, in them are seventy years; and if men should be in strength, eighty years: and the greater part of them would be labour and trouble; for weakness overtakes us, and we shall be chastened. (11) Who knows the power of thy wrath? (12) and who knows how to number his days because of the fear of thy wrath? So manifest thy right hand, and those that are instructed in wisdom in the heart. (13) Return, O Lord, how long? and be intreated concerning thy servants. (14) We have been satisfied in the morning with thy mercy; and we did exult and rejoice: (15) let us rejoice in all our days, in return for the days wherein thou didst afflict us, the years wherein we saw evil. (16) And look upon thy servants, and upon thy works; and guide their children. (17) And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and do thou direct for us the works of our hands.

90

Praise of a Song, by David. (1) He that dwells in the help of the Highest, shall sojourn under the shelter of the God of heaven. (2) He shall say to the Lord, Thou art my helper and my refuge: my God; I will hope in him. (3) For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters, from every troublesome matter. (4) He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders, and thou shalt trust under his wings: his truth shall cover thee with a shield. (5) Thou shalt not be afraid of terror by night; nor of the arrow flying by day; (6) nor of the evil thing that walks in darkness; nor of calamity, and the evil spirit at noon-day. (7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. (8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou observe and see the reward of sinners. (9) For thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou, my soul, hast made the Most High thy refuge. (10) No evils shall come upon thee, and no scourge shall draw night to thy dwelling. (11) For he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (12) They shall bear thee up on their hands, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (13) Thou shalt tread on the asp and basilisk: and thou shalt trample on the lion and dragon. (14) For he has hoped in me, and I will deliver him: I will protect him, because he has known my name. (15) He shall call upon me, and I will hearken to him: I am with him in affliction; and I will deliver him, and glorify him. (16) I will satisfy him with length of days, and shew him my salvation.

91

A Psalm of a Song for the Sabbath-day. (1) It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to thy name, O thou Most High; (2) to proclaim thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth by night, (3) on a psaltery of ten strings, with a song on the harp. (4) For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad with thy work: and in the operations of thy hands will I exult. (5) How have thy works been magnified, O Lord! thy thoughts are very deep. (6) A foolish man will not know, and a senseless man will not understand this. (7) When the sinners spring up as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity have watched; it is that they may be utterly destroyed for ever. (8) But thou, O Lord, art most high for ever. (9) For, behold, thine enemies shall perish; and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. (10) But my horn shall be exalted as the horn of a unicorn; and mine old age with rich mercy. (11) And mine eye has seen mine enemies, and mine ear shall hear the wicked that rise up against me. (12) The righteous shall flourish as a palm-tree: he shall be increased as the cedar in Libanus. (13) They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. (14) Then shall they be increased in a fine old age; and they shall be prosperous; that they may declare (15) that the Lord my God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.

92

For the day before the Sabbath, when the land was first inhabited, the praise of a Song by David. (1) The Lord reigns; he has clothed himself with honour: the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength; for he has established the world, which shall not be moved. (2) Thy throne is prepared of old: thou art from everlasting. (3) The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices, (4) at the voices of many waters: the billows of the sea are wonderful: the Lord is wonderful in high places. (5) Thy testimonies are made very sure: holiness becomes thine house, O Lord, for ever.

93

A Psalm of David for the fourth day of the week. (1) The Lord is a God of vengeance; the God of vengeance has declared himself. (2) Be thou exalted, thou that judgest the earth: render a reward to the proud. (3) How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners boast? (4) They will utter and speak unrighteousness; all the workers of iniquity will speak so. (5) They have afflicted thy people, O Lord, and hurt thine heritage. (6) They have slain the widow and fatherless, and murdered the stranger. (7) And they said, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob understand. (8) Understand now, ye simple among the people; and ye fools, at length be wise. (9) He that planted the ear, does he not hear? or he that formed the eye, does not he perceive? (10) He that chastises the heathen, shall not he punish, even he that teaches man knowledge? (11) The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain. (12) Blessed is the man whomsoever thou shalt chasten, O Lord, and shalt teach him out of thy law; (13) to give him rest from evil days, until a pit be digged for the sinful one. (14) For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance; (15) until righteousness return to judgment, and all the upright in heart shall follow it. Pause. (16) Who will rise up for me against the transgressors? or who will stand up with me against the workers of iniquity? (17) If the Lord had not helped me, my soul had almost sojourned in Hades. (18) If I said, My foot has been moved; (19) thy mercy, O Lord, helped me. O Lord, according to the multitude of my griefs within my heart, thy consolation have soothed my soul. (20) Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frames mischief by an ordinance? (21) They will hunt for the soul of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood. (22) But the Lord was my refuge; and my God the helper of my hope. (23) And he will recompense to them their iniquity and their wickedness: the Lord our God shall utterly destroy them.

94

The praise of a Song by David. (1) Come, let us exult in the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to God our Saviour. (2) Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. (3) For the Lord is a great God, and a great king over all gods: for the Lord will not cast off his people. (4) For the ends of the earth are in his hands; and the heights of the mountains are his. (5) For the sea is his, and he made it: and is hands formed the dry land. (6) Come, let us worship and fall down before him; and weep before the Lord that made us. (7) For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (8) To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of irritation in the wilderness: (9) where your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works. (10) Forty years was I grieved with this generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. (11) So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

95

When the house was built after the Captivity, a Song of David. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. (2) Sing to the Lord, bless his name: proclaim his salvation from day to day. (3) Publish his glory among the Gentiles, his wonderful works among all people. (4) For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is terrible above all gods. (5) For all the gods of the heathen are devils: but the Lord made the heavens. (6) Thanksgiving and beauty are before him: holiness and majesty are in his sanctuary. (7) Bring to the Lord, ye families of the Gentiles, bring to the Lord glory and honour. (8) Bring to the Lord the glory becoming his name: take offerings, and go into his courts. (9) Worship the Lord in his holy court: let all the earth tremble before him. (10) Say among the heathen, The Lord reigns: for he has established the world so that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people in righteousness. (11) Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth exult; let the sea be moved, and the fullness of it. (12) The plains shall rejoice, and all things in them: then shall all the trees of the wood exult before the presence of the Lord: (13) for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth; he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the people with his truth.

96

For David, when his land is established. (1) The Lord reigns, let the earth exult, let many islands rejoice. (2) Cloud, and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the establishment of his throne. (3) Fire shall go before him, and burn up his enemies round about. (4) His lightnings appeared to the world; the earth saw, and trembled. (5) The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. (6) The heavens have declared his righteousness, and all the people have seen his glory. (7) Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all ye his angels. (8) Sion heard and rejoiced; and the daughters of Judea exulted, because of thy judgments, O Lord. (9) For thou art Lord most high over all the earth; thou art greatly exalted above all gods. (10) Ye that love the Lord, hate evil; the Lord preserves the souls of his saints; he shall deliver them from the hand of sinners. (11) Light is sprung up for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. (12) Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness.

97

A Psalm of David. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song; for the Lord has wrought wonderful works, his right hand, and his holy arm, have wrought salvation for him. (2) The Lord has made known his salvation, he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. (3) He has remembered his mercy to Jacob, and his truth to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (4) Shout to God, all the earth; sing, and exult, and sing psalms. (5) Sing to the Lord with a harp, with a harp, and the voice of a psalm. (6) With trumpets of metal, and the sound of a trumpet of horn make a joyful noise to the Lord before the king. (7) Let the sea be moved, and the fullness of it; the world, and they that dwell in it. (8) The rivers shall clap their hands together; the mountains shall exult. (9) For he is come to judge the earth; he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the nations in uprightness.

98

A Psalm of David. (1) The Lord reigns; —let the people rage; it is he that sits upon the cherubs, let the earth be moved. (2) The Lord is great in Sion, and is high over all the people. (3) Let them give thanks to thy great name; for it is terrible and holy. (4) And the king’s honour loves judgment; thou hast prepared equity, thou hast wrought judgment and justice in Jacob. (5) Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. (6) Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he heard them. (7) He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies, and the ordinances which he gave them. (8) O Lord our God, thou heardest them; O God, thou becamest propitious to them, though thou didst take vengeance on all their devices. (9) Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.

99

A Psalm for Thanksgiving. (1) Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. (2) Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with exultation. (3) Know that the Lord he is God; he made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with hymns; give thanks to him, praise his name. (5) For the Lord is good, his mercy is for ever; and his truth endures to generation and generation.

100

A Psalm of David. (1) I will sing to thee, O Lord, of mercy and judgment; I will sing a psalm, (2) and I will be wise in a blameless way. When wilt thou come to me? I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house. (3) I have not set before mine eyes any unlawful ting; I have hated transgressors. (4) A perverse heart has not cleaved to me; I have not known an evil man, forasmuch as he turns away from me. (5) Him that privily speaks against his neighbour, him have I driven from me: he that is proud in look and insatiable in heart, —with him I have not eaten. (6) Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walked in a perfect way, the same ministered to me. (7) The proud doer dwelt not in the midst of my house; the unjust speaker prospered not in my sight. (8) Early did I slay all the sinners of the land, that I might destroy out of the city of the Lord all that work iniquity.

101

A Prayer for the Poor; when he is deeply afflicted, and pours out his supplication before the Lord. (1) Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to thee. (2) Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am afflicted, incline thine ear to me: in the day when I shall call upon thee, speedily hear me. (3) For my days have vanished like smoke, and my bones have been parched like a stick. (4) I am blighted like grass, and my heart is dried up; for I have forgotten to eat my bread. (5) By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bone has cleaved to my flesh. (6) I have become like a pelican of the wilderness; (7) I have become like an owl in a ruined house. I have watched, and am become as a sparrow dwelling alone on a roof. (8) All the day long mine enemies have reproached me; and they that praised me have sworn against me. (9) For I have eaten ashes as it were bread, and mingled my drink with weeping; (10) because of thine anger and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and dashed me down. (11) My days have declined like a shadow; and I am withered like grass. (12) But thou, Lord, endurest for ever, and thy memorial to generation and generation. (13) Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Sion: for it is time to have mercy upon her, for the set time is come. (14) For thy servants have taken pleasure in her stones, and they shall pity her dust. (15) So the nations shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all kings thy glory. (16) For the Lord shall build up Sion, and shall appear in his glory. (17) He has had regard to the prayer of the lowly, and has not despised their petition. (18) Let this be written for another generation; and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. (19) For he has looked out from the height of his sanctuary; the Lord looked upon the earth from heaven; (20) to hear the groaning of the fettered ones, to loosen the sons of the slain; (21) to proclaim the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem; (22) when the people are gathered together, and the kings, to serve the Lord. (23) He answered him in the way of his strength: tell me the fewness of my days. (24) Take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are through all generations. (25) In the beginning thou, O Lord, didst lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. (26) They shall perish, but thou remainest: and they all shall wax old as a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them, and they shall be changed. (27) But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (28) The children of thy servants shall dwell securely, and their seed shall prosper for ever.

102

A Psalm of David. (1) Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (2) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his praises: (3) who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases; (4) who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion; (5) who satisfies thy desire with good things: so that thy youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle. (6) The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured. (7) He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel. (8) The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, long-suffering, and full of mercy. (9) He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever. (10) He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities. (11) For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has so increased his mercy toward them that fear him. (12) As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (13) As a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear him. (14) For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust. (15) As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish. (16) For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more. (17) But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children; (18) to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them. (19) The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all. (20) Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to hearken to the voice of his words. (21) Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will. (22) Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

103

A Psalm of David. (1) Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou hast clothed thyself with praise and honour: (2) who dost robe thyself with light as with a garment; spreading out the heaven as a curtain. (3) Who covers his chambers with waters; who makes the clouds his chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind. (4) Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire. (5) Who establishes the earth on her sure foundation: it shall not be moved for ever. (6) The deep, as it were a garment, is his covering: the waters shall stand on the hills. (7) At thy rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of thy thunder they shall be alarmed. (8) They go up to the mountains, and down to the plains, to the place which thou hast founded for them. (9) Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass, neither shall they turn again to cover the earth. (10) He sends forth his fountains among the valleys: the waters shall run between the mountains. (11) They shall give drink to all the wild beasts of the field: the wild asses shall take of them to quench their thirst. (12) By them shall the birds of the sky lodge: they shall utter a voice out of the midst of the rocks. (13) He waters the mountains from his chambers: the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of thy works. (14) He makes grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men, to bring bread out of the earth; (15) and wine makes glad the heart of man, to make his face cheerful with oil: and bread strengthens man’s heart. (16) The trees of the plain shall be full of sap; even the cedars of Libanus which he has planted. (17) There the sparrows will build their nests; and the house of the heron takes the lead among them. (18) The high mountains are a refuge for the stags, and the rock for the rabbits. (19) He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down. (20) Thou didst make darkness, and it was night; in it all the wild beasts of the forest will be abroad: (21) even young lions roaring for prey, and to seek meat for themselves from God. (22) The sun arises, and they shall be gathered together, and shall lie down in their dens. (23) Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labour till evening. (24) How great are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation. (25) So is this great and wide sea: there are things creeping innumerable, small animals and great. (26) There go the ships; and this dragon whom thou hast made to play in it. (27) All wait upon thee, to give them their food in due season. (28) When thou hast given it them, they will gather it; and when thou hast opened thine hand, they shall all be filled with good. (29) But when thou hast turned away thy face, they shall be troubled: thou wilt take away their breath, and they shall fail, and return to their dust. (30) Thou shalt send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created; and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. (31) Let the glory of the Lord be for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works; (32) who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the mountains, and they smoke. (33) I will sing to the Lord while I live; I will sing praise to my God while I exist. (34) Let my meditation be sweet to him: and I will rejoice in the Lord. (35) Let the sinners fail from off the earth, and transgressors, so that they shall be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

104

Alleluia. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, and call upon his name; declare his works among the heathen. (2) Sing to him, yea, sing praises to him: tell forth all his wonderful works. (3) Glory in his holy name: let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice. (4) Seek ye the Lord, and be strengthened; seek his face continually. (5) Remember his wonderful works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (6) ye seed of Abraam, his servants, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. (7) He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. (8) He has remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded for a thousand generation: (9) which he established as a covenant to Abraam, and he remembered his oath to Isaac. (10) And he established it to Jacob for an ordinance, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant; (11) saying To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the line of your inheritance: (12) when they were few in number, very few, and sojourners in it. (13) And they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people. (14) He suffered no man to wrong them; and he rebuked kings for their sakes: (15) saying, Touch not my anointed ones; and do my prophets no harm. (16) Moreover he called for a famine upon the land; he broke the whole support of bread. (17) He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold for a slave. (18) They hurt his feet with fetters; his soul passed into iron, (19) until the time that his cause came on; the word of the Lord tried him as fire. (20) The king sent and loosed him; even the prince of the people, and let him go free. (21) He made him Lord over his house, and ruler of all his substance; (22) to chastise his rulers at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. (23) Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Cham. (24) And he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies. (25) And he turned their heart to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. (26) He sent fort Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. (27) He established among them his signs, and his wonders in the land of Cham. (28) He sent forth darkness, and made it dark; yet they rebelled against his words. (29) He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. (30) Their land produced frogs abundantly, in the chambers of their kings. (31) He spoke, and the dog-fly came, and lice in all their coasts. (32) He turned their rain into hail, and sent flaming fire in their land. (33) And he smote their vines and their fig trees; and broke every tree of their coast. (34) He spoke, and the locust came, and caterpillars innumerable, (35) and devoured all the grass in their land, and devoured the fruit of the ground. (36) He smote also every first-born of their land, the first-fruits of all their labour. (37) And he brought them out with silver and gold; and there was not a feeble one among their tribes. (38) Egypt rejoiced at their departing; for the fear of them fell upon them. (39) He spread out a cloud for a covering to them, and fire to give them light by night. (40) They asked, and the quail came, and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven. (41) He clave the rock, and the waters flowed, rivers ran in dry places. (42) For he remembered his holy word, which he promised to Abraam his servant. (43) And he brought out his people with exultation, and his chosen with joy; (44) and gave them the lands of the heathen; and they inherited the labours of the people; (45) that they might keep his ordinances, and diligently seek his law.

105

Alleluia. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (2) Who shall tell the mighty acts of the Lord? who shall cause all his praises to be heard? (3) Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do righteousness at all times. (4) Remember us, O Lord, with the favour thou hast to thy people: visit us with thy salvation; (5) that we may behold the good of thine elect, that we may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that we may glory with thine inheritance. (6) We have sinned with our fathers, we have transgressed, we have done unrighteously. (7) Our fathers in Egypt understood not thy wonders, and remembered not the multitude of thy mercy; but provoked him as they went up by the Red Sea. (8) Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might cause his mighty power to be known. (9) And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up: so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness. (10) And he saved them out of the hand of them that hated them, and redeemed them out of the hand of the enemy. (11) The water covered those that oppressed them: there was not one of them left. (12) Then they believed his words, and celebrated his praise. (13) They made haste, they forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel. (14) And they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the dry land. (15) And he gave them their request, and sent fullness into their souls. (16) They provoked Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the holy one of the Lord. (17) The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and closed upon the congregation of Abiron. (18) And a fire was kindled in their congregation, and a flame burnt up the sinners. (19) And they made a calf in Choreb, and worshipped the graven image, (20) and they changed their glory into the similitude of a calf that feeds on grass. (21) They forgot God that saved them, who had wrought great deeds in Egypt; (22) wondrous works in the land of Cham, and terrible things at the Red Sea. (23) So he said that he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn him away from the fierceness of his anger, so that he should not destroy them. (24) Moreover they set at nought the desirable land, and believed not his word. (25) And they murmured in their tents: they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. (26) So he lifted up his hand against them, to cast them down in the wilderness; (27) and to cast down their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the countries. (28) They were joined also to Beelphegor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. And they provoked him with their devices; (29) and destruction, was multiplied among them. (30) Then Phinees stood up, and made atonement: and the plague ceased. (31) And it was counted to him for righteousness, to all generations for ever. (32) They provoked him also at the water of Strife, and Moses was hurt for their sakes; (33) for they provoked his spirit, and he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. (34) They destroyed not the nations which the Lord told them to destroy; (35) but were mingled with the heathen, and learned their works. (36) And they served their graven images; and it became an offence to them. (37) And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, (38) and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan; and the land was defiled with blood. (39) and was polluted with their works; and they went a whoring with their own devices. (40) So the Lord was very angry with his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. (41) And he delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and they that hated them ruled over them. (42) Ands their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought down under their hands. (43) Many a time he delivered them; but they provoked him by their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquities. (44) Ye the Lord looked upon their affliction, when he heard their petition. (45) And he remembered his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercy. (46) And he caused them to be pitied in the sight of all who carried them captive. (47) Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, that we may glory in thy praise. (48) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting; and all the people shall say, Amen, Amen.

106

Alleluia. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever. (2) Let them say so who have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy; (3) and gathered them out of the countries, from the east, and west, and north, and south. (4) They wandered in the wilderness in a dry land; they found no way to a city of habitation. (5) Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. (6) Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he delivered them out of their distresses. (7) And he guided them into a straight path, that they might go to a city of habitation. (8) Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. (9) For he satisfies the empty soul, and fills the hungry soul with good things, (10) even them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, fettered in poverty and iron; (11) because they rebelled against the words of God, and provoked the counsel of the Most High. (12) So their heart was brought low with troubles; they were weak, and there was no helper. (13) Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses. (14) And he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds asunder. (15) Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonders to the children of men. (16) For he broke to pieces the brazen gates, and crushed the iron bars. (17) He helped them out of the way of their iniquity; for they were brought low because of their iniquities. (18) Their soul abhorred all meat; and they drew near to the gates of death. (19) Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses. (20) He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them out of their destructions. (21) Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. (22) And let them offer to him the sacrifice of praise, and proclaim this works with exultation. (23) They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in many waters; (24) these men have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. (25) He speaks, and the stormy wind arises, and its waves are lifted up. (26) They go up to the heavens, and go down to the depths; their soul melts because of troubles. (27) They are troubled, they stagger as a drunkard, and all their wisdom is swallowed up. (28) Then they cry to the Lord in their affliction, and he brings them out of their distresses. (29) And he commands the storm, and it is calmed into a gentle breeze, and its waves are still. (30) And they are glad, because they are quiet; and he guides them to their desire haven. (31) Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. (32) Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders. (33) He turns rivers into a desert, and streams of water into a dry land; (34) a fruitful land into saltness, for the wickedness of them that dwell in it. (35) He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and a dry land into streams of water. (36) And there he causes the hungry to dwell, and they establish for themselves cities of habitation. (37) And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and they yield fruit of increase. (38) And he blesses them, and they multiply exceedingly, and he diminishes not the number of their cattle. (39) Again they become few, and are brought low, by the pressure of evils and pain. (40) Contempt is poured upon their princes, and he causes them to wander in a desert and trackless land. (41) But he helps the poor out of poverty, and makes him families as a flock. (42) The upright shall see and rejoice; and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. (43) Who is wise, and will observe these things, and understand the mercies of the Lord?

107

Song of a Psalm by David. (1) O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready; I will sing and sing psalms with my glory. (2) Awake, psaltery and harp; I will awake early. (3) I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing praise to thee among the Gentiles. (4) For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reaches to the clouds. (5) Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth. (6) That thy beloved ones may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and hear me. God has spoken in his sanctuary; (7) I will be exalted, and will divide Sicima, and will measure out the valley of tents. (8) Galaad is mine; and Manasses is mine; and Ephraim is the help of mine head; Judas is my king; (9) Moab is the caldron of my hope; over Idumea will I cast my sandal; the Philistines are made subject to me. (10) Who will bring me into the fortified city? or who will guide me to Idumea? (11) Wilt not thou, O God, who hast rejected us? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? (12) Give us help from tribulation: for vain is the help of man. (13) Through God we shall do valiantly; and he will bring to nought our enemies.

108

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) O God, pass not over my praise in silence; (2) for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the crafty man have been opened against me: they have spoken against me with a crafty tongue. (3) And they have compassed me with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. (4) Instead of loving me, they falsely accused me: but I continued to pray. (5) And they rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. (6) Set thou a sinner against him; and let the devil stand at his right hand. (7) When he is judged, let him go forth condemned: and let his prayer become sin. (8) Let his days be few: and let another take his office of overseer. (9) Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow. (10) Let his children wander without a dwelling-place, and beg: let them be cast out of their habitations. (11) Let his creditor exact all that belongs to him: and let strangers spoil his labours. (12) Let him have no helper; neither let there be any one to have compassion on his fatherless children. (13) Let his children be given up to utter destruction: in one generation let his name be blotted out. (14) Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. (15) Let them be before the Lord continually; and let their memorial be blotted out from the earth. (16) Because he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the needy and poor man, and that to slay him that was pricked in the heart. (17) He loved cursing also, and it shall come upon him; and he took not pleasure in blessing, so it shall be removed far from him. (18) Yea, he put on cursing as a garment, and it is come as water into his bowels, and as oil into his bones. (19) Let it be to him as a garment which he puts on, and as a girdle with which he girds himself continually. (20) This is the dealing of the Lord with those who falsely accuse me, and of them that speak evil against my soul. (21) But thou, O Lord, Lord, deal mercifully with me, for thy name’s sake: for thy mercy is good. (22) Deliver me, for I am poor and needy; and my heart is troubled within me. (23) I am removed as a shadow in its going down: I am tossed up and down like locusts. (24) My knees are weakened through fasting, and my flesh is changed by reason of the want of oil. (25) I became also a reproach to them: when they saw me they shook their heads. (26) Help me, O Lord my God; and save me according to thy mercy. (27) And let them know that this is thy hand; and that thou, Lord, hast wrought it. (28) Let them curse, but thou shalt bless: let them that rise up against me be ashamed, but let thy servant rejoice. (29) Let those that falsely accuse me be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their shame as with a mantle. (30) I will give thanks to the Lord abundantly with my mouth; and in the midst of many I will praise him. (31) For he stood on the right hand of the poor, to save me from them that persecute my soul.

109

A Psalm of David. (1) The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (2) The Lord shall send out a rod of power for thee out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. (3) With thee is dominion in the day of thy power, in the splendours of thy saints: I have begotten thee from the womb before the morning. (4) The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec. (5) The Lord at thy right hand has dashed in pieces kings in the day of his wrath. (6) He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill up the number of corpses, he shall crush the heads of many on the earth. (7) He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head.

110

Alleluia. (1) I will give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation. (2) The works of the Lord are great, sought out according to all his will. (3) His work is worthy of thanksgiving and honour: and his righteousness endures for ever and ever. (4) He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is merciful and compassionate. (5) He has given food to them that fear him: he will remember his covenant for ever. (6) He has declared to his people the power of his works, to give them the inheritance of the heathen. (7) The works of his hands are truth and judgment: all his commandments are sure: (8) established for ever and ever, done in truth and uprightness. (9) He sent redemption to his people: he commanded his covenant for ever: holy and fearful is his name. (10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and all that act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever and ever.

111

Alleluia. (1) Blessed is the man that fears the Lord: he will delight greatly in his commandments. (2) His seed shall be mighty in the earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. (3) Glory and riches shall be in his house; and his righteousness endures for evermore. (4) To the upright light has sprung up in darkness: he is pitiful, and merciful, and righteous. (5) The good man is he that pities and lends: he will direct his affairs with judgment. (6) For he shall not be moved for ever; the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. (7) He shall not be afraid of any evil report: his heart is ready to trust in the Lord. (8) His heart is established, he shall not fear, till he shall see his desire upon his enemies. (9) He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for evermore: his horn shall be exalted with honour. (10) The sinner shall see and be angry, he shall gnash his teeth, and consume away: the desire of the sinner shall perish.

112

Alleluia. (1) Praise the Lord, ye servants of his, praise, the name of the Lord. (2) Let the name of the Lord be blessed, from this present time and for ever. (3) From the rising of the sun to his setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. (4) The Lord is high above all the nations; his glory is above the heavens. (5) Who is as the Lord our God? who dwells in the high places, (6) and yet looks upon the low things in heaven, and on the earth: (7) who lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises up the needy from the dunghill; (8) to set him with princes, even with the princes of his people: (9) who settles the barren woman in a house, as a mother rejoicing over children.

113

Alleluia. (1) At the going forth of Israel from Egypt, of the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, (2) Judea became his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. (3) The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back. (4) The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs. (5) What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? and thou Jordan, that thou wast turned back? (6) Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, and ye hills, like lambs? (7) The earth trembled at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; (8) who turned the rock into pools of water, and the flint into fountains of water. (114:1) Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory, because of thy mercy and thy truth; (114:2) lest at any time the nations should say, Where is their God? (114:3) But our God has done in heaven and on earth, whatsoever he has pleased.

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(4) The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands. (5) They have a mouth, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see: (6) they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell; (7) they have hands, but they cannot handle; they have feet, but they cannot walk: they cannot speak through their throat. (8) Let those that make them become like to them, and all who trust in them. (9) The house of Israel trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and defender. (10) The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord: he is their helper and defender. (11) They that fear the Lord trust in the Lord: he is their helper and defender. (12) The Lord has remembered us, and blessed us: he has blessed the house of Israel, he has blessed the house of Aaron. (13) He has blessed them that fear the Lord, both small and great. (14) The Lord add blessings to you and to your children. (15) Blessed are ye of the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth. (16) The heaven of heavens belongs to the Lord: but he has given the earth to the sons of men. (17) The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord, nor any that go down to Hades. (18) But we, the living, will bless the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

115a

Alleluia. (1) I am well pleased, because the Lord will hearken to the voice of my supplication. (2) Because he has inclined his ear to me, therefore will I call upon him while I live. (3) The pangs of death compassed me; the dangers of hell found me: I found affliction and sorrow. (4) Then I called on the name of the Lord: O Lord, deliver my soul. (5) The Lord is merciful and righteous; yea, our God has pity. (6) The Lord preserves the simple: I was brought low, and he delivered me. (7) Return to thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee. (8) For he has delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. (9) I shall be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living. Alleluia:

115b

(10) I believed, wherefore I have spoken: but I was greatly afflicted. (11) And I said in mine amazement, Every man is a liar. (12) What shall I render to the Lord for all the things wherein he has rewarded me? (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. (14) I will pay my vows to the Lord, in the presence of all his people. (15) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (16) O Lord, I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast burst by bonds asunder. (17) I will offer to thee the sacrifice of praise, and will call upon the name of the Lord. (18) I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the presence of all his people, (19) in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, Jerusalem.

116

Alleluia. (1) Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye peoples. (2) For his mercy has been abundant toward us: and the truth of the Lord endures for ever.

117

Alleluia. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (2) Let now the house of Israel say, that he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (3) Let now the house of Aaron say, that he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (4) Let now all that fear the Lord say, that he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (5) I called on the Lord out of affliction: and he hearkened to me, so as to bring me into a wide place. (6) The Lord is my helper; and I will not fear what man shall do to me. (7) The Lord is my helper; and I shall see my desire upon mine enemies. (8) It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. (9) It is better to hope in the Lord, than to hope in princes. (10) All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I repulsed them. (11) They completely compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I repulsed them. (12) They compassed me about as bees do a honeycomb, and they burst into flame as fire among thorns: but in the name of the Lord I repulsed them. (13) I was thrust, and sorely shaken, that I might fall: but the Lord helped me. (14) The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation. (15) The voice of exultation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord has wrought mightily. (16) The right hand of the Lord has exalted me: the right hand of the Lord has wrought powerfully. (17) I shall not die, but live, and recount the works of the Lord. (18) The Lord has chastened me sore: but he has not given me up to death. (19) Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and give praise to the Lord. (20) This is the gate of the Lord: the righteous shall enter by it. (21) I will give thanks to thee; because thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. (22) The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. (23) This has been done of the Lord; and it is wonderful in our eyes. (24) This is the day which the Lord has made: let us exult and rejoice in it. (25) O Lord, save now: O Lord, send now prosperity. (26) Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (27) God is the Lord, and he has shined upon us: celebrate the feast with thick branches, binding the victims even to the horns of the altar. (28) Thou art my God, and I will give thee thanks: thou art my God, and I will exalt thee. I will give thanks to thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. (29) Give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.

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Alleluia. 1 (1) Blessed are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. (2) Blessed are they that search out his testimonies: they will diligently seek him with the whole heart. (3) For they that work iniquity have not walked in his ways. (4) Thou hast commanded us diligently to keep thy precepts. (5) O that my ways were directed to keep thine ordinances. (6) Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect to all thy commandments. (7) I will give thee thanks with uprightness of heart, when I have learnt the judgments of thy righteousness. (8) I will keep thine ordinances: O forsake me not greatly. 2 (9) Wherewith shall a young man direct his way? by keeping thy words. (10) With my whole heart have I diligently sought thee: cast me not away from thy commandments. (11) I have hidden thine oracles in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. (12) Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thine ordinances. (13) With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. (14) I have delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. (15) I will meditate on thy commandments, and consider thy ways. (16) I will meditate on thine ordinances: I will not forget thy words. 3 (17) Render a recompense to thy servant: so shall I live, and keep thy words. (18) Unveil thou mine eyes, and I shall perceive wondrous things of thy law. (19) I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. (20) My soul has longed exceedingly for thy judgments at all times. (21) Thou has rebuked the proud: cursed are they that turn aside from thy commandments. (22) Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have sought out thy testimonies. (23) For princes sat and spoke against me: but thy servant was meditating on thine ordinances. (24) For thy testimonies are my meditation, and thine ordinances are my counsellors. 4 (25) My soul has cleaved to the ground; quicken thou me according to thy word. (26) I declared my ways, and thou didst hear me: teach me thine ordinances. (27) Instruct me in the way of thine ordinances; and I will meditate on thy wondrous works. (28) My soul has slumbered for sorrow; strengthen thou me with thy words. (29) Remove from me the way of iniquity; and be merciful to me by thy law. (30) I have chosen the way of truth; and have not forgotten thy judgments. (31) I have cleaved to thy testimonies, O Lord; put me not to shame. (32) I ran the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart. 5 (33) Teach me, O Lord, the way of thine ordinances, and I will seek it out continually. (34) Instruct me, and I will search out thy law, and will keep it with my whole heart. (35) Guide me in the path of thy commandments; for I have delighted in it. (36) Incline mine heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. (37) Turn away mine eyes that I may not behold vanity: quicken thou me in thy way. (38) Confirm thine oracle to thy servant, that he may fear thee. (39) Take away my reproach which I have feared: for thy judgments are good. (40) Behold, I have desired thy commandments: quicken me in thy righteousness. 6 (41) And let thy mercy come upon me, O Lord; even thy salvation, according to thy word. (42) And so I shall render an answer to them that reproach me: for I have trusted in thy words. (43) And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. (44) So shall I keep thy law continually, for ever and ever. (45) I walked also at large: for I sought out thy commandments. (46) And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings, and was not ashamed. (47) And I meditated on thy commandments, which I loved exceedingly. (48) And I lifted up my hands to thy commandments which I loved; and I meditated in thine ordinances. 7 (49) Remember thy words to thy servant, wherein thou hast made me hope. (50) This has comforted me in mine affliction: for thine oracle has quickened me. (51) The proud have transgressed exceedingly; but I swerved not from thy law. (52) I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and was comforted. (53) Despair took hold upon me, because of the sinners who forsake thy law. (54) Thine ordinances were my songs in the place of my sojourning. (55) I remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and kept thy law. (56) This I had, because I diligently sought thine ordinances. 8 (57) Thou art my portion, O Lord: I said that I would keep thy law. (58) I besought thy favour with my whole heart: have mercy upon me according to thy word. (59) I thought on thy ways, and turned my feet to thy testimonies. (60) I prepared myself, (and was not terrified,) to keep thy commandments. (61) The snares of sinners entangled me: but I forgot not thy law. (62) At midnight I arose, to give thanks to thee for the judgments of thy righteousness. (63) I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy commandments. (64) O Lord, the earth is full of thy mercy: teach me thine ordinances. 9 (65) Thou hast wrought kindly with thy servant, o Lord, according to thy word. (66) Teach me kindness, and instruction, and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. (67) Before I was afflicted, I transgressed; therefore have I kept thy word. (68) Good art thou, O Lord; therefore in thy goodness teach me thine ordinances. (69) The injustice of the proud has been multiplied against me: but I will search out thy commandments with all my heart. (70) Their heart has been curdled like milk; but I have meditated on thy law. (71) It is good for me that thou hast afflicted me; that I might learn thine ordinances. (72) The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver. 10 (73) Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me: instruct me, that I may learn thy commandments. (74) They that fear thee will see me and rejoice: for I have hoped in thy words. (75) I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are righteousness, and that thou in truthfulness hast afflicted me. (76) Let, I pray thee, thy mercy be to comfort me, according to thy word to thy servant. (77) Let thy compassions come to me, that I may live: for thy law is my meditation. (78) Let the proud be ashamed; for they transgressed against me unjustly: but I will meditate in thy commandments. (79) Let those that fear thee, and those that know thy testimonies, turn to me. (80) Let mine heart be blameless in thine ordinances, that I may not be ashamed. 11 (81) My soul faints for thy salvation: I have hoped in thy words. (82) Mine eyes failed in waiting for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me? (83) For I am become as a bottle in the frost: yet I have not forgotten thine ordinances. (84) How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment for me on them that persecute me? (85) Transgressors told me idle tales; but not according to thy law, O Lord. (86) All thy commandments are truth; they persecuted me unjustly; help thou me. (87) They nearly made an end of me in the earth; but I forsook not thy commandments. (88) Quicken me according to thy mercy; so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth. 12 (89) Thy word, O Lord, abides in heaven for ever. (90) Thy truth endures to all generations; thou hast founded the earth, and it abides. (91) The day continues by thy arrangement; for all things are thy servants. (92) Were it not that thy law is my meditation, then I should have perished in mine affliction. (93) I will never forget thine ordinances; for with them thou hast quickened me. (94) I am thine, save me; for I have sought out thine ordinances. (95) Sinners laid wait for me to destroy me; but I understood thy testimonies. (96) have seen an end of all perfection; but thy commandment is very broad. 13 (97) How I have loved thy law, O Lord! it is my meditation all the day. (98) Thou hast made me wiser than mine enemies in thy commandment; for it is mine for ever. (99) I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my medication. (100) I understand more that the aged; because I have sought out thy commandments. (101) I have kept back my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy words. (102) I have not declined from thy judgments; for thou hast instructed me. (103) How sweet are thine oracles to my throat! more so than honey to my mouth! (104) I gain understanding by thy commandments: therefore I have hated every way of unrighteousness. 14 (105) Thy law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. (106) I have sworn and determined to keep the judgments of thy righteousness. (107) I have been very greatly afflicted, O Lord: quicken me, according to thy word. (108) Accept, I pray thee, O Lord, the freewill-offerings of my mouth, and teach me thy judgments. (109) My soul is continually in thine hands; and I have not forgotten thy law. (110) Sinners spread a snare for me; but I erred not from thy commandments. (111) I have inherited thy testimonies for ever; for they are the joy of my heart. (112) I have inclined my heart to perform thine ordinances for ever, in return for thy mercies. 15 (113) I have hated transgressors; but I have loved thy law. (114) Thou art my helper and my supporter; I have hoped in thy words. (115) Depart from me, ye evil-doers; for I will search out the commandments of my God. (116) Uphold me according to thy word, and quicken me; and make me not ashamed of my expectation. (117) Help me, and I shall be saved; and I will meditate in thine ordinances continually. (118) Thou hast brought to nought all that depart from thine ordinances; for their inward thought is unrighteous. (119) I have reckoned all the sinners of the earth as transgressors; therefore have I loved thy testimonies. (120) Penetrate my flesh with thy fear; for I am afraid of thy judgments. 16 (121) I have done judgment and justice; deliver me not up to them that injure me. (122) Receive thy servant for good: let not the proud accuse me falsely. (123) Mine eyes have failed for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness. (124) Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy, and teach me thine ordinances. (125) I am thy servant; instruct me, and I shall know thy testimonies. (126) It is time for the Lord to work: they have utterly broken thy law. (127) Therefore have I loved thy commandments more than gold, or the topaz. (128) Therefore I directed myself according to all thy commandments: I have hated every unjust way. 17 (129) Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore my soul has sought them out. (130) The manifestation of thy words will enlighten, and instruct the simple. (131) I opened my mouth, and drew breath: for I earnestly longed after thy commandments. (132) Look upon me and have mercy upon me, after the manner of them that love thy name. (133) Order my steps according to thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. (134) Deliver me from the false accusation of men: so will I keep thy commandments. (135) Cause thy face to shine upon thy servant: and teach me thine ordinances. (136) Mine eyes have been bathed in streams of water, because I kept not thy law. 18 (137) Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments. (138) Thou has commanded righteousness and perfect truth, as thy testimonies. (139) Thy zeal has quite wasted me: because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. (140) Thy word has been very fully tried; and thy servant loves it. (141) I am young and despised: yet I have not forgotten thine ordinances. (142) Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is truth. (143) Afflictions and distresses found me: but thy commandments were my meditation. (144) Thy testimonies are an everlasting righteousness: instruct me, and I shall live. 19 (145) I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will search out thine ordinances. (146) I cried to thee; save me, and I will keep thy testimonies. (147) I arose before the dawn, and cried: I hoped in thy words. (148) Mine eyes prevented the dawn, that I might meditate on thine oracles. (149) Hear my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy; quicken me according to thy judgment. (150) They have drawn nigh who persecuted me unlawfully; and they are far removed from thy law. (151) Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy ways are truth. (152) I have known of old concerning thy testimonies, that thou hast founded them for ever. 20 (153) Look upon mine affliction, and rescue me; for I have not forgotten thy law. (154) Plead my cause, and ransom me: quicken me because of thy word. (155) Salvation is far from sinners: for they have not searched out thine ordinances. (156) Thy mercies, O Lord, are many: quicken me according to thy judgment. (157) Many are they that persecute me and oppress me: but I have not declined from thy testimonies. (158) I beheld men acting foolishly, and I pined away; for they kept not thine oracles. (159) Behold, I have loved thy commandments, O Lord: quicken me in thy mercy. (160) The beginning of thy words is truth; and all the judgments of thy righteousness endure for ever. 21 (161) Princes persecuted me without a cause, but my heart feared because of thy words. (162) I will exult because of thine oracles, as one that finds much spoil. (163) I hate and abhor unrighteousness; but I love thy law. (164) Seven times in a day have I praised thee because of the judgments of thy righteousness. (165) Great peace have they that love thy law: and there is no stumbling-block to them. (166) I waited for thy salvation, O Lord, and have loved thy commandments. (167) My soul has kept thy testimonies, and loved them exceedingly. (168) I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies; for all my ways are before thee, O Lord. 22 (169) Let my supplication come near before thee, o Lord; instruct me according to thine oracle. (170) Let my petition come in before thee, O Lord; deliver me according to thine oracle. (171) Let my lips utter a hymn, when thou shalt have taught me thine ordinances. (172) Let my tongue utter thine oracles; for all thy commandments are righteous. (173) Let thine hand be prompt to save me; for I have chosen thy commandments. (174) I have longed after thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my meditation. (175) My soul shall live, and shall praise thee; and thy judgments shall help me. (176) I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I have not forgotten thy commandments.

119

A Song of Degrees. (1) In mine affliction I cried to the Lord, and he hearkened to me. (2) Deliver my soul, O Lord, from unjust lips, and from a deceitful tongue. (3) What should be given to thee, and what should be added to thee, for thy crafty tongue? (4) Sharpened weapons of the mighty, with coals of the desert. (5) Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged; I have tabernacled among the tents of Kedar. (6) My soul has long been a sojourner; (7) I was peaceable among them that hated peace; when I spoke to them, they warred against me without a cause.

120

A Song of Degrees. (1) I lifted up mine eyes to the mountains, whence my help shall come. (2) My help shall come from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth. (3) Let not thy foot be moved; and let not thy keeper slumber. (4) Behold, he that keeps Israel shall not slumber nor sleep. (5) The Lord shall keep thee: the Lord is thy shelter upon thy right hand. (6) The sun shall not burn thee by day, neither the moon by night. (7) May the Lord preserve thee from all evil: the Lord shall keep thy soul. (8) The Lord shall keep thy coming in, and thy going out, from henceforth and even for ever.

121

A Song of Degrees. (1) I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. (2) Our feet stood in thy courts, O Jerusalem. (3) Jerusalem is built as a city whose fellowship is complete. (4) For thither the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. (5) For there are set thrones for judgment, even thrones for the house of David. (6) Pray now for the peace of Jerusalem: and let there be prosperity to them that love thee. (7) Let peace, I pray, be within thine host, and prosperity in thy palaces. (8) For the sake of my brethren and my neighbours, I have indeed spoken peace concerning thee. (9) Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have diligently sought thy good.

122

A Song of Degrees. (1) Unto thee who dwellest in heaven have I lifted up mine eyes. (2) Behold, as the eyes of servants are directed to the hands of their masters, and as the eyes of a maidservant to the hands of her mistress; so our eyes are directed to the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us. (3) Have pity upon us, O Lord, have pity upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. (4) Yea, our soul has been exceedingly filled with it: let the reproach be to them that are at ease, and contempt to the proud.

123

A Song of Degrees. (1) If it had not been that the Lord was among us, let Israel now say; (2) if it had not been that the Lord was among us, when men rose up against us; (3) verily they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us: (4) verily the water would have drowned us, our soul would have gone under the torrent. (5) Yea, our soul would have gone under the overwhelming water. (6) Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us for a prey to their teeth. (7) Our soul has been delivered as a sparrow from the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are delivered. (8) Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

124

A Song of Degrees. (1) They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion: he that dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved. (2) The mountains are round about her, and so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth and even for ever. (3) For the Lord will not allow the rod of sinners to be upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous should stretch forth their hands to iniquity. (4) Do good, O Lord, to them that are good, and to them that are upright in heart. (5) But them that turn aside to crooked ways the Lord will lead away with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

125

A Song of Degrees. (1) When the Lord turned the captivity of Sion, we became as comforted ones. (2) Then was our mouth filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation: then would they say among the Gentiles, (3) The Lord has done great things among them. The Lord has done great things for us, we became joyful. (4) Turn, O Lord, our captivity, as the steams in the south. (5) They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. (6) They went on and wept as they cast their seeds; but they shall surely come with exultation, bringing their sheaves with them.

126

A Song of Degrees. (1) Except the Lord build the house, they that build labour in vain: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches in vain. (2) It is vain for you to rise early: ye rise up after resting, ye that eat the bread of grief; while he gives sleep to his beloved. (3) Behold, the inheritance of the Lord, children, the reward of the fruit of the womb. (4) As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of those who were outcasts. (5) Blessed is the man who shall satisfy his desire with them: they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak to their enemies in the gates.

127

A Song of Degrees. (1) Blessed are all they that fear the Lord; who walk in his ways. (2) Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee. (3) Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine on the sides of thy house: thy children as young olive-plants round about thy table. (4) Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord. (5) May the Lord bless thee out of Sion; and mayest thou see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. (6) And mayest thou see thy children’s children. Peace be upon Israel.

128

A Song of Degrees. (1) Many a time have they warred against me from my youth, let Israel now say: (2) Many a time have they warred against me from my youth: and yet they prevailed not against me. (3) The sinners wrought upon my back: they prolonged their iniquity. (4) The righteous Lord has cut asunder the necks of sinners. (5) Let all that hate Sion be put to shame and turned back. (6) Let them be as the grass of the house-tops, which withers before it is plucked up. (7) Wherewith the reaper fills not his hand, nor he that makes up the sheaves, his bosom. (8) Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

129

A Song of Degrees. (1) Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O Lord. (2) O Lord, hearken to my voice; let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. (3) If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (4) For with thee is forgiveness: for thy name’s sake (5) have I waited for thee, O Lord, my soul has waited for thy word. (6) My soul has hoped in the Lord; from the morning watch till night. (7) Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. (8) And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

130

A Song of Degrees. (1) O Lord, my heart is not exalted, neither have mine eyes been haughtily raised: neither have I exercised myself in great matters, nor in things too wonderful for me. (2) I shall have sinned if I have not been humble, but have exulted my soul: according to the relation of a weaned child to his mother, so wilt thou recompense my soul. (3) Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

131

A Song of Degrees. (1) Lord, remember David, and all his meekness: (2) how he sware to the Lord, and vowed to the God of Jacob, saying, (3) I will not go into the tabernacle of my house; I will not go up to the couch of my bed; (4) I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, nor rest to my temples, (5) until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. (6) Behold, we heard of it in Ephratha; we found it in the fields of the wood. (7) Let us enter into his tabernacles: let us worship at the place where his feet stood. (8) Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thine holiness. (9) Thy priests shall clothe themselves with righteousness; and thy saints shall exult. (10) For the sake of thy servant David turn not away the face of thine anointed. (11) The Lord sware in truth to David, and he will not annul it, saying, Of the fruit of thy body will I set a king upon thy throne. (12) If thy children will deep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon thy throne for ever. (13) For the Lord has elected Sion, he has chosen her for a habitation for himself, saying, (14) This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have chosen it. (15) I will surely bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. (16) I will clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall greatly exult. (17) There will I cause to spring up a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for mine anointed. (18) His enemies will I clothe with a shame; but upon himself shall my holiness flourish.

132

A Song of Degrees. (1) See now! what is so good, or what so pleasant, as for brethren to dwell together? (2) It is as ointment on the head, that ran down to the beard, even the beard of Aaron; that ran down to the fringe of his clothing. (3) As the dew of Aermon, that comes down on the mountains of Sion: for there, the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever.

133

A Song of Degrees. (1) Behold now, bless ye the Lord, all the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. (2) Lift up your hands by night in the sanctuaries, and bless the Lord. (3) May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless thee out of Sion.

134

Alleluia. (1) Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise the Lord, ye his servants, (2) who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. (3) Praise ye the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises to his name; for it is good. (4) For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. (5) For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods; (6) all that the Lord willed, he did in heaven, and on the earth, in the sea, and in all deeps. (7) Who brings up clouds from the extremity of the earth: he has made lightnings for the rain: he brings winds out of his treasures. (8) Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast. (9) He sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, on Pharao, and on all his servants. (10) Who smote many nations, and slew mighty kings; (11) Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, and all the kingdoms of Chanaan: (12) and gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel his people. (13) O Lord, thy name endures for ever, and thy memorial to all generations. (14) For the Lord shall judge his people, and comfort himself concerning his servants. (15) The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands. (17) they have ears, but they cannot hear; for there is no breath in their mouth. (18) Let those who make them be made like to them; and all those who trust in them. (19) O house of Israel, bless ye the Lord: O house of Aaron, bless ye the Lord: (20) O house of Levi, bless ye the Lord: ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord. (21) Blessed in Sion be the Lord, who dwells in Jerusalem.

135

Alleluia. (1) Give thanks to the Lord: for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. (2) Give thanks to the God of gods; for his mercy endures for ever. (3) Give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endures for ever. (4) To him who along has wrought great wonders: for his mercy endures for ever. (5) To him who made the heavens by understanding; for his mercy endures for ever. (6) To him who established the earth on the waters; for his mercy endures for ever. (7) To him who alone made great lights; for his mercy endures for ever. (8) The sun to rule by day; for his mercy endures for ever. (9) The moon and the stars to rule the night; for his mercy endures for ever. (10) To him who smote Egypt with their first-born; for his mercy endures for ever. (11) And brought Israel out of the midst of them; for his mercy endures for ever: (12) with a strong hand, and a high arm: for his mercy endures for ever. (13) To him who divided the Red Sea into parts: for his mercy endures for ever: (14) and brought Israel through the midst of it: for his mercy endures for ever: (15) and overthrew Pharao and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endures for ever. (16) To him who led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endures for ever. (17) To him who smote great kings: for his mercy endures for ever: (18) and slew mighty kings; for his mercy endures for ever: (19) Seon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endures for ever: (20) and Og king of Basan: for his mercy endures for ever: (21) and gave their land for an inheritance: for his mercy endures for ever: (22) even an inheritance to Israel his servant: for his mercy endures for ever. (23) For the Lord remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endures for ever: (24) and redeemed us from our enemies; for his mercy endures for ever. (25) Who gives food to all flesh; for his mercy endures for ever. (26) Give thanks to the God of heaven; for his mercy endures for ever.

136

For David, a Psalm of Jeremias. (1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat; and wept when we remembered Sion. (2) We hung our harps on the willows in the midst of it. (3) For there they that had taken us captive asked of us the words of a song; and they that had carried us away asked a hymn, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Sion. (4) How should we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? (5) If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. (6) May my tongue cleave to my throat, if I do not remember thee; if I do not prefer Jerusalem as the chief of my joy. (7) Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to its foundations. (8) Wretched daughter of Babylon! blessed shall he be who shall reward thee as thou hast rewarded us. (9) Blessed shall he be who shall seize and dash thine infants against the rock.

137

A Psalm for David, of Aggaeus and Zacharias. (1) I will give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; and I will sing psalms to thee before the angels; for thou hast heard all the words of my mouth. (2) I will worship toward thy holy temple, and give thanks to thy name, on account of thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above every thing. (3) In whatsoever day I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily; thou shalt abundantly provide me with thy power in my soul. (4) Let all the kings of the earth, o Lord, give thanks unto thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth. (5) And let them sing in the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of the Lord. (6) For the Lord is high, and yet regards the lowly; and he knows high things from afar off. (7) Though I should walk in the midst of affliction, thou wilt quicken me; thou hast stretched forth thine hands against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand has saved me. (8) O Lord, thou shalt recompense them on my behalf: thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever: overlook not the works of thine hands.

138

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me. (2) Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thoughts long before. (3) Thou hast traced my path and my bed, and hast foreseen all my ways. (4) For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, (5) the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me. (6) The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot attain to it. (7) Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from my presence? (8) If I should go up to heaven, thou art there: if I should go down to hell, thou art present. (9) If I should spread my wings to fly straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, it would be vain, (10) for even there thy hand would guide me, and thy right hand would hold me. (11) When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night was light in my luxury. (12) For darkness will not be darkness with thee; but night will be light as day: as its darkness, so shall its light be to thee. (13) For thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins; thou hast helped me from my mother’s womb. (14) I will give thee thanks; for thou art fearfully wondrous; wondrous are thy works; and my soul knows it well. (15) My bones, which thou madest in secret were not hidden from thee, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth. (16) Thine eyes saw my unwrought substance, and all men shall be written in thy book; they shall be formed by day, though there should for a time be no one among them. (17) But thy friends, O God, have been greatly honoured by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened. (18) I will number them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand; I awake, and am still with thee. (19) Oh that thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, ye men of blood. (20) For thou wilt say concerning their thought, that they shall take thy cities in vain. (21) Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hate thee? and wasted away because of thine enemies? (22) I have hated them with perfect hatred; they were counted my enemies. (23) Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths; (24) and see if there is any way of iniquity in me, and lead me in an everlasting way.

139

For the end, a Psalm of David. (1) Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man. (2) Who have devised injustice in their hearts; all the day they prepared war. (3) They have sharpened their tongue as the tongue of a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Pause. (4) Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; rescue me from unjust men; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. (5) The proud have hid a snare for me, and have stretched out ropes for snares for my feet; they set a stumbling-block for me near the path. Pause. (6) I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication. (7) O Lord God, the strength of my salvation; thou hast screened my head in the day of battle. (8) Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire: they have devised mischief against me; forsake me not, lest they should be exalted. Pause. (9) As for the head of them that compass me, the mischief of their lips shall cover them. (10) Coals of fire shall fall upon them on the earth; and thou shalt cast them down in afflictions: they shall not bear up under them. (11) A talkative man shall not prosper on the earth: evils shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction. (12) I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor, and the right of the needy ones. (13) Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

140

A Psalm of David. (1) O Lord, I have cried to thee; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to thee. (2) Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (3) Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a strong door about by lips. (4) Incline not my heart to evil things, to employ pretexts for sins, with me who work iniquity: and let me not unite with their choice ones. (5) The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head: for yet shall my prayer also be in their pleasures. (6) Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet. (7) As a lump of earth is crushed upon the ground, our bones have been scattered by the mouth of the grave. (8) For mine eyes are to thee, O Lord God: I have hoped in thee; take not away my life. (9) Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity. (10) Sinners shall fall by their own net: I am alone until I shall escape.

141

A Psalm of instruction for David, when he was in the cave, —a Prayer. (1) I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord. (2) I will pour out before him my supplication: I will declare before him mine affliction. (3) When my spirit was fainting within me, then thou knewest my paths; in the very way wherein I was walking, they hid a snare for me. (4) I looked on my right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me; refuge failed me; and there was none that cared for my soul. (5) I cried unto thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living. (6) Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low; deliver me from them that persecute me; for they are stronger than I. (7) Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to thy name, O Lord; the righteous shall wait for me, until thou recompense me.

142

A Psalm of David, when his son pursued him. (1) O Lord, attend to my prayer: hearken to my supplication in thy truth; hear me in thy righteousness. (2) And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. (3) For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has brought my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in a dark place, as those that have been long dead. (4) Therefore my spirit was grieved in me; my heart was troubled within me. (5) I remembered the days of old; and I meditated on all thy doings: yea, I meditated on the works of thine hands. (6) I spread forth my hands to thee; my soul thirsts for thee, as a dry land. Pause. (7) Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit has failed; turn not away thy face from me, else I shall be like to them that go down to the pit. (8) Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for I have hoped in thee; make known to me, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to thee. (9) Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord; for I have fled to thee for refuge. (10) Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God; thy good Spirit shall guide me in the straight way. (11) Thou shalt quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake; in thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of affliction. (12) And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy mine enemies, and wilt destroy all those that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.

143

A Psalm of David concerning Goliad. (1) Blessed be the Lord my God, who instructs my hands for battle, and my fingers for war. (2) My mercy, and my refuge; my helper, and my deliverer; my protector, in whom I have trusted; who subdues my people under me. (3) Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the son of man, that thou takest account of him? (4) Man is like to vanity: his days pass as a shadow. (5) O Lord, bow thy heavens, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. (6) Send lightning, and thou shalt scatter them: send forth thine arrows, and thou shalt discomfit them. (7) Send forth thine hand from on high; rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hand of strange children; (8) whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity. (9) O God, I will sing a new song to thee: I will play to thee on a psaltery of ten strings. (10) Even to him who gives salvation to kings: who redeems his servant David from the hurtful sword. (11) Deliver me, and rescue me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity; (12) whose children are as plants, strengthened in their youth: their daughters are beautiful, sumptuously adorned after the similitude of a temple. (13) Their garners are full, and bursting with one kind of store after another; their sheep are prolific, multiplying in their streets. (14) Their oxen are fat: there is no falling down of a hedge, nor going out, nor cry in their folds. (15) Men bless the people to whom this lot belongs, but blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

144

David’s Psalm of praise. (1) I will exalt thee, my God, my king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. (2) Every day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. (3) The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; and there is no end to his greatness. (4) Generation after generation shall praise thy works, and tell of thy power. (5) And they shall speak of the glorious majesty of thy holiness, and recount thy wonders. (6) And they shall speak of the power of thy terrible acts; and recount thy greatness. (7) They shall utter the memory of the abundance of thy goodness, and shall exult in thy righteousness. (8) The Lord is compassionate, and merciful; long suffering, and abundant in mercy. (9) The Lord is good to those that wait on him; and his compassions are over all his works. (10) Let all thy works, O Lord, give thanks to thee; and let thy saints bless thee. (11) They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy dominion; (12) to make known to the sons of men thy power, and the glorious majesty of thy kingdom. (13) Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful in his words, and holy in all his works. (14) The Lord supports all that are falling, and sets up all that are broken down. (15) The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their food in due season. (16) Thou openest thine hands, and fillest every living thing with pleasure. (17) The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. (18) The Lord is near to all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. (19) He will perform the desire of them that fear him: and he will hear their supplication, and save them. (20) The Lord preserves all that love him: but all sinners he will utterly destroy. (21) My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

145

Alleluia, a Psalm of Aggaeus and Zacharias. (1) My soul, praise the Lord. (2) While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist. (3) Trust not in princes, nor in the children of men, in whom there is no safety. (4) His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all his thoughts shall perish. (5) Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God: (6) who made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all things in them: who keeps truth for ever: (7) who executes judgment for the wronged: who gives food to the hungry. The Lord looses the fettered ones: (8) the Lord gives wisdom to the blind: The Lord sets up the broken down: the Lord loves the righteous: the Lord preserves the strangers; (9) he will relieve the orphan and widow: but will utterly remove the way of sinners. (10) The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Sion, to all generations.

146

Alleluia, a Psalm of Aggaeus and Zacharias. (1) Praise ye the Lord: for psalmody is a good thing; let praise be sweetly sung to our God. (2) The Lord builds up Jerusalem; and he will gather together the dispersed of Israel. (3) He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. (4) He numbers the multitudes of stars; and calls them all by names. (5) Great is our Lord, and great is his strength; and his understanding is infinite. (6) The Lord lifts up the meek; but brings sinners down to the ground. (7) Begin the song with thanksgiving to the Lord; sing praises on the harp to our God: (8) who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who causes grass to spring up on the mountains, [and green herb for the service of men;] (9) and gives cattle their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him. (10) He will not take pleasure in the strength of a horse; neither is he well-pleased with the legs of a man. (11) The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, and in all that hope in his mercy.

147

Alleluia, a Psalm of Aggaeus and Zacharias. (1) Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Sion. (2) For he has strengthened the bars of thy gates; he has blessed thy children within thee. (3) He makes thy borders peaceful, and fills thee with the flour of wheat. (4) He sends his oracle to the earth: his word will run swiftly. (5) He gives snow like wool: he scatters the mist like ashes. (6) Casting forth his ice like morsels: who shall stand before his cold? (7) He shall send out his word, and melt them: he shall blow with his wind, and the waters shall flow. (8) He sends his word to Jacob, his ordinances and judgments to Israel. (9) He has not done so to any other nation; and he has not shewn them his judgments.

148

Alleluia, a Psalm of Aggaeus and Zacharias. (1) Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the highest. (2) Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. (3) Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars and light. (4) Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens. (5) Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created. (6) He has established them for ever, even for ever and ever: he has made an ordinance, and it shall not pass away. (7) Praise the Lord from the earth, ye serpents, and all deeps. (8) Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy wind; the things that perform his word. (9) Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: (10) wild beasts, and all cattle; reptiles, and winged birds: (11) kings of the earth, and all peoples; princes, and all judges of the earth: (12) young men and virgins, old men with youths: (13) let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name only is exalted; his praise is above the earth and heaven, (14) and he shall exalt the horn of his people, there is a hymn for all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people who draw near to him.

149

Alleluia. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song: his praise is in the assembly of the saints. (2) Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; and let the children of Sion exult in their king. (3) Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sings praises to him with timbrel and psaltery. (4) For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; and will exalt the meek with salvation. (5) The saints shall rejoice in glory; and shall exult on their beds. (6) The high praises of God shall be in their throat, and two-edged swords in their hands; (7) to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments among the peoples; (8) to bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles of iron; (9) to execute on them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints.

150

Alleluia. (1) Praise God in his holy places: praise him in the firmament of his power. (2) Praise him on account of his mighty acts: praise him according to his abundant greatness. (3) Praise him with the sound of a trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp. (4) Praise him with timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and the organ. (5) Praise him with melodious cymbals: praise him with loud cymbals. (6) Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord.

151

This Psalm is a genuine one of David, though supernumerary, composed when he fought in single combat with Goliad. (1) I was small among my brethren, and youngest in my father’s house: I tended my father’s sheep. (2) My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. (3) And who shall tell my Lord? the Lord himself, he himself hears. (4) He sent forth his angel, and took me from my father’s sheep, and he anointed me with the oil of his anointing. (5) My brothers were handsome and tall; but the Lord did not take pleasure in them. (6) I went forth to meet the Philistine; and he cursed me by his idols. (7) But I drew his own sword, and beheaded him, and removed reproach from the children of Israel.

Job

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

1

(1) There was a certain man in the land of Ausis, whose name was Job; and than man was true, blameless, righteous, and godly, abstaining from everything evil. (2) And he had seven sons and three daughters. (3) And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was most noble of the men of the east. (4) And his sons visiting one another prepared a banquet every day, taking with them also their three sisters to eat and drink with them. (5) And when the days of the banquet were completed, Job sent and purified them, having risen up in the morning, and offered sacrifices for them, according to their number, and one calf for a sin-offering for their souls: for Job said, Lest peradventure my sons have thought evil in their minds against God. Thus, then Job did continually. (6) And it came to pass on a day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. (7) And the Lord said to the devil, Whence art thou come? And the devil answered the Lord, and said, I am come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world. (8) And the Lord said to him, Hast thou diligently considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man blameless, true, godly, abstaining from everything evil? (9) Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? (10) Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land? (11) But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless thee to thy face. (12) Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord. (13) And it came to pass on a certain day, that Job’s sons and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother. (14) And, behold, there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The yokes of oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses were feeding near them; (15) and the spoilers came and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee. (16) While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, and devoured the shepherds like wise; and I having escaped alone am come to tell thee. (17) While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for a prey, and slew the servants with the sword; and I only escaped, and am come to tell thee. (18) While he is yet speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, While thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking with their elder brother, (19) suddenly a great wind came on from the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon thy children, and they are dead; and I have escaped alone, and am come to tell thee. (20) So Job arose, and rent his garments, and shaved the hair of his head, and fell on the earth, and worshipped, (21) and said, I myself came forth naked from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord. (22) In all these events that befell him Job sinned not at all before the Lord, and did not impute folly to God.

2

(1) And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord. (2) And the Lord, said to the devil, Whence comest thou? Then the devil said before the Lord, I am come from going through the world, and walking about the whole earth. (3) And the Lord said to the devil, Hast thou then observed my servant Job, that there is none of men upon the earth like him, a harmless, true, blameless, godly man, abstaining from all evil? and he yet cleaves to innocence, whereas thou has told me to destroy his substance without cause? (4) And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life. (5) Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to thy face. (6) And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life. (7) So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from his feet to his head. (8) And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city. (9) And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, (9a) Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? (9b) for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, even thy sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; (9c) and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: (9d) but say some word against the Lord, and die. (10) But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God. (11) Now his three friends having heard of all the evil that was come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Thaemans, Baldad sovereign of the Saucheans, Sophar king of he Minaeans: and they came to him with one accord, to comfort and to visit him. (12) And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and rent every one his garment, and sprinkled dust upon their heads, (13) and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and no one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful and very great.

3

(1) After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day, (2) saying, (3) Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child! (4) Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it. (5) But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it; (6) let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months. (7) But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy. (8) But let him that curses that day curse it, even he that is ready to attack the great whale. (9) Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain dark, and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise: (10) because it shut not up the gates of my mother’s womb, for so it would have removed sorrow from my eyes. (11) For why died I not in the belly? and why did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately? (12) and why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts? (13) Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest, (14) with kings and councillors of the earth, who gloried in their swords; (15) or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver: (16) or I should have been as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother’s womb, or as infants who never saw light. (17) There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest. (18) And the men of old time have together ceased to hear the exactor’s voice. (19) The small and great are there, and the servant that feared his lord. (20) For why is light given to those who are in bitterness, and life to those souls which are in griefs? (21) who desire death, and obtain it not, digging for it as for treasures; (22) and would be very joyful if they should gain it? (23) Death is rest to such a man, for God has hedged him in. (24) For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror. (25) For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me. (26) I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.

4

(1) Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said, (2) Hast thou been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of thy words? (3) For whereas thou hast instructed many, and hast strengthened the hands of the weak one, (4) and hast supported the failing with words, and hast imparted courage to feeble knees. (5) Yet now that pain has come upon thee, and touched thee, thou art troubled. (6) Is not thy fear founded in folly, thy hope also, and the mischief of thy way? (7) Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed? (8) Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves. (9) They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath. (10) The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched. (11) The old lion has perished for want of food, and the lions’ whelps have forsaken one another. (12) But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee. Shall not mine ear receive excellent revelations from him? (13) But as when terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night, (14) horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake. (15) And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered. (16) I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there, was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, saying, (17) What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works? (18) Whereas he trust not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels. (19) But as for them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth. (20) And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they cannot help themselves. (21) For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.

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(1) But call, if any one will hearken to thee, or if thou shalt see any of the holy angels. (2) For wrath destroys the foolish one, and envy slays him that has gone astray. (3) And I have seen foolish ones taking root: but suddenly their habitation was devoured. (4) Let their children be far from safety, and let them be crushed at the doors of vile men, and let there be no deliverer. (5) For what they have collected, the just shall eat; but they shall not be delivered out of calamities: let their strength be utterly exhausted. (6) For labour cannot by any means come out of the earth, nor shall trouble spring out of the mountains: (7) yet man is born to labour, and even so the vulture’s young seek the high places. (8) Nevertheless I will beseech the Lord, and will call upon the Lord, the sovereign of all; (9) who does great things and untraceable, glorious things also, and marvellous, of which there is no number: (10) who gives rain upon the earth, sending water on the earth: (11) who exalts the lowly, and raises up them that are lost: (12) frustrating the counsels of the crafty, and their hands shall not perform the truth: (13) who takes the wise in their wisdom, and subverts the counsel of the crafty (14) In the day darkness shall come upon them, and let them grope in the noon-day even as in the night: (15) and let them perish in war, and let the weak escape from the hand of the mighty. (16) And let the weak have hope, but the mouth of the unjust be stopped. (17) But blessed is the man whom the Lord has reproved; and reject not thou the chastening of the Almighty. (18) for he causes a man to be in pain, and restores him again: he smites, and his hands heal. (19) Six time he shall deliver thee out of distresses: and in the seventh harm shall not touch thee. (20) In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in war he shall free thee from the power of the sword. (21) He shall hide thee from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not be afraid of coming evils. (22) Thou shalt laugh at the unrighteous and the lawless: and thou shalt not be afraid of wild beasts. (23) For the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. (24) Then shalt thou know that thy house shall be at peace, and the provision for thy tabernacle shall not fail. (25) And thou shalt know that thy seed shall be abundant; and thy children shall be like the herbage of the field. (26) And thou shalt come to the grave like ripe corn reaped in its season, or as a heap of the corn-flour collected in proper time. (27) Behold, we have thus sought out these matters; these are what we have heard: but do thou reflect with thyself, if thou hast done anything wrong.

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(1) But Job answered and said, (2) Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together! (3) And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain. (4) For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me. (5) What then? will the wild ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has a fodder? (6) Shall bread be eaten without salt? or again, is there taste in empty words? (7) For my wrath cannot cease; for I perceive my food as the smell of a lion to be loathsome. (8) For oh that he would grant my desire, and my petition might come, and the Lord would grant my hope! (9) Let the Lord begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me. (10) Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied the holy words of my God. (11) For what is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures? (12) Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? (13) Or have I not trusted in him? but help is far from me. (14) Mercy has rejected me; and the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me. (15) My nearest relations have not regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave. (16) They who used to reverence me, now have come against me like snow or congealed ice. (17) When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was. (18) Thus I also have been deserted of all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast. (19) Behold the ways of the Thaemanites, ye that mark the paths of the Sabaeans. (20) They too that trust in cities and riches shall come to shame. (21) But ye also have come to me without pity; so that beholding my wound ye are afraid. (22) What? have I made any demand of you? or do I ask for strength from you, (23) to deliver me from enemies, or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones? (24) Teach ye me, and I will be silent: if in anything I have erred, tell me. (25) But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you. (26) Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech. (27) Even because ye attack the fatherless, and insult your friend. (28) But now, having looked upon your countenances, I will not lie. (29) Sit down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; and unite again with the just. (30) For there is no injustice in my tongue; and does not my throat meditate understanding?

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(1) Is not the life of man upon earth a state of trial? and his existence as that of a hireling by the day? (2) Or as a servant that fears his master, and one who has grasped a shadow? or as a hireling waiting for his pay? (3) So have I also endured months of vanity, and nights of pain have been appointed me. (4) Whenever I lie down, I say, When will it be day? and whenever I rise up, again I say when will it be evening? and I am full of pains from evening to morning. (5) And my body is covered with loathsome worms; and I waste away, scraping off clods of dust from my eruption. (6) And my life is lighter than a word, and has perished in vain hope. (7) Remember then that my life is breath, and mine eye shalt not yet again see good. (8) The eye of him that sees me shall not see me again: thine eyes are upon me, and I am no more. (9) I am as a cloud that is cleared away from the sky: for if a man go down to the grave, he shall not come up again: (10) and he shall surely not return to his own house, neither shall his place know him any more. (11) Then neither will I refrain my mouth: I will speak being in distress; being in anguish I will disclose the bitterness of my soul. (12) Am I a sea, or a serpent, that thou hast set a watch over me? (13) I said that my bed should comfort me, and I would privately counsel with myself on my couch. (14) Thou scarest me with dreams, and dost terrify me with visions. (15) Thou wilt separate life from my spirit; and yet keep my bones from death. (16) For I shall not live for ever, that I should patiently endure: depart from me, for my life is vain. (17) For what is man, that thou hast magnified him? or that thou givest heed to him? (18) Wilt thou visit him till the morning, and judge him till the time of rest? (19) How long dost thou not let me alone, nor let me go, until I shall swallow down my spittle? (20) If I have sinned, what shall I be able to do, O thou that understandest the mind of men? why hast thou made me as thine accuser, and why am I a burden to thee? (21) Why hast thou not forgotten my iniquity, and purged my sin? but now I shall depart to the earth; and in the morning I am no more.

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(1) Then Baldad the Sauchite answered, and said, (2) How long wilt thou speak these things, how long shall the breath of thy mouth be abundant in words? (3) Will the Lord be unjust when he judges; or will he that has made all things pervert justice? (4) If thy sons have sinned before him, he has cast them away because of their transgression. (5) But be thou early in prayer to the Lord Almighty. (6) If thou art pure and true, he will hearken to thy supplication, and will restore to thee the habitation of righteousness. (7) Though then thy beginning should be small, yet thy end should be unspeakably great. (8) For ask of the former generation, and search diligently among the race of our fathers: (for we are of yesterday, and know nothing; for our life upon the earth is a shadow:) (10) shall not these teach thee, and report to thee, and bring out words from their heart? (11) Does the rush flourish without water, or shall the flag grow up without moisture? (12) When it is yet on the root, and though it has not been cut down, does not any herb wither before it has received moisture? (13) Thus then shall be the end of all that forget the Lord: for the hope of the ungodly shall perish. (14) For his house shall be without inhabitants, and his tent shall prove a spider’s web. (15) If he should prop up his house, it shall not stand: and when he has taken hold of it, it shall not remain. (16) For it is moist under the sun, and his branch shall come forth out of his dung-heap. (17) He lies down upon a gathering of stones, and shall live in the mist of flints. (18) If God should destroy him, his place shall deny him. Hast thou not seen such things, (19) that such is the overthrow of the ungodly? and out of the earth another shall grow. (20) For the Lord will by no means reject the harmless man; but he will not receive any gift of the ungodly. (21) But he will fill with laughter the mouth of the sincere, and their lips with thanksgiving. (22) But their adversaries shall clothe themselves with shame; and the habitation of the ungodly shall perish.

9

(1) Then Job answered and said, (2) I know of a truth that it is so: for how shall a mortal man be just before the Lord? (3) For if he would enter into judgment with him, God would not hearken to him, so that he should answer to one of his charges of a thousand. (4) For he is wise in mind, and mighty, and great: who has hardened himself against him and endured? (5) Who wears out the mountains, and men know it not: who overturns them in anger. (6) Who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations, and its pillars totter. (7) Who commands the sun, and it rises not; and he seals up the stars. (8) Who alone has stretched out the heavens, and walks on the sea as on firm ground. (9) Who makes Pleias, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and the chambers of the south. (10) Who does great and unsearchable things; glorious also and excellent things, innumerable. (11) If ever he should go beyond me, I shall not see him: if he should pass by me, neither thus have I known it. (12) If he would take away, who shall turn him back? or who shall say to him, What hast thou done? (13) For if he has turned away his anger, the whales under heaven have stooped under him. (14) Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause. (15) For though I be righteous, he will not hearken to me: I will intreat his judgment. (16) And if I should call and he should not hearken, I cannot believe that he has listened to my voice. (17) Let him not crush me with a dark storm: but he has made by bruises many without cause. (18) For he suffers me not to take breath, but he has filled me with bitterness. (19) For indeed he is strong in power: who then shall resist his judgment? (20) For though I should seem righteous, my mouth will be profane: and though I should seem blameless, I shall be proved perverse. (21) For even if I have sinned, I know it not in my soul: but my life is taken away. (22) Wherefore I said, Wrath slays the great and mighty man. (23) For the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn. (24) For they are delivered into the hands of the unrighteous man: he covers the faces of the judges of the earth: but if it be not he, who is it? (25) But my life is swifter than a post: my days have fled away, and they knew it not. (26) Or again, is there a trace of their path left by ships? or is there one of the flying eagle as it seeks its prey? (27) And if I should say, I will forget to speak, I will bow down my face and groan; (28) I quake in all my limbs, for I know that thou wilt not leave me alone as innocent. (29) But since I am ungodly, why have I not died? (30) For if I should wash myself with snow, and purge myself with pure hands, (31) thou hadst thoroughly plunged me in filth, and my garment had abhorred me. (32) For thou art not man like me, with whom I could contend, that we might come together to judgment. (33) Would that he our mediator were present, and a reprover, and one who should hear the cause between both. (34) Let him remove his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me: (35) so shall I not be afraid, but I will speak: for I am not thus conscious of guilt.

10

(1) Weary in my soul, I will pour my words with groans upon him: I will speak being straitened in the bitterness of my soul. (2) And I will say to the Lord, Do not teach me to be impious; and wherefore hast thou thus judged me? (3) Is it good before thee if I be unrighteous? for thou hast disowned the work of thy hands, and attended to the counsel of the ungodly. (4) Or dost thou see as a mortal sees? or wilt thou look as a man sees? (5) Or is thy life human, or thy years the years of a man, (6) that thou hast enquired into mine iniquity, and searched out my sins? (7) For thou knowest that I have not committed iniquity: but who is he that can deliver out of thy hands? (8) Thy hands have formed me and made me; afterwards thou didst change thy mind, and smite me. (9) Remember that thou hast made me as clay, and thou dost turn me again to earth. (10) Hast thou not poured me out like milk, and curdled me like cheese? (11) And thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and frame me with bones and sinews. (12) And thou didst bestow upon me life and mercy, and thy oversight has preserved my spirit. (13) Having these things in thyself, I know that thou canst do all things; for nothing is impossible with thee. (14) And if I should sin, thou watchest me; and thou hast not cleared me from iniquity. (15) Or if I should be ungodly, woe is me: and if I should be righteous, I cannot lift myself up, for I am full of dishonour. (16) For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter; for again thou hast changed and art terribly destroying me; (17) renewing against me my torture: and thou hast dealt with me in great anger, and thou hast brought trials upon me. (18) Why then didst thou bring me out of the womb? and why did I not die, and no eye see me, (19) and I become as if I had not been? for why was I not carried from the womb to the grave? (20) Is not the time of my life short? suffer me to rest a little, (21) before I go whence I shall not return, to a land of darkness and gloominess; (22) to a land of perpetual darkness, where there is no light, neither can any one see the life of mortals.

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(1) Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said, (2) He that speaks much, should also hear on the other side: or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? blessed is the short lived offspring of woman. (3) Be not a speaker of many words; for is there none to answer thee? (4) For say not, I am pure in my works, and blameless before him. (5) But oh that the Lord would speak to thee, and open his lips to thee! (6) Then shall he declare to thee the power of wisdom; for it shall be double of that which is with thee: and then shalt thou know, that a just recompence of thy sins has come to thee from the Lord. (7) Wilt thou find out the traces of the Lord? or hast thou come to the end of that which the Almighty has made? (8) Heaven is high; and what wilt thou do? and there are deeper things than those in hell; what dost thou know? (9) Or longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea. (10) And if he should overthrow all things, who will say to him, What hast thou done? (11) For he knows the works of transgressors; and when he sees wickedness, he will not overlook it. (12) But man vainly buoys himself up with words; and a mortal born of woman is like an ass in the desert. (13) For if thou hast made thine heart pure, and liftest up thine hands towards him; (14) if there is any iniquity in thy hands, put if far from thee, and let not unrighteousness lodge in thy habitation. (15) For thus shall thy countenance shine again, as pure water; and thou shalt divest thyself of uncleanness, and shalt not fear. (16) And thou shalt forget trouble, as a wave that has passed by; and thou shalt not be scared. (17) And thy prayer shall be as the morning star, and life shall arise to thee as from the noonday. (18) And thou shalt be confident, because thou hast hope; and peace shall dawn to thee from out of anxiety and care. (19) For thou shalt be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against thee; and many shall charge, and make supplication to thee. (20) But safety shall fail them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.

12

(1) And Job answered and said, (2) So then ye alone are men, and wisdom shall die with you? (3) But I also have a heart as well as you. (4) For a righteous and blameless man has become a subject for mockery. (5) For it had been ordained that he should fall under others at the appointed time, and that his houses should be spoiled by transgressors: let not however any one trust that, being evil, he shall be held guiltless, (6) even as many as provoke the Lord, as if there were indeed to be no inquisition made of them. (7) But ask now the beasts, if they may speak to thee; and the birds of the air, if they may declare to thee. (8) Tell the earth, if it may speak to thee: and the fishes of the sea shall explain to thee. (9) Who then has not known in all these things, that the hand of the Lord has made them? (10) Whereas the life of all living things is in his hand, and the breath of every man. (11) For the ear tries words, and the palate tastes meats. (12) In length of time is wisdom, and in long life knowledge. (13) With him are wisdom and power, with him counsel and understanding. (14) If he should cast down, who will build up? if he should shut up against man, who shall open? (15) If he should withhold the water, he will dry the earth: and if he should let it loose, he overthrows and destroys it. (16) With him are strength and power: he has knowledge and understanding. (17) He leads counsellors away captive, and maddens the judges of the earth. (18) He seats kings upon thrones, and girds their loins with a girdle. (19) He sends away priests into captivity, and overthrows the mighty ones of the earth. (20) He changes the lips of the trusty, and he knows the understanding of the elders. (21) He pours dishonour upon princes, and heals the lowly. (22) Revealing deep things out of darkness: and he has brought into light the shadow of death. (23) Causing the nations to wander, and destroying them: overthrowing the nations, and leading them away. (24) Perplexing the minds of the princes of the earth: and he causes them to wander in a way, they have not known, saying, (25) Let them grope in darkness, and let there be no light, and let them wander as a drunken man.

13

(1) Behold, mine eye has seen these things, and mine ear has heard them. (2) And I know all that ye too know; and I have not less understanding than you. (3) Nevertheless I will speak to the Lord, and I will reason before him, if he will. (4) But ye are all bad physicians, and healers of diseases. (5) But would that ye were silent, and it would be wisdom to you in the end. (6) But hear ye the reasoning of my mouth, and attend to the judgment of my lips. (7) Do ye not speak before the Lord, and utter deceit before him? (8) Or will ye draw back? nay do, ye yourselves be judges. (9) For it were well if he would thoroughly search you: for though doing all things in your power ye should attach yourselves to him, (10) he will not reprove you at all the less: but if moreover ye should secretly respect persons, (11) shall not his whirlpool sweep you round, and terror from him fall upon you? (12) And your glorying shall prove in the end to you like ashes, and your body like a body of clay. (13) Be silent, that I may speak, and cease from mine anger, (14) while I may take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand. (15) Though the Mighty One should lay hand upon me, forasmuch as he has begun, verily I will speak, and plead before him. (16) And this shall turn to me for salvation; for fraud shall have no entrance before him. (17) Hear, hear ye my words, for I will declare in your hearing. (18) Behold, I am near my judgment: I know that I shall appear evidently just. (19) For who is he that shall plead with me, that I should now be silent, and expire? (20) But grant me two things: then I will not hide myself from thy face. (21) Withhold thine hand from me: and let not thy fear terrify me. (22) Then shalt thou call, and I will hearken to thee: or thou shalt speak, and I will give thee an answer. (23) How many are my sins and my transgressions? teach me what they are. (24) Wherefore hidest thou thyself from me, and deemest me thine enemy? (25) Wilt thou be startled at me, as at a leaf shaken by the wind? or wilt thou set thyself against me as against grass borne upon the breeze? (26) for thou hast written evil things against me, and thou hast compassed me with the sins of my youth. (27) And thou hast placed my foot in the stocks; and thou hast watched all my works, and hast penetrated my heels. (28) I am as that which waxes old like a bottle, or like a moth-eaten garment.

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(1) For a mortal born of a woman is short lived, and full of wrath. (2) Or he falls like a flower that has bloomed; and he departs like a shadow, and cannot continue. (3) Hast thou not taken account even of him, and caused him to enter into judgment before thee? (4) For who shall be pure from uncleanness? not even one; (5) if even his life should be but one day upon the earth: and his months are numbered by him: thou hast appointed him for a time, and he shall by no means exceed it. (6) Depart from him, that he may be quiet, and take pleasure in his life, though as a hireling. (7) For there is hope for a tree, even if it should be cut down, that it shall blossom again, and its branch shall not fail. (8) For though its root should grow old in the earth, and its stem die in the rock; (9) it will blossom from the scent of water, and will produce a crop, as one newly planted. (10) But a man that has died is utterly gone; and when a mortal has fallen, he is no more. (11) For the sea wastes in length of time, and a river fails and is dried up. (12) And man that has lain down in death shall certainly not rise again till the heaven be dissolved, and they shall not awake from their sleep. (13) For oh that thou hadst kept me in the grave, and hadst hidden me until thy wrath should cease, and thou shouldest set me a time in which thou wouldest remember me! (14) For if a man should die, shall he live again, having accomplished the days of his life? I will wait till I exist again? (15) Then shalt thou call, and I will hearken to thee: but do not thou reject the work of thine hands. (16) But thou hast numbered my devices: and not one of my sins shall escape thee? (17) An thou hast sealed up my transgressions in a bag, and marked if I have been guilty of any transgression unawares. (18) And verily a mountain falling will utterly be destroyed, and a rock shall be worn out of its place. (19) The waters wear the stones, and waters falling headlong overflow a heap of the earth: and thou destroyest the hope of man. (20) Thou drivest him to an end, and he is gone: thou settest thy face against him, and sendest him away; (21) and though his children be multiplied, he knows it not; and if they be few, he is not aware. (22) But his flesh is in pain, and his soul mourns.

15

(1) Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said, (2) Will a wise man give for answer a mere breath of wisdom? and does he fill up the pain of his belly, (3) reasoning with improper sayings, and with words wherein is no profit? (4) Hast not thou moreover cast off fear, and accomplished such words before the Lord? (5) Thou art guilty by the words of thy mouth, neither hast thou discerned the words of the mighty. (6) Let thine own mouth, and not me, reprove thee: and thy lips shall testify against thee. (7) What! art thou the first man that was born? or wert thou established before the hills? (8) Or hast thou heard the ordinance of the Lord? or has God used thee as his counsellor? and has wisdom come only to thee? (9) For what knowest thou, that, we know not? or what understandest thou, which we do not also? (10) Truly among us are both the old and very aged man, more advanced in days than thy father. (11) Thou hast been scourged for but few of thy sins: thou hast spoken haughtily and extravagantly. (12) What has thine heart dared? or what have thine eyes aimed at, (13) that thou hast vented thy rage before the Lord, and delivered such words from thy mouth? (14) For who, being a mortal, is such that he shall be blameless? or, who that is born of a woman, that he should be just? (15) Forasmuch as he trusts not his saints; and the heaven is not pure before him. (16) Alas then, abominable and unclean is man, drinking unrighteousness as a draught. (17) But I will tell thee, hearken to me; I will tell thee now what I have seen; (18) things wise men say, and their fathers have not hidden. (19) To them alone the earth was given, and no stranger came upon them. (20) All the life of the ungodly is spent in care, and the years granted to the oppressor are numbered. (21) And his terror is in his ears: just when he seems to be at peace, his overthrow will come. (22) Let him not trust that he shall return from darkness, for he has been already made over to the power of the sword. (23) And he has been appointed to be food for vultures; and he knows within himself that he is doomed to be a carcass: and a dark day shall carry him away as with a whirlwind. (24) Distress also and anguish shall come upon him: he shall fall as a captain in the first rank. (25) For he has lifted his hands against the Lord, and he has hardened his neck against the Almighty Lord. (26) And he has run against him with insolence, on the thickness of the back of his shield. (27) For he has covered his face with his fat, and made layers of fat upon his thighs. (28) And let him lodge in desolate cities, and enter into houses without inhabitant: and what they have prepared, others shall carry away. (29) Neither shall he at all grow rich, nor shall his substance remain: he shall not cast a shadow upon the earth. (30) Neither shall he in any wise escape the darkness: let the wind blast his blossom, and let his flower fall off. (31) Let him not think that he shall endure; for his end shall be vanity. (32) His harvest shall perish before the time, and his branch shall not flourish. (33) And let him be gathered as the unripe grape before the time, and let him fall as the blossom of the olive. (34) For death is the witness of an ungodly man, and fire shall burn the houses of them that receive gifts. (35) And he shall conceive sorrows, and his end shall be vanity, and his belly shall bear deceit.

16

(1) But Job answered and said, (2) I have heard many such things: poor comforters are ye all. (3) What! is there any reason in vain words? or what will hinder thee from answering? (4) I also will speak as ye do: if indeed your soul were in my soul’s stead, (5) then would I insult you with words, and I would shake my head at you. (6) And would there were strength in my mouth, and I would not spare the movement of my lips. (7) For if I should speak, I shall not feel the pain of my wound: and if I should be silent, how shall I be wounded the less? (8) But now he has made me weary, and a worn-out fool; and thou hast laid hold of me. (9) My falsehood has become a testimony, and has risen up against me: it has confronted me to my face. (10) In his anger he has cast me down; he has gnashed his teeth upon me: the weapons of his robbers have fallen upon me. (11) He has attacked me with the keen glances of his eyes; with his sharp spear he has smitten me down upon my knees; and they have run upon me with one accord. (12) For the Lord has delivered me into the hands of unrighteous men, and thrown me upon the ungodly. (13) When I was at peace he distracted me: he took me by the hair of the head, and plucked it out: he set me up as a mark. (14) They surrounded me with spears, aiming at my reins: without sparing me they poured out my gall upon the ground. (15) They overthrew me with fall upon fall: they ran upon me in their might. (16) They sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and my strength has been spent on the ground. (17) My belly has been parched with wailing, and darkness is on my eyelids. (18) Yet there was no injustice in my hands, and my prayer is pure. (19) Earth, cover not over the blood of my flesh, and let my cry have no place. (20) And now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high. (21) Let my supplication come to the Lord, and let mine eye weep before him. (22) Oh that a man might plead before the Lord, even as the son of man with his neighbor! (23) But my years are numbered and their end come, and I shall go by the way by which I shall not return.

17

(1) I perish, carried away by the wind, and I seek for burial, and obtain it not. (3) Who is this? let him join hands with me. (2) Weary I intreat; and what have I done? and strangers have stolen my goods. (4) For thou hast hid their heart from wisdom; therefore thou shalt not exalt them. (5) He shall promise mischief to his companions: but their eyes have failed for their children. (6) But thou has made me a byword amount the nations, and I am become a scorn to them. (7) For my eyes are dimmed through pain; I have been grievously beset by all. (8) Wonder has seized true men upon this; and let the just rise up against the transgressor. (9) But let the faithful hold on his own way, and let him that is pure of hands take courage. (10) Howbeit, do ye all strengthen yourselves and come now, for I do not find truth in you. (11) My days have passed in groaning, and my heart-strings are broken. (12) I have turned the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. (13) For if I remain, Hades is my habitation: and my bed has been made in darkness. (14) I have called upon death to be my father, and corruption to be my mother and sister. (15) Where then is yet my hope? or where shall I see my good? (16) Will they go down with me to Hades, or shall we go down together to the tomb?

18

(1) Then Baldad the Sauchite answered and said, (2) How long wilt thou continue? forbear, that we also may speak. (3) For wherefore have we been silent before thee like brutes? (4) Anger has possessed thee: for what if thou shouldest die; would the earth under heaven be desolate? or shall the mountains be overthrown from their foundations? (5) But the light of the ungodly shall be quenched, and their flame shall not go up. (6) His light shall be darkness in his habitation, and his lamp shall be put out with him. (7) Let the meanest of men spoil his goods, and let his counsel deceive him. (8) His foot also has been caught in a snare, and let it be entangled in a net. (9) And let snares come upon him: he shall strengthen those that thirst for his destruction. (10) His snare is hid in the earth, and that which shall take him is by the path. (11) Let pains destroy him round about, and let many enemies come about him, (12) vex him with distressing hunger: and a signal destruction has been prepared for him. (13) Let the soles of his feet be devoured: and death shall consume his beauty. (14) And let health be utterly banished from his tabernacle, and let distress seize upon him with a charge from the king. (15) It shall dwell in his tabernacle in his night: his excellency shall be sown with brimstone. (16) His roots shall be dried up from beneath, and his crop shall fall away from above. (17) Let his memorial perish out of the earth, and his name shall be publicly cast out. (18) Let one drive him from light into darkness. (19) He shall not be known among his people, nor his house preserved on the earth. (20) But strangers shall dwell in his possessions: the last groaned for him, and wonder seized the first. (21) These are the houses of the unrighteous, and this is the place of them that know not the Lord.

19

(1) Then Job answered and said, (2) How long will ye vex my soul, and destroy me with words? only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus. (3) Ye speak against me; ye do not feel for me, but bear hard upon me. (4) Yea verily, I have erred in truth, (but the error abides with myself) in having spoken words which it was not right to speak; and my words err, and are unreasonable. (5) But alas! for ye magnify yourselves against me, and insult me with reproach. (6) Know then that it is the Lord that has troubled me, and has raised his bulwark against me. (7) Behold, I laugh at reproach; I will not speak: or I will cry out, but there is nowhere judgment. (8) I am fenced round about, and can by no means escape: he has set darkness before my face. (9) And he has stripped me of my glory, and has taken the crown from my head. (10) He has torn me around about, and I am gone: and he has cut off my hope like a tree. (11) And he has dreadfully handled me in anger, and has counted me for an enemy. (12) His troops also came upon me with one accord, liars in wait compassed my ways. (13) My brethren have stood aloof from me; they have recognized strangers rather than me: and my friends have become pitiless. (14) My nearest of kin have not acknowledged me, and they that knew my name, have forgotten me. (15) As for my household, and my maid-servants, I was a stranger before them. (16) I called my servant, and he hearkened not; and my mouth intreated him. (17) And I besought my wife, and earnestly intreated the sons of my concubines. (18) But they rejected me for ever; whenever I rise up, they speak against me. (19) They that saw me abhorred me: the very persons whom I had loved, rose up against me. (20) My flesh is corrupt under my skin, and my bones are held in my teeth. (21) Pity me, pity me, O friends; for it is the hand of the Lord that has touched me. (22) Wherefore do ye persecute me as also the Lord does, and are not satisfied with my flesh? (23) For oh that my words were written, and that they were recorded in a book forever, (24) with an iron pen and lead, or graven in the rocks! (25) For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, (26) and to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these sufferings: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord; (27) which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom. (28) But if ye shall also say, What shall we say before him, and so find the root of the matter in him? (29) Do ye also beware of deceit: for wrath will come upon transgressors; and then shall they know where their substance is.

20

(1) Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said, (2) I did not suppose that thou wouldest answer thus: neither do ye understand more than I. (3) I will hear my shameful reproach; and the spirit of my understanding answers me. (4) Hast thou not known these things of old, from the time that man was set upon the earth? (5) But the mirth of the ungodly is a signal downfall, and the joy of transgressors is destruction: (6) although his gifts should go up to heaven, and his sacrifice reach the clouds. (7) For when he shall seem to be now established, then he shall utterly perish: and they that knew him shall say, Where is he? (8) Like a dream that has fled away, he shall not be found; and he has fled like a vision of the night. (9) The eye has looked upon him, but shall not see him again; and his place shall no longer perceive him. (10) Let his inferiors destroy his children, and let his hands kindle the fire of sorrow. (11) His bones have been filled with vigour of his youth, and it shall lie down with him in the dust. (12) Though evil be sweet in his mouth, though he will hide it under his tongue; (13) though he will not spare it, and will not leave it, but will keep it in the midst of his throat: (14) yet he shall not at all be able to help himself; the gall of an asp is in his belly. (15) His wealth unjustly collected shall be vomited up; a messenger of wrath shall drag him out of his house. (16) And let him suck the poison of serpents, and let the serpent’s tongue slay him. (17) Let him not see the milk of the pastures, nor the supplies of honey and butter. (18) He has laboured unprofitably and in vain, for wealth of which he shall not taste: it is as a lean thing, unfit for food, which he cannot swallow. (19) For he has broken down the houses of many mighty men: and he has plundered an habitation, though he built it not. (20) There is no security to his possessions; he shall not be saved by his desire. (21) There is nothing remaining of his provisions; therefore his goods shall not flourish. (22) But when he shall seem to be just satisfied, he shall be straitened; and all distress shall come upon him. (23) If by any means he would fill his belly, let God send upon him the fury of wrath; let him bring a torrent of pains upon him. (24) And he shall by no means escape from the power of the sword; let the brazen bow wound him. (25) And let the arrow pierce through his body; and let the stars be against his dwelling-place: let terrors come upon him. (26) And let all darkness wait for him: a fire that burns not out shall consume him; and let a stranger plague his house. (27) And let the heaven reveal his iniquities, and the earth rise up against him. (28) Let destruction bring his house to an end; let a day of wrath come upon him. (29) This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of his goods appointed him by the all-seeing God.

21

(1) But Job answered and said, (2) Hear ye, hear ye my words, that I may not have this consolation from you. (3) Raise me, and I will speak; then ye shall not laugh me to scorn. (4) What! is my reproof of man? and why should I not be angry? (5) Look upon me, and wonder, laying your hand upon your cheek. (6) For even when I remember, I am alarmed, and pains seize my flesh. (7) Wherefore do the ungodly live, and grow old even in wealth? (8) Their seed is according to their desire, and their children are in their sight. (9) Their houses are prosperous, neither have they any where cause for fear, neither is there a scourge from the Lord upon them. (10) Their cow does not cast her calf, and their beast with young is safe, and does not miscarry. (11) And they remain as an unfailing flock, and their children play before them, taking up the psaltery and harp; (12) and they rejoice at the voice of a song. (13) And they spend their days in wealth, and fall asleep in the rest of the grave. (14) Yet such a man says to the Lord, Depart from me; I desire not to know thy ways. (15) What is the Mighty One, that we should serve him? and what profit is there that we should approach him? (16) For their good things were in their hands, but he regards not the works of the ungodly. (17) Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs of vengeance shall seize them. (18) And they shall be as chaff before the wind, or as dust which the storm has taken up. (19) Let his substance fail to supply his children: God shall recompense him, and he shall know it. (20) Let his eyes see his own destruction, and let him not be saved by the Lord. (21) For his desire is in his house with him, and the number of his months has been suddenly cut off. (22) Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? and does not he judge murders? (23) One shall die in his perfect strength, and wholly at ease and prosperous; (24) and his inwards are full of fat, and his marrow is diffused throughout him. (25) And another dies in bitterness of soul, not eating any good thing. (26) But they lie down in the earth together, and corruption covers them. (27) So I know you, that ye presumptuously attack me: (28) so that ye will say, Where is the house of the prince? and where is the covering of the tabernacles of the ungodly? (29) Ask those that go by the way, and do not disown their tokens. (30) For the wicked hastens to the day of destruction: they shall be led away for the day of his vengeance. (31) Who will tell him his way to his face, whereas he has done it? who shall recompense him? (32) And he has been led away to the tombs, and he has watched over the heaps. (33) The stones of the valley have been sweet to him, and every man shall depart after him, and there are innumerable ones before him. (34) How then do ye comfort me in vain? whereas I have no rest from your molestation.

22

(1) Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said, (2) Is it not the Lord that teaches understanding and knowledge? (3) For what matters it to the Lord, if thou wert blameless in thy works? or is it profitable that thou shouldest perfect thy way? (4) Wilt thou maintain and plead thine own cause? and will he enter into judgment with thee? (5) Is not thy wickedness abundant, and thy sins innumerable? (6) And thou hast taken security of thy brethren for nothing, and hast taken away the clothing of the naked. (7) Neither hast thou given water to the thirsty to drink, but hast taken away the morsel of the hungry. (8) And thou hast accepted the persons of some; and thou hast established those that were already settled on the earth. (9) But thou hast sent widows away empty, and has afflicted orphans. (10) Therefore snares have compassed thee, and disastrous war has troubled thee. (11) The light has proved darkness to thee, and water has covered thee on thy lying down. (12) Does not he that dwells in the high places observe? and has he not brought down the proud? (13) And thou has said, What does the Mighty One know? does he judge in the dark? (14) A cloud is his hiding-place, and he shall not be seen; and he passes through the circle of heaven. (15) Wilt thou not mark the old way, which righteous men have trodden? (16) who were seized before their time: their foundations are as an overflowing stream. (17) Who say, What will the Lord do to us? or what will the Almighty bring upon us? (18) Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel for the wicked is far from him. (19) The righteous have seen it, and laughed, and the blameless one has derided them. (20) Verily their substance has been utterly destroyed, and the fire shall devour what is left of their property. (21) Be firm, I pray thee, if thou canst endure; then thy fruit shall prosper. (22) And receive a declaration from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. (23) And if thou shalt turn and humble thyself before the Lord, thou hast thus removed unrighteousness far from thy habitation. (24) Thou shalt lay up for thyself treasure in a heap on the rock; and Sophir shall be as the rock of the torrent. (25) So the Almighty shall be thy helper from enemies, and he shall bring thee forth pure as silver that has been tried by fire. (26) Then shalt thou have boldness before the Lord, looking up cheerfully to heaven. (27) And he shall hear thee when thou prayest to him, and he shall grant thee power to pay thy vows. (28) And he shall establish to thee again a habitation of righteousness and there shall be light upon thy paths. (29) Because thou hast humbled thyself; and thou shalt say, Man has behaved proudly, but he shall save him that is of lowly eyes. (30) He shall deliver the innocent, and do thou save thyself by thy pure hands.

23

(1) Then Job answered and said, (2) Yea, I know that pleading is out of my reach; and his hand has been made heavy upon my groaning. (3) Who would then know that I might find him, and come to an end of the matter? (4) And I would plead my own cause, and he would fill my mouth with arguments. (5) And I would know the remedies which he would speak to me, and I would perceive what he would tell me. (6) Though he should come on me in his great strength, then he would not threaten me; (7) for truth and reproof are from him; and he would bring forth my judgment to an end. (8) For if I shall go first, and exist no longer, still what do I know concerning the latter end? (9) When he wrought on the left hand, then I observed it not: his right hand shall encompass me but I shall not see it. (10) For he knows already my way; and he has tried me as gold. (11) And I will go forth according to his commandments, for I have kept his ways; and I shall not turn aside from his commandments, (12) neither shall I transgress; but I have hid his words in my bosom. (13) And if too he has thus judged, who is he that has contradicted, for he has both willed a thing and done it. (14) Therefore am I troubled at him; and when I was reproved, I thought of him. (15) Therefore let me take good heed before him: I will consider, and be afraid of him. (16) But the Lord has softened my heart, and the Almighty has troubled me. (17) For I knew not that darkness would come upon me, and thick darkness has covered me before my face.

24

(1) But why have the seasons been hidden from the Lord, (2) while the ungodly have passed over the bound, carrying off the flock with the shepherd? (3) They have led away, the ass of the fatherless, and taken the widow’s ox for a pledge. (4) They have turned aside the weak from the right way: and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together. (5) And they have departed like asses in the field, having gone forth on my account according to their own order: his bread is sweet to his little ones. (6) They have reaped a field that was not their own before the time: the poor have laboured in the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food. (7) They have caused many naked to sleep without clothes, and they have taken away the covering of their body. (8) They are wet with the drops of the mountains: they have embraced the rock, because they had no shelter. (9) They have snatched the fatherless from the breast, and have afflicted the outcast. (10) And they have wrongfully caused others to sleep without clothing, and taken away the morsel of the hungry. (11) They have unrighteously laid wait in narrow places, and have not known the righteous way. (12) Who have cast forth the poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud. (13) Why then has he not visited these? forasmuch as they were upon the earth, and took no notice, and they knew not the way of righteousness, neither have they walked in their appointed paths? (14) But having known their works, he delivered them into darkness: and in the night one will be as a thief: (15) and the eye of the adulterer has watched for the darkness, saying, Eye shall not perceive me, and he puts a covering on his face. (16) In darkness he digs through houses: by day they conceal themselves securely: they know not the light. (17) For the morning is to them all as the shadow of death, for each will be conscious of the terror of the shadow of death. (18) He is swift on the face of the water: let his portion be cursed on the earth; and let their plants be laid bare. (19) Let them be withered upon the earth; for they have plundered the sheaves of the fatherless. (20) Then is his sin brought to remembrance, and he vanishes like a vapour of dew: but let what he has done be recompensed to him, and let every unrighteous one be crushed like rotten wood. (21) For he has not treated the barren woman well, and has had no pity on a feeble woman. (22) And in wrath he has overthrown the helpless: therefore when he has arisen, a man will not feel secure of his own life. (23) When he has fallen sick, let him not hope to recover: but let him perish by disease. (24) For his exaltation has hurt many; but he has withered as mallows in the heat, or as an ear of corn falling off of itself from the stalk. (25) But if not, who is he that says I speak falsely, and will make my words of no account?

25

(1) Then Baldad the Sauchite answered and said, (2) What beginning or fear is his—even he that makes all things in the highest? (3) For let none think that there is a respite for robbers: and upon whom will there not come a snare from him? (4) For how shall a mortal be just before the Lord? or who that is born of a woman shall purify himself? (5) If he gives an order to the moon, then it shines not; and the stars are not pure before him. (6) But alas! man is corruption, and the son of man a worm.

26

(1) But Job answered and said, (2) To whom dost thou attach thyself, or whom art thou going to assist? is it not he that has much strength, and he who has a strong arm? (3) To whom hast thou given counsel? is it not to him who has all wisdom? whom wilt thou follow? is it not one who has the greatest power? (4) To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose breath is it that has come forth from thee? (5) Shall giants be born from under the water and the inhabitants thereof? (6) Hell is naked before him, and destruction has no covering. (7) He stretches out the north wind upon nothing, and he upon nothing hangs the earth; (8) binding water in his clouds, and the cloud is not rent under it. (9) He keeps back the face of his throne, stretching out his cloud upon it. (10) He has encompassed the face of the water by an appointed ordinance, until the end of light and darkness. (11) The pillars of heaven are prostrate and astonished at his rebuke. (12) He has calmed the sea with his might, and by his wisdom the whale has been overthrown. (13) And the barriers of heaven fear him, and by a command he has slain the apostate dragon. (14) Behold, these are parts of his way; and we will hearken to him at the least intimation of his word: but the strength of his thunder who knows, when he shall employ it?

27

(1) And Job further continued and said in his parable, (2) As God lives, who has thus judge me; and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul; (3) verily, while my breath is yet in me, and the breath of God which remains to me is in my nostrils, (4) my lips shall not speak evil words, neither shall my soul meditate unrighteous thoughts. (5) Far be it from me that I should justify you till I die; for I will not let go my innocence, (6) but keeping fast to my righteousness I will by no means let it go: for I am not conscious to myself of having done any thing amiss. (7) Nay rather, but let mine enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me, as the destruction of transgressors. (8) For what is the hope of the ungodly, that he holds to it? will he indeed trust in the Lord and be saved? (9) Will God hear his prayer? or, when distress has come upon him, (10) has he any confidence before him? or will God hear him as he calls upon him? (11) Yet now I will tell you what is in the hand of the Lord: I will not lie concerning the things which are with the Almighty. (12) Behold, ye all know that ye are adding vanity to vanity. (13) This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of oppressors shall come upon them from the Almighty. (14) And if their children be many, they shall be for slaughter: and if they grow up, they shall beg. (15) And they that survive of him shall utterly perish, and no one shall pity their widows. (16) Even if he should gather silver as earth, and prepare gold as clay; (17) All these things shall the righteous gain, and the truehearted shall possess his wealth. (18) And his house is gone like moths, and like a spider’s web. (19) The rich man shall lie down, and shall not continue: he has opened his eyes, and he is not. (20) Pains have come upon him as water, and darkness has carried him away by night. (21) And a burning wind shall catch him, and he shall depart, and it shall utterly drive him out of his place. (22) And God shall cast trouble upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. (23) He shall cause men to clap their hands against them, and shall hiss him out of his place.

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(1) For there is a place for the silver, whence it comes, and a place for the gold, whence it is refined. (2) For iron comes out of the earth, and brass is hewn out like stone. (3) He has set a bound to darkness, and he searches out every limit: a stone is darkness, and the shadow of death. (4) There is a cutting off the torrent by reason of dust: so they that forget the right way are weakened; they are removed from among men. (5) As for the earth, out of it shall come bread: under it has been turned up as it were fire. (6) Her stones are the place of the sapphire: and her dust supplies man with gold. (7) There is a path, the fowl has not known it, neither has the eye of the vulture seen it: (8) neither have the sons of the proud trodden it, a lion has not passed upon it. (9) He has stretched forth his hand on the sharp rock, and turned up mountains by the roots: (10) and he has interrupted the whirlpools of rivers, and mine eye has seen every precious thing. (11) And he has laid bare the depths of rivers, and has brought his power to light. (12) But whence has wisdom been discovered? and what is the place of knowledge? (13) A mortal has not known its way, neither indeed has it been discovered among men. (14) The depth said, It is not in me: and the sea said, It is not with me. (15) One shall not give fine gold instead of it, neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it. (16) Neither shall it be compared with gold of Sophir, with the precious onyx and sapphire. (17) Gold and crystal shall not be equalled to it, neither shall vessels of gold be its exchange. (18) Coral and fine pearl shall not be mentioned: but do thou esteem wisdom above the most precious things. (19) The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equalled to it; it shall not be compared with pure gold. (20) Whence then is wisdom found? and of what kind is the place of understanding? (21) It has escaped the notice of every man, and has been hidden from the birds of the sky. (22) Destruction and Death said, We have heard the report of it. (23) God has well ordered the way of it, and he knows the place of it. (24) For he surveys the whole earth under heaven, knowing the things in the earth: (25) all that he has made; the weight of the winds, the measures of the water. (26) When he made them, thus he saw and numbered them, and made a way for the pealing of the thunder. (27) Then he saw it, and declared it: he prepared it and traced it out. (28) And he said to man, Behold, godliness is wisdom: and to abstain from evil is understanding.

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(1) And Job continued and said in his parable, (2) Oh that I were as in months past, wherein God preserved me! (3) As when his lamp shone over my head; when by his light I walked through darkness. (4) As when I steadfastly pursued my ways, when God took care of my house. (5) When I was very fruitful, and my children were about me; (6) when my ways were moistened with butter, and the mountains flowed for me with milk. (7) When I went forth early in the city, and the seat was placed for me in the streets. (8) The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and all the old men stood up. (9) And the great men ceased speaking, and laid their finger on their mouth. (10) And they that heard me blessed me, and their tongue clave to their throat. (11) For the ear heard, and blessed me; and the eye saw me, and turned aside. (12) For I saved the poor out of the hand of the oppressor, and helped the fatherless who had no helper. (13) Let the blessing of the perishing one come upon me; yea, the mouth of the widow has blessed me. (14) Also I put on righteousness, and clothed myself with judgment like a mantle. (15) I was the eye of the blind, and the foot of the lame. (16) I was the father of the helpless; and I searched out the cause which I knew not. (17) And I broke the jaw-teeth of the unrighteous; I plucked the spoil out of the midst of their teeth. (18) And I said, My age shall continue as the stem of a palm-tree; I shall live a long while. (19) My root was spread out by the water, and the dew would lodge on my crop. (20) My glory was fresh in me, and by bow prospered in his hand. (21) Men heard me, and gave heed, and they were silent at my counsel. (22) At my word they spoke not again, and they were very gland whenever I spoke to them. (23) As the thirsty earth expecting the rain, so they waited for my speech. (24) Were I to laugh on them, they would not believe it; and the light of my face has not failed. (25) I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the midst of warriors, as one comforting mourners.

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(1) But now the youngest have laughed me to scorn, now they reprove me in their turn, whose fathers I set at nought; whom I did not deem worthy to be with my shepherd dogs. (2) Yea, why had I the strength of their hands? for them the full term of life was lost. (3) One is childless in want and famine, such as they that fled but lately the distress and misery of drought. (4) Who compass the salt places on the sounding shore, who had salt herbs for their food, and were dishonorable and of no repute, in want of every good thing; who also ate roots of trees by reason of great hunger. (5) Thieves have risen up against me, (6) whose houses were the caves of the rocks, who lived under the wild shrubs. (7) They will cry out among the rustling bushes. (8) They are sons of fools and vile men, whose name and glory are quenched from off the earth. (9) But now I am their music, and they have me for a by-word. (10) And they stood aloof and abhorred me, and spared not to spit in my face. (11) For he has opened his quiver and afflicted me: they also have cast off the restraint of my presence. (12) They have risen up against me on the right hand of their offspring; they have stretched out their foot, and directed against me the ways of their destruction. (13) My paths are ruined; for they have stripped off my raiment: he has shot at me with his weapons. (14) And he has pleaded against me as he will: I am overwhelmed with pains. (15) My pains return upon me; my hope is gone like the wind, and my safety as a cloud. (16) Even now my life shall be poured forth upon me; and days of anguish seize me. (17) And by night my bones are confounded; and my sinews are relaxed. (18) With great force my disease has taken hold of my garment: it has compassed me as the collar of my coat. (19) And thou hast counted me as clay; my portion in dust and ashes. (20) And I have cried to thee, but thou hearest me not: but they stood still, and observed me. (21) They attacked me also without mercy: thou hast scourged me with a strong hand. (22) And thou hast put me to grief, and hast cast me away from safety. (23) For I know that death will destroy me: for the earth is the house appointed for every mortal. (24) Oh then that I might lay hands upon myself, or at least ask another, and he should do this for me. (25) Yet I wept over every helpless man; I groaned when I saw a man in distress. (26) But I, when I waited for good things, behold, days of evils came the more upon me. (27) My belly boiled, and would not cease: the days of poverty prevented me. (28) I went mourning without restraint: and I have stood and cried out in the assembly. (29) I am become a brother of monsters, and a companion of ostriches. (30) And my skin has been greatly blackened, and my bones are burned with heat. (31) My harp also has been turned into mourning, and my song into my weeping.

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(1) I made a covenant with mine eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin. (2) Now what portion has God given from above? and is there an inheritance given of the Mighty One from the highest? (3) Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do iniquity. (4) Will he not see my way, and number all my steps? (5) But if I had gone with scorners, and if too my foot has hasted to deceit: (6) (for I am weighed in a just balance, and the Lord knows my innocence:) (7) if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if mine heart has followed mine eye, and if too I have touched gifts with my hands; (8) then let me sow, and let others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth. (9) If my heart has gone forth after another man’s wife, and if I laid wait at her doors; (10) then let my wife also please another, and let my children be brought low. (11) For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, in the case of defiling another man’s wife. (12) For it is a fire burning on every side, and whomsoever it attacks, it utterly destroys. (13) And if too I despised the judgment of my servant or my handmaid, when they pleaded with me; (14) what then shall I do if the Lord should try me? and if also he should at all visit me, can I make an answer? (15) Were not they too formed as I also was formed in the womb? yea, we were formed in the same womb. (16) But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail. (17) And if too I ate my morsel alone, and did not impart of it to the orphan; (18) (for I nourished them as a father from my youth and guided them from my mother’s womb.) (19) And if too I overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him; (20) and if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were not warmed with the fleece of my lambs; (21) if I lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior to his: (22) let them my shoulder start from the blade-bone, and my arm be crushed off from the elbow. (23) For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I cannot bear up by reason of his burden. (24) If I made gold my treasure, and if too I trusted the precious stone; (25) and if too I rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if too I laid my hand on innumerable treasures: (26) (do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? for they have not power to continue:) (27) and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it: (28) let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I should have lied against the Lord Most High. (29) And if too I was glad at the fall of mine enemies, and mine heart said, Aha! (30) let then mine ear hear my curse, and let me be a byword among my people in my affliction. (31) And if too my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind: (32) for the stranger did not lodge without, and my door was opened to every one that came:) (33) or if too having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin; (34) (for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them:) and if too I permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom: (35) (Oh that I had a hearer,)and if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and as to the written charge which I had against any one, (36) I would place it as a chaplet on my shoulders, and read it. (37) And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor: (38) If at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned together; (39) and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking aught from him: (40) then let the nettle come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.

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(1) And his three friends also ceased any longer to answer Job: for Job was righteous before them. (2) Then Elius the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the country of Ausis, was angered: and he was very angry with Job, because he justified himself before the Lord. (3) And he was also very angry with his three friends, because they were not able to return answers to Job, yet set him down for an ungodly man. (4) But Elius had forborne to give an answer to Job, because they were older than he. (5) And Elius saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men; and he was angered in his wrath. (6) And Elius the Buzite the son of Barachiel answered and said, I am younger in age, and ye are elder, wherefore I kept silence, fearing to declare to you my own knowledge. (7) And I said, It is not time that speaks, though in many years men know wisdom: (8) but there is a spirit in mortals; and the inspiration of the Almighty is that which teaches. (9) The long-lived are not wise as such; neither do the aged know judgment. (10) Wherefore I said, Hear me, and I will tell you what I know. (11) Hearken to my words; for I will speak in your hearing, until ye shall have tried the matter with words: (12) and I shall understand as far as you; and, behold, there was no one of you that answered Job his words in argument, (13) lest ye should say, We have found that we have added wisdom to the Lord. (14) And ye have commissioned a man to speak such words. (15) They were afraid, they answered no longer; they gave up their speaking. (16) I waited, (for I had not spoken,) because they stood still, they answered not. (17) And Elius continued, and said, I will again speak, (18) for I am full of words, for the spirit of my belly destroys me. (19) And my belly is as a skin of sweet wine, bound up and ready to burst; or as a brazier’s labouring bellows. (20) I will speak, that I may open my lips and relieve myself. (21) For truly I will not be awed because of man, nor indeed will I be confounded before a mortal. (22) For I know not how to respect persons: and if otherwise, even the moths would eat me.

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(1) Howbeit hear, Job, my words, and hearken to my speech. (2) For behold, I have opened my mouth, and my tongue has spoken. (3) My heart shall be found pure by my words; and the understanding of my lips shall meditate purity. (4) The Divine Spirit is that which formed me, and the breath of the Almighty that which teaches me. (5) If thou canst, give me an answer: wait therefore; stand against me, and I will stand against thee. (6) Thou art formed out of the clay as also I: we have been formed out of the same substance. (7) My fear shall not terrify thee, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. (8) But thou hast said in mine ears, (I have heard the voice of thy words;)because thou sayest, I am pure, not having sinned; (9) I am blameless, for I have not transgressed. (10) Yet he has discovered a charge against me, and he has reckoned me as an adversary. (11) And he has put my foot in the stocks, and has watched all my ways. (12) For how sayest thou, I am righteous, yet he has not hearkened to me? for he that is above mortals is eternal. (13) But thou sayest, Why has he not heard every word of my cause? (14) For when the Lord speaks once, or a second time, (15) sending a dream, or in the meditation of the night; (as when a dreadful alarm happens to fall upon men, in slumberings on the bed:) (16) then opens he the understanding of men: he scares them with such fearful visions: (17) to turn a man from unrighteousness, and he delivers his body from a fall. (18) He spares also his soul from death, and suffers him not to fall in war. (19) And again, he chastens him with sickness on his bed, and the multitude of his bones is benumbed. (20) And he shall not be able to take any food, though his soul shall desire meat; (21) until his flesh shall be consumed, and he shall shew his bones bare. (22) His soul also draws nigh to death, and his life is in Hades. (23) Though there should be a thousand messengers of death, not one of them shall wound him: if he should purpose in his heart to turn to the Lord, and declare to man his fault, and shew his folly; (24) he will support him, that he should not perish, and will restore his body as fresh plaster upon a wall; and he will fill his bones with morrow. (25) And he will make his flesh tender as that of a babe, and he will restore him among men in his full strength. (26) And he shall pray to the Lord, and his prayer shall be accepted of him; he shall enter with a cheerful countenance, with a full expression of praise: for he will render to men their due. (27) Even then a man shall blame himself, saying, What kind of things have I done? and he has not punished me according to the full amount of my sins. (28) Deliver my soul, that it may not go to destruction, and my life shall see the light. (29) Behold, all these things, the Mighty One works in a threefold manner with a man. (30) And he has delivered my soul from death, that my life may praise him in the light. (31) Hearken, Job, and hear me: be silent, and I will speak. (32) If thou hast words, answer me: speak, for I desire thee to be justified. (33) If not, do thou hear me: be silent, and I will teach thee.

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(1) And Elius continued, and said, (2) Hear me, ye wise men; hearken, ye that have knowledge. (3) For the ear tries words, and the mouth tastes meat. (4) Let us choose judgment to ourselves: let us know amount ourselves what is right. (5) For Job has said, I am righteous: the Lord has removed my judgment. (6) And he has erred in my judgment: my wound is severe without unrighteousness of mine. (7) What man is as Job, drinking scorning like water? (8) saying, I have not sinned, nor committed ungodliness, nor had fellowship with workers of iniquity, to go with the ungodly. (9) For thou shouldest not say, There shall be no visitation of a man, whereas there is a visitation on him from the Lord. (10) Wherefore hear me, ye that are wise in heart: far be it from me to sin before the Lord, and to pervert righteousness before the almighty. (11) Yea, he renders to a man accordingly as each of them does, and in a man’s path he will find him. (12) And thinkest thou that the Lord will do wrong, or will the Almighty who made the earth wrest judgment? (13) And who is he that made the whole world under heaven, and all things therein? (14) For if he would confine, and restrain his spirit with himself; (15) all flesh would die together, and every mortal would return to the earth, whence also he was formed. (16) Take heed lest he rebuke thee: hear this, hearken to the voice of words. (17) Behold then the one that hates iniquities, and that destroys the wicked, who is for ever just. (18) He is ungodly that says to a king, Thou art a transgressor, that says to princes, O most ungodly one. (19) Such a one as would not reverence the face of an honourable man, neither knows how to give honour to the great, so as that their persons should be respected. (20) But it shall turn out vanity to them, to cry and beseech a man; for they dealt unlawfully, the poor being turned aside from their right. (21) For he surveys the works of men, and nothing of what they do has escaped him. (22) Neither shall there be a place for the workers of iniquity to hide themselves. (23) For he will not lay upon a man more than right. (24) For the Lord looks down upon all men, who comprehends unsearchable things, glorious also and excellent things without number. (25) Who discovers their works, and will bring night about upon them, and they shall be brought low. (26) And he quite destroys the ungodly, for they are seen before him. (27) Because they turned aside from the law of God, and did not regard his ordinances, (28) so as to bring before him the cry of the needy; for he will hear the cry of the poor. (29) And he will give quiet, and who will condemn? and he will hide his face, and who shall see him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man also: (30) causing a hypocrite to be king, because of the waywardness of the people. (31) For there is one that says to the Mighty One, I have received blessings; I will not take a pledge: (32) I will see apart from myself: do thou shew me if I have done unrighteousness; I will not do so any more. (33) Will he take vengeance for it on thee, whereas thou wilt put it far from thee? for thou shalt choose, and not I; and what thou knowest, speak thou. (34) Because the wise in heart shall say this, and a wise man listens to my word. (35) But Job has not spoken with understanding, his words are not uttered with knowledge. (36) Howbeit do thou learn, Job: no longer make answer as the foolish: (37) that we add not to our sins: for iniquity will be reckoned against us, if we speak many words before the Lord.

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(1) And Elius resumed and said, (2) What is this that thou thinkest to be according to right? who art thou that thou hast said, I am righteous before the Lord? (3) I will answer thee, and thy three friends. (4) Look up to the sky and see; and consider the clouds, how high they are above thee. (5) If thou hast sinned, what wilt thou do? (6) and if too thou hast transgressed much, what canst thou perform? (7) And suppose thou art righteous, what wilt thou give him? or what shall he receive of thy hand? (8) Thy ungodliness may affect a man who is like to thee; or thy righteousness a son of man. (9) They that are oppressed of a multitude will be ready to cry out; they will call for help because of the arm of many. (10) But none said, Where is God that made me, who appoints the night-watches; (11) who makes me to differ from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the sky? (12) There they shall cry, and none shall hearken, even because of the insolence of wicked men. (13) For the Lord desires not to look on error, for he is the Almighty One. (14) He beholds them that perform lawless deeds, and he will save me: and do thou plead before him, if thou canst praise him, as it is possible even now. (15) For he is not now regarding his wrath, nor has he noticed severely any trespass. (16) Yet Job vainly opens his mouth, in ignorance he multiplies words.

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(1) And Elius further continued, and said, (2) Wait for me yet a little while, that I may teach thee: for there is yet speech in me. (3) Having fetched my knowledge from afar, and according to my works, (4) I will speak just things truly, and thou shalt not unjustly receive unjust words. (5) But know that the Lord will not cast off an innocent man: being mighty in strength of wisdom, (6) he will not by any means save alive the ungodly: and he will grant the judgment of the poor. (7) He will not turn away his eyes from the righteous, but they shall be with kings on the throne: and he will establish them in triumph, and they shall be exalted. (8) But they that are bound in fetters shall be holden in cords of poverty. (9) And he shall recount to them their works, and their transgressions, for such will act with violence. (10) But he will hearken to the righteous: and he has said that they shall turn from unrighteousness. (11) If they should hear and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honour. (12) But he preserves not the ungodly; because they are not willing to know the Lord, and because when reproved they were disobedient. (13) And the hypocrites in heart will array wrath against themselves; they will not cry, because he has bound them. (14) Therefore let their soul die in youth, and their life be wounded by messengers of death. (15) Because they afflicted the weak and helpless: and he will vindicate the judgment of the meek. (16) And he has also enticed thee out of the mouth of the enemy: (17) there is a deep gulf and a rushing stream beneath it, and thy table came down full of fatness. Judgment shall not fail from the righteous; (18) but there shall be wrath upon the ungodly, by reason of the ungodliness of the bribes which they received for iniquities. (19) Let not thy mind willingly turn thee aside from the petition of the feeble that are in distress. (20) And draw not forth all the mighty men by night, so that the people should go up instead of them. (21) But take heed lest thou do that which is wrong: for of this thou has made choice because of poverty. (22) Behold, the Mighty One shall prevail by his strength: for who is powerful as he is? (23) And who is he that examines his works? or who can say, he has wrought injustice? (24) Remember that his works are great beyond those which men have attempted. (25) Every man has seen in himself, how many mortals are wounded. (26) Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know him: the number of his years is even infinite. (27) And the drops of rain are numbered by him, and shall be poured out in rain to form a cloud. (28) The ancient heavens shall flow, and the clouds overshadow innumerable mortals: (28a) he has fixed a time to cattle, and they know the order of rest. (28b) Yet by all these things thy understanding is not astonished, neither is thy mind disturbed in thy body. (29) And though one should understand the outspreadings of the clouds, or the measure of his tabernacle; (30) behold he will stretch his bow against him, and he covers the bottom of the sea. (31) For by them he will judge the nations: he will give food to him that has strength. (32) He has hidden the light in his hands, and given charge concerning it to the interposing cloud. (33) The Lord will declare concerning this to his friend: but there is a portion also for unrighteousness.

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(1) At this also my heart is troubled, and moved out of its place. (2) Hear thou a report by the anger of the Lord’s wrath, and a discourse shall come out of his mouth. (3) His dominion is under the whole heaven, and his light is at the extremities of the earth. (4) After him shall be a cry with a loud voice; he shall thunder with the voice of his excellency, yet he shall not cause men to pass away, for one shall hear his voice. (5) The Mighty One shall thunder wonderfully with his voice: for he has done great things which we knew not; (6) commanding the snow, Be thou upon the earth, and the stormy rain, and the storm of the showers of his might. (7) He seals up the hand of every man, that every man may know his own weakness. (8) And the wild beasts come in under the covert, and rest in their lair. (9) Troubles come on out of the secret chambers, and cold from the mountain-tops. (10) And from the breath of the Mighty One he will send frost; and he guides the water in whatever way he pleases. (11) And if a cloud obscures what is precious to him, his light will disperse the cloud. (12) And he will carry round the encircling clouds by his governance, to perform their works: whatsoever he shall command them, (13) this has been appointed by him on the earth, whether for correction, or for his land, or if he shall find him an object for mercy. (14) Hearken to this, O Job: stand still, and be admonished of the power of the Lord. (15) We know that god has disposed his works, having made light out of darkness. (16) And he knows the divisions of the clouds, and the signal overthrows of the ungodly. (17) But thy robe is warm, and there is quiet upon the land. (18) Wilt thou establish with him foundations for the ancient heavens? they are strong as a molten mirror. (19) Wherefore teach me, what shall we say to him? and let us cease from saying much. (20) Have I a book or a scribe my me, that I may stand and put man to silence? (21) But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from him in the clouds. (22) From the north come the clouds shining like gold: in these great are the glory and honour of the Almighty; (23) and we do not find another his equal in strength: as for him that judges justly, dost thou not think that he listens? (24) Wherefore men shall fear him; and the wise also in heart shall fear him.

38

(1) And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, saying, (2) Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in his heart, and thinks to conceal them from me? (3) Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me. (4) Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge, (5) who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? (6) On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it? (7) When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice. (8) And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother’s womb. (9) And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist. (10) And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates. (11) And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee. (12) Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and did the morning star then first see his appointed place; (13) to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it? (14) Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth? (15) And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud? (16) Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep? (17) And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee? (18) And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the whole earth under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it? (19) And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness? (20) If thou couldest bring me to their utmost boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths; (21) I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great. (22) But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail? (23) And is there a store of them, for thee against the time of thine enemies, for the day of wars and battle? (24) And whence proceeds the frost? or whence is the south wind dispersed over the whole world under heaven? (25) And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders; (26) to rain upon the land where there is no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited land, (27) and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs? (28) Who is the rain’s father? and who has generated the drops of dew? (29) And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky, (30) which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly? (31) And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion? (32) Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them? (33) And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven? (34) And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain? (35) And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is thy pleasure? (36) And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery? (37) And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven down to the earth? (38) For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another. (39) And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents? (40) For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods. (41) And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.

39

(1) Say if thou knowest the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and if thou hast marked the calving of the hinds: (2) and if thou has hast numbered the full months of their being with young, and if thou hast relieved their pangs: (3) and hast reared their young without fear; and wilt thou loosen their pangs? (4) Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: their young will go forth, and will not return to them. (5) And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands? (6) whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts. (7) He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer. (8) He will survey the mountains as his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing. (9) And will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger? (10) And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain? (11) And dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him? (12) And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring it in to thy threshing-floor? (13) The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, it is worthy of notice, (14) for the ostrich will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust, (15) and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them. (16) She has hardened herself against her young ones, as though she bereaved not herself: she labours in vain without fear. (17) For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding. (18) In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider. (19) Hast thou invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror? (20) And hast thou clad him in perfect armour, and made his breast glorious with courage? (21) He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain. (22) He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword. (23) The bow and sword resound against him; and his rage will swallow up the ground: (24) and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds. (25) And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing. (26) And does the hawk remain steady by thy wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south? (27) And does the eagle rise at thy command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest, (28) on a crag of a rock, and in a secret place? (29) Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far. (30) And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found. (31) And the Lord God answered Job, and said, (32) Will any one pervert judgment with the Mighty One? and he that reproves God, let him return it for answer. (33) And Job answered and said to the Lord, (34) Why do I yet plead? being rebuked even while reproving the Lord: hearing such things, whereas I am nothing: and what shall I answer to these arguments? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. (35) I have spoken once; but I will not do so a second time.

40

(1) And the Lord yet again answered and spoke to Job out of the cloud, saying, (2) Nay, gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me. (3) Do not set aside my judgment: and dost thou think that I have dealt with thee in any other way, than that thou mightest appear to be righteous? (4) Hast thou an arm like the Lord’s? or dost thou thunder with a voice like his? (5) Assume now a lofty bearing and power; and clothe thyself with glory and honour. (6) And send forth messengers with wrath; and lay low every haughty one. (7) Bring down also the proud man; and consume at once the ungodly. (8) And hide them together in the earth; and fill their faces with shame. (9) Then will I confess that thy right hand can save thee. (10) But now look at the wild beasts with thee; they eat grass like oxen. (11) Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. (12) He sets up his tail like a cypress; and his nerves are wrapped together. (13) His sides are sides of brass; and his backbone is as cast iron. (14) This is the chief of the creation of the Lord; made to be played with by his angels. (15) And when he has gone up to a steep mountain, he causes joy to the quadrupeds in the deep. (16) He lies under trees of every kind, by the papyrus, and reed, and bulrush. (17) And the great trees make a shadow over him with their branches, and so do the bushes of the field. (18) If there should be a flood, he will not perceive it; he trust that Jordan will rush up into his mouth. (19) Yet one shall take him in his sight; one shall catch him with a cord, and pierce his nose. (20) But wilt thou catch the serpent with a hook, and put a halter about his nose? (21) Or wilt thou fasten a ring in his nostril, and bore his lip with a clasp? (22) Will he address thee with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant? (23) And will he make a covenant with thee? and wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant? (24) And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child? (25) And do the nations feed upon him, and the nations of the Phoenicians share him? (26) And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; neither shall they carry his head in fishing-vessels. (27) But thou shalt lay thy hand upon him once, remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done any more.

41

(1) Hast thou not seen him? and hast thou not wondered at the things said of him? Dost thou not fear because preparation has been made by me? for who is there that resists me? (2) Or who will resist me, and abide, since the whole world under heaven is mine? (3) I will not be silent because of him: though because of his power one shall pity his antagonist. (4) Who will open the face of his garment? and who can enter within the fold of his breastplate? (5) Who will open the doors of his face? terror is round about his teeth. (6) His inwards are as brazen plates, and the texture of his skin as a smyrite stone. (7) One part cleaves fast to another, and the air cannot come between them. (8) They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and cannot be separated. (9) At his sneezing a light shines, and his eyes are as the appearance of the morning star. (10) Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad. (11) Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals. (12) His breath is as live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. (13) And power is lodged in his neck, before him destruction runs. (14) The flesh also of his body is joined together: if one pours violence upon him, he shall not be moved. (15) His heart is firm as a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil. (16) And when he turns, he is a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth. (17) If spears should come against him, men will effect nothing, either with the spear or the breast-plate. (18) For he considers iron as chaff, and brass as rotten wood. (19) The bow of brass shall not would him, he deems a slinger as grass. (20) Mauls are counted as stubble; and he laughs to scorn the waving of the firebrand. (21) His lair is formed of sharp points; and all the gold of the sea under him is an immense quantity of clay. (22) He makes the deep boil like a brazen caldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, (23) and the lowest part of the deep as a captive: he reckons the deep as his range. (24) There is nothing upon the earth like to him, formed to be sported with by my angels. (25) He beholds every high thing: and he is king of all that are in the waters.

42

(1) Then Job answered and said to the Lord, (2) I know that thou canst do all things, and nothing is impossible with thee. (3) For who is he that hides counsel from thee? or who keeps back his words, and thinks to hide them from thee? and who will tell me what I knew not, great and wonderful things which I understood not? (4) But hear me, O Lord, that I also may speak: and I will ask thee, and do thou teach me. (5) I have heard the report of thee by the ear before; but now mine eye has seen thee. (6) Wherefore I have counted myself vile, and have fainted: and I esteem myself dust and ashes. (7) And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true before me, as my servant Job has. (8) Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt-offering for you. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for ye have not spoken the truth against my servant Job. (9) So Eliphaz the Thaemanite, and Baldad the Sauchite, and Sophar the Minaean, went and did as the Lord commanded them: and he pardoned their sin for the sake of Job. (10) And the Lord prospered Job: and when he prayed also for his friends, he forgave them their sin: and the Lord gave Job twice as much, even the double of what he had before. (11) And all his brethren and his sisters heard all that had happened to him, and they came to him, and so did all that had known him from the first: and they ate and drank with him, and comforted him, and wondered at all that the Lord had brought upon him: and each one gave him a lamb, and four drachms’ weight of gold, even of unstamped gold. (12) And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job, more than the beginning: and his cattle were fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, a thousand she-asses of the pastures. (13) And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. (14) And he called the first Day, and the second Casia, and the third Amalthaea’s horn. (15) And there were not found in comparison with the daughters of Job, fairer women than they in all the world: and their father gave them an inheritance among their brethren. (16) And Job lived after his affliction a hundred and seventy years: and all the years he lived were two hundred and forty: and Job saw his sons and his sons’ sons, the fourth generation. (17) And Job died, an old man and full of days: (17a) and it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up. (17b) This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; (17c) and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. (17d) And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job, and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. (17e) And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad sovereign the Sauchaeans, Sophar king of the Minaeans.

Proverbs

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

1

(1) The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel; (2) to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding; (3) to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and how to direct judgment; (4) that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding. (5) For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction; (6) and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles. (7) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and there is good understanding to all that practise it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction. (8) Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother. (9) For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round thy neck. (10) My son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, neither consent thou to them. (11) If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth: (12) and let us swallow him alive, as Hades would, and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (13) let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils: (14) but do thou cast in thy lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch: (15) go not in the way with them, but turn aside thy foot from their paths: (17) for nets are not without cause spread for birds. (18) For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil. (19) These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life. (20) Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly. (21) And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says, (22) So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs. (23) Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech. (24) Since I called, and ye did not hearken; and I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed; (25) but ye set at nought my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs; (26) therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against you when ruin comes upon you: (27) yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you. (28) For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find me. (29) For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord: (30) neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs. (31) Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness. (32) For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly. (33) But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.

2

(1) My son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee; (2) thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son. (3) For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding; (4) and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures; (5) then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (6) For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence come knowledge and understanding, (7) and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way; (8) that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him. (9) Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment; and shalt direct all thy course aright. (10) For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment shall seem pleasing to thy soul, (11) good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee; (12) to deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaks nothing faithfully. (13) Alas for those who forsake right paths, to walk in ways of darkness; (14) who rejoice in evils, and delight in wicked perverseness; (15) whose paths are crooked, and their courses winding; (16) to remove thee far from the straight way, and to estrange thee from a righteous purpose. My son, let not evil counsel overtake thee, (17) of her who has forsaken the instruction of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of God. (18) For she has fixed her house near death, and guided her wheels near Hades with the giants. (19) None that go by her shall return, neither shall they take hold of right paths, for they are not apprehended of the years of life. (20) For had they gone in good paths, they would have found the paths of righteousness easy. (21) For the upright shall dwell in the earth, and the holy shall be left behind in it. (22) The paths of the ungodly shall perish out of the earth, and transgressors shall be driven away from it.

3

(1) My son, forget not my laws; but let thine heart keep my words: (2) for length of existence, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee. (3) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; but bind them about thy neck: (4) so shalt thou find favour: and do thou provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men. (5) Trust in God with all thine heart; and be not exalted in thine own wisdom. (6) In all thy ways acquaint thyself with her, that she may rightly direct thy paths. (7) Be not wise in thine own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil. (8) Then shall there be health to thy body, and good keeping to thy bones. (9) Honour the Lord with thy just labours, and give him the first of thy fruits of righteousness: (10) that thy storehouses may be completely filled with corn, and that thy presses may burst forth with wine. (11) My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (12) for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives. (13) Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence. (14) For it is better to traffic for her, than for treasures of gold and silver. (15) And she is more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value. (16) For length of existence and years of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are wealth and glory: (16a) out of her mouth proceeds righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue. (17) Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful. (18) She is a tree of life to all that lay hold upon her; and she is a secure help to all that stay themselves on her, as on the Lord. (19) God by wisdom founded the earth, and by prudence he prepared the heavens. (20) By understanding were the depths broken up, and the clouds dropped water. (21) My son, let them not pass from thee, but keep my counsel and understanding: (22) that thy soul may live, and that there may be grace round thy neck; (22a) and it shall be health to thy flesh, and safety to thy bones: (23) that thou mayest go confidently in peace in all thy ways, and that thy foot may not stumble. (24) For if thou rest, thou shalt be undismayed; and if thou sleep, thou shalt slumber sweetly. (25) And thou shalt not be afraid of alarm coming upon thee, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly men. (26) For the Lord shall be over all thy ways, and shall establish thy foot that thou be not moved. (27) Forbear not to do good to the poor, whensoever thy hand may have power to help him. (28) Say not, Come back another time, to-morrow I will give; while thou art able to do him good: for thou knowest not what the next day will bring forth. (29) Devise not evil against thy friend, living near thee and trusting in thee. (30) Be not ready to quarrel with a man without a cause, lest he do thee some harm. (31) Procure not the reproaches of bad men, neither do thou covet their ways. (32) For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord; neither does he sit among the righteous. (33) The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly; but the habitations of the just are blessed. (34) The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble. (35) The wise shall inherit glory; but the ungodly have exalted their own dishonour.

4

(1) Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. (2) For I give you a good gift; forsake ye not my law. (3) For I also was a son obedient to my father, and loved in the sight of my mother: (4) who spoke and instructed me, saying, Let our speech be fixed in thine heart, keep our commandments, forget them not: (5) and do not neglect the speech of my mouth. (6) And forsake it not, and it shall cleave to thee: love it, and it shall keep thee. (7) (8) Secure it, and it shall exalt thee: honour it, that it may embrace thee; (9) that it may give unto thy head a crown of graces, and may cover thee with a crown of delight. (10) Hear, my son, and receive my words; and the years of thy life shall be increased, that the resources of thy life may be many. (11) For I teach thee the ways of wisdom; and I cause thee to go in right paths. (12) For when thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not be distressed. (13) Take hold of my instruction; let it not go, —but keep it for thyself for thy life. (14) Go not in the ways of the ungodly, neither covet the ways of transgressors. (15) In whatever place they shall pitch their camp, go not thither; but turn from them, and pass away. (16) For they cannot sleep, unless they have done evil: their sleep is taken away, and they rest not. (17) For these live upon the bread of ungodliness, and are drunken with wine of transgression. (18) But the ways of the righteous shine like light; they go on and shine, until the day be fully come. (19) But the ways of the ungodly are dark; they know not how they stumble. (20) My son, attend to my speech; and apply thine ear to my words: (21) that thy fountains may not fail thee; keep them in thine heart. (22) For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh. (23) Keep thine heart with the utmost care; for out of these are the issues of life. (24) Remove from thee a froward mouth, and put far away from thee unjust lips. (25) Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids assent to just things. (26) Make straight paths for thy feet, and order thy ways aright. (27) Turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left, but turn away thy foot from an evil way: (27a) for God knows the ways on the right hand, but those on the left are crooked: (27b) and he will make thy ways straight, and will guide thy steps in peace.

5

(1) My son, attend to my wisdom, and apply thine ear to my words; (2) that thou mayest keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives thee a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman; (3) for honey drops from the lips of a harlot, who for a season pleases thy palate: (4) but afterwards thou wilt find her more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword. (5) For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death; and her steps are not established. (6) For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known. (7) Now then, my son, hear me, and make not my words of none effect. (8) Remove thy way far from her; draw not near to the doors of her house: (9) lest thou give away thy life to others, and thy substance to the merciless: (10) lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours come into the houses of strangers; (11) And thou repent at last, when the flesh of thy body is consumed, (12) and thou shalt say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs! (13) I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply mine ear. (14) I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. (15) Drink waters out of thine own vessels, and out of thine own springing wells. (16) Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt by thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets. (17) Let them be only thine own, and let no stranger partake with thee. (18) Let thy fountain of water be truly thine own; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. (19) Let thy loving hart and thy graceful colt company with thee, and let her be considered thine own, and be with thee at all times; for ravished with her love thou shalt be greatly increased. (20) Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold thyself in the arms of a woman not thine own. (21) For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks on all his paths. (22) Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins. (23) Such a man dies with the uninstructed; and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.

6

(1) My son, if thou become surety for thy friend, thou shalt deliver thine hand to an enemy. (2) For a man’s own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth. (3) My son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; for on thy friend’s account thou art come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety. (4) Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber with thine eyelids; (5) that thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare. (6) Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he. (7) For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master, (8) he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. (8a) Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; (8b) whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: (8c) though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom. (9) How long wilt thou lie, O sluggard? and when wilt thou awake out of sleep? (10) Thou sleepest a little, and thou restest a little, and thou slumberest a short time, and thou foldest thine arms over thy breast a little. (11) Then poverty comes upon thee as an evil traveller, and want as a swift courier: (11a) but if thou be diligent, thine harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier. (12) A foolish man and a transgressor goes in ways that are not good. (13) And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers. (14) His perverse heart devises evils: at all times such a one causes troubles to a city. (15) Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; overthrow and irretrievable ruin. (16) For he rejoices in all things which God hates, and he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul. (17) The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, hands shedding the blood of the just; (18) and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil, —are hateful to God. (19) An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, and brings on quarrels between brethren. (20) My son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother: (21) but bind them upon thy soul continually, and hang them as a chain about thy neck. (22) Whensoever thou walkest, lead this along and let it be with thee; that it may talk with thee when thou wakest. (23) For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction: (24) to keep thee continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue. (25) Let not the desire of beauty overcome thee, neither be thou caught by thine eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids. (26) For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men. (27) Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments? (28) or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet? (29) So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her. (30) It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul: (31) but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods. (32) But the adulterer through want of sense procures destruction to his soul. (33) He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off. (34) For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance. (35) He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.

7

(1) My son, keep my words, and hide with thee my commandments. (2) My son, honour the Lord, and thou shalt be strong; and fear none but him: keep my commandments, and thou shalt live; and keep my words as the pupils of thine eyes. (3) And bind them on thy fingers, and write them on the table of thine heart. (4) Say that wisdom is thy sister, and gain prudence as an acquaintance for thyself; (5) that she may keep thee from the strange and wicked woman, if she should assail thee with flattering words. (6) For she looks from a window out of her house into the streets, at one whom she may see of the senseless ones, a young man void of understanding, (7) passing by the corner in the passages near her house, (8) and speaking, in the dark of the evening, (9) when there happens to be the stillness of night and of darkness: (10) and the woman meets him having the appearance of a harlot, that causes the hearts of young men to flutter. (11) And she is fickle, and debauched, and her feet abide not at home. (12) For at one time she wanders without, and at another time she lies in wait in the streets, at every corner. (13) Then she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said to him, (14) I have a peace-offering; today I pay my vows: (15) therefore I came forth to meet thee, desiring thy face; and I have found thee. (16) I have spread my bed with sheets, and I have covered it with double tapestry from Egypt. (17) I have sprinkled my couch with saffron, and my house with cinnamon. (18) Come, and let us enjoy love until the morning; come, and let us embrace in love. (19) For my husband is not at home, but is gone on a long journey, (20) having taken in his hand a bundle of money: after many days he will return to his house. (21) So with much converse she prevailed on him to go astray, and with the snares of her lips forced him from the right path. (22) And he followed her, being gently led on, and that as an ox is led to the slaughter, and as a dog to bonds, or as a hart shot in the liver with an arrow: (23) and he hastens as a bird into a snare, not knowing that he is running for his life. (24) Now then, my son, hearken to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. (25) Let not thine heart turn aside to her ways: (26) for she has wounded and cast down many, and those whom she has slain are innumerable. (27) Her house is the way of hell, leading down to the chambers of death.

8

(1) Thou shalt proclaim wisdom, that understanding may be obedient to thee. (2) For she is on lofty eminences, and stands in the midst of the ways. (3) For she sits by the gates of princes, and sings in the entrances, saying, (4) You, O men, I exhort; and utter my voice to the sons of men. (5) O ye simple, understand subtlety, and ye that are untaught, imbibe knowledge. (6) Hearken to me; for I will speak solemn truths; and will produce right sayings from my lips. (7) For my throat shall meditate truth; and false lips are an abomination before me. (8) All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing in them wrong or perverse. (9) They are all evident to those that understand, and right to those that find knowledge. (10) Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than tried gold. (11) For wisdom is better than precious stones; and no valuable substance is of equal worth with it. (12) I wisdom have dwelt with counsel and knowledge, and I have called upon understanding. (13) The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, and insolence, and pride, and the ways of wicked men; and I hate the perverse ways of bad men. (14) Counsel and safety are mine; prudence is mine, and strength is mine. (15) By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. (16) By me nobles become great, and monarchs by me rule over the earth. (17) I love those that love me; and they that seek me shall find me. (18) Wealth and glory belong to me; yea, abundant possessions and righteousness. (19) It is better to have my fruit than to have gold and precious stones; and my produce is better than choice silver. (20) I walk in ways of righteousness, and am conversant with the paths of judgment; (21) that I may divide substance to them that love me, and may fill their treasures with good things. (21a) If I declare to you the things that daily happen, I will remember also to recount the things of old. (22) The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works. (23) He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth: (24) even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: (25) before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me. (26) The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracks, and the highest inhabited parts of the world. (27) When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds: (28) and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth: (29) and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth: (30) I was by him, suiting myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually. (31) For he rejoiced when he had completed the world, and rejoiced among the children of men. (32) Now then, my son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall hearken to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways; (33) (34) watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances. (35) For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and in them is prepared favour from the Lord. (36) But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.

9

(1) Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. (2) She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. (3) She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, (4) Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that want understanding she says, (5) Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. (6) Leave folly, that ye may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. (7) He that reproves evil men shall get dishonour to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. (8) Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. (9) Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. (10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: (10a) for to know the law is the character of a sound mind. (11) For in this way thou shalt live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee. (12) Son, if thou be wise for thyself, thou shalt also be wise for thy neighbours; and if thou shouldest prove wicked, thou alone wilt bear the evil. (12a) He that stays himself upon falsehoods, attempts to rule the winds, and the same will pursue birds in their fight: (12b) for he has forsaken the ways of his own vineyard, and he has caused the axles of his own husbandry to go astray; (12c) and he goes through a dry desert, and a land appointed to drought, and he gathers barrenness with his hands. (13) A foolish and bold woman, who knows not modesty, comes to want a morsel. (14) She sits at the doors of her house, on a seat openly in the streets, (15) calling to passers by, and to those that are going right on their ways; (16) saying, Whoso is most senseless of you, let him turn aside to me; and I exhort those that want prudence, saying, (17) Take and enjoy secret bread, and the sweet water of theft. (18) But he knows that mighty men die by her, and he falls in with a snare of hell. (18a) But hasten away, delay not in the place, neither fix thine eye upon her: (18b) for thus shalt thou go through strange water; (18c) but do thou abstain from strange water, and drink not of a strange fountain, (18d) that thou mayest live long, and years of life may be added to thee.

10

(1) A wise son makes his father glad: but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. (2) Treasures shall not profit the lawless: but righteousness shall deliver from death. (3) The Lord will not famish a righteous soul: but he will overthrow the life of the ungodly. (4) Poverty brings a man low: but the hands of the vigorous make rich. (4a) A son who is instructed shall be wise, and shall use the fool for a servant. (5) A wise son is saved from heat: but a lawless son is blighted of the winds in harvest. (6) The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just: but untimely grief shall cover the mouth of the ungodly. (7) The memory of the just is praised; but the name of the ungodly man is extinguished. (8) A wise man in heart will receive commandments; but he that is unguarded in his lips shall be overthrown in his perverseness. (9) He that walks simply, walks confidently; but he that perverts his ways shall be known. (10) He that winks with his eyes deceitfully, procures griefs for men; but he that reproves boldly is a peacemaker. (11) There is a fountain of life in the hand of a righteous man; but destruction shall cover the mouth of the ungodly. (12) Hatred stirs up strife; but affection covers all that do not love strife. (13) He that brings forth wisdom from his lips smites the fool with a rod. (14) The wise will hide discretion; but the mouth of the hasty draws near to ruin. (15) The wealth of rich men is a strong city; but poverty is the ruin of the ungodly. (16) The works of the righteous produce life; but the fruits of the ungodly produce sins. (17) Instruction keeps the right ways of life; but instruction unchastened goes astray. (18) Righteous lips cover enmity; but they that utter railings are most foolish. (19) By a multitude of words thou shalt not escape sin; but if thou refrain thy lips thou wilt be prudent. (20) The tongue of the just is tried silver; but the heart of the ungodly shall fail. (21) The lips of the righteous know sublime truths: but the foolish die in want. (22) The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous; it enriches him, and grief of heart shall not be added to it. (23) A fool does mischief in sport; but wisdom brings forth prudence for a man. (24) The ungodly is engulphed in destruction; but the desire of the righteous is acceptable. (25) When the storm passes by, the ungodly vanishes away; but the righteous turns aside and escapes for ever. (26) As a sour grape is hurtful to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so iniquity hurts those that practise it. (27) The fear of the Lord adds length of days: but the years of the ungodly shall be shortened. (28) Joy rests long with the righteous: but the hope of the ungodly shall perish. (29) The fear of the Lord is a strong hold of the saints: but ruin comes to them that work wickedness. (30) The righteous shall never fail: but the ungodly shall not dwell in the earth. (31) The mouth of the righteous drops wisdom: but the tongue of the unjust shall perish. (32) The lips of just men drop grace: but the mouth of the ungodly is perverse.

11

(4) (1) False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable unto him. (2) Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom. (3) When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy. (5) Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing. (6) The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction. (7) At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes. (8) A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place. (9) In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous. (10) In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: (10a) but by the mouth of ungodly men it is overthrown. (12) A man void of understanding sneers at his fellow citizens: but a sensible man is quiet. (13) A double-tongued man discloses the secret counsels of an assembly: but he that is faithful in spirit conceals matters. (14) They that have no guidance fall like leaves: but in much counsel there is safety. (15) A bad man does harm wherever he meets a just man: and he hates the sound of safety. (16) A gracious wife brings glory to her husband: but a woman hating righteousness is a theme of dishonour. The slothful come to want: but the diligent support themselves with wealth. (17) A merciful man does good to his own soul: but the merciless destroys his own body. (18) An ungodly man performs unrighteous works: but the seed of the righteous is a reward of truth. (19) A righteous son is born for life: but the persecution of the ungodly ends in death. (20) Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord: but all they that are blameless in their ways are acceptable to him. (21) He that unjustly strikes hands shall not be unpunished: but he that sows righteousness he shall receive a faithful reward. (22) As an ornament in a swine’s snout, so is beauty to an ill-minded women. (23) All the desire of the righteous is good: but the hope of the ungodly shall perish. (24) There are some who scatter their own, and make it more: and there are some also who gather, yet have less. (25) Every sincere soul is blessed: but a passionate man is not graceful. (26) May he that hoards corn leave it to the nation: but blessing be on the head of him that gives it. (27) He that devises good counsels seeks good favour: but as for him that seeks after evil, evil shall overtake him. (28) He that trusts in wealth shall fall; but he that helps righteous men shall rise. (29) He that deals not graciously with his own house shall inherit the wind; and the fool shall be servant to the wise man. (30) Out of the fruit of righteousness grows a tree of life; but the souls of transgressors are cut off before their time. (31) If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

12

(1) He that loves instruction loves sense, but he that hates reproofs is a fool. (2) He that has found favour with the Lord is made better; but a transgressor shall be passed over in silence. (3) A man shall not prosper by wickedness; but the roots of the righteous shall not be taken up. (4) A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but as a worm in wood, so a bad woman destroys her husband. (5) The thoughts of the righteous are true judgments; but ungodly men devise deceits. (6) The words of ungodly men are crafty; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them. (7) When the ungodly is overthrown, he vanishes away; but the houses of the just remain. (8) The mouth of an understanding man is praised by a man; but he that is dull of heart is had in derision. (9) Better is a man in dishonour serving himself, than one honouring himself and wanting bread. (10) A righteous man has pity for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful. (11) He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread; but they that pursue vanities are void of understanding. (11a) He that enjoys himself in banquets of wine, shall leave dishonour in his own strong holds. (12) The desires of the ungodly are evil; but the roots of the godly are firmly set. (13) For the sin of his lips a sinner falls into snare; but a righteous man escapes from them. (13a) He whose looks are gentle shall be pitied, but he that contends in the gates will afflict souls. (14) The soul of a man shall be filled with good from the fruits of his mouth; and the recompence of his lips shall be given to him. (15) The ways of fools are right in their own eyes; but a wise man hearkens to counsels. (16) A fool declares his wrath the same day; but a prudent man hides his own disgrace. (17) A righteous man declares the open truth; but an unjust witness is deceitful. (18) Some wound as they speak, like swords; but the tongues of the wise heal. (19) True lips establish testimony; but a hasty witness has an unjust tongue. (20) There is deceit in the heart of him that imagines evil; but they that love peace shall rejoice. (21) No injustice will please a just man; but the ungodly will be filled with mischief. (22) Lying lips are a abomination to the Lord; but he that deals faithfully is accepted with him. (23) An understanding man is a throne of wisdom; but the heart of fools shall meet with curses. (24) The hand of chosen men shall easily obtain rule; but the deceitful shall be for a prey. (25) A terrible word troubles the heart of a righteous man; but a good message rejoices him. (26) A just arbitrator shall be his own friend; but mischief shall pursue sinners; and the way of ungodly men shall lead them astray. (27) A deceitful man shall catch no game; but a blameless man is a precious possession. (28) In the ways of righteousness is life; but the ways of those that remember injuries lead to death.

13

(1) A wise son is obedient to his father: but a disobedient son will be destroyed. (2) A good man shall eat of the fruits of righteousness: but the lives of transgressors shall perish before their time. (3) He that keeps his own mouth keeps his own life: but he that is hasty with his lips shall bring terror upon himself. (4) Every slothful man desires, but the hands of the active are diligent. (5) A righteous man hates an unjust word: but an ungodly man is ashamed, and will have no confidence. (6) (7) There are some who, having nothing, enrich themselves: and there are some who bring themselves down in the midst of much wealth. (8) A man’s own wealth is the ransom of his life: but the poor endures not threatening. (9) The righteous always have light: but the light of the ungodly is quenched. (13a) Crafty souls go astray in sins: but just men pity, and are merciful. (10) A bad man does evil with insolence: but they that are judges of themselves are wise. (11) Wealth gotten hastily with iniquity is diminished: but he that gathers for himself with godliness shall be increased. The righteous is merciful, and lends. (12) Better is he that begins to help heartily, than he that promises and leads another to hope: for a good desire is a tree of life. (13) He that slights a matter shall be slighted of it: but he that fears the commandment has health of soul. (13a) To a crafty son there shall be nothing good: but a wise servant shall have prosperous doings, and his way shall be directed aright. (14) The law of the wise is fountain of life: but the man void of understanding shall die by a snare. (15) Sound discretion gives favour, and to know the law is the part of a sound understanding: but the ways of scorners tend to destruction. (16) Every prudent man acts with knowledge: but the fool displays his own mischief. (17) A rash king shall fall into mischief: but a wise messenger shall deliver him. (18) Instruction removes poverty and disgrace: but he that attends to reproofs shall be honoured. (19) The desires of the godly gladden the soul, but the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge. (20) If thou walkest with wise men thou shalt be wise: but he that walks with fools shall be known. (21) Evil shall pursue sinners; but good shall overtake the righteous. (22) A good man shall inherit children’s children; and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just. (23) The righteous shall spend many years in wealth: but the unrighteous shall perish suddenly. (24) He that spares the rod hates his son: but he that loves, carefully chastens him. (25) A just man eats and satisfies his soul: but the souls of the ungodly are in want.

14

(1) Wise women build houses: but a foolish one digs hers down with her hands. (2) He that walks uprightly fears the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways shall be dishonoured. (3) Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise preserve them. (4) Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean; but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent. (5) A faithful witness does not lie; but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods. (6) Thou shalt seek wisdom with bad men, and shalt not find it; but discretion is easily available with the prudent. (7) All things are adverse to a foolish man; but wise lips are the weapons of discretion. (8) The wisdom of the prudent will understand their ways; but the folly of fools leads astray. (9) The houses of transgressors will need purification; but the houses of the just are acceptable. (10) If a man’s mind is intelligent, his soul is sorrowful; and when he rejoices, he has no fellowship with pride. (11) The houses of ungodly men shall be utterly destroyed; but the tabernacles of them that walk uprightly shall stand. (12) There is a way which seems to be right with men, but the ends of it reach to the depths of hell. (13) Grief mingles not with mirth; and joy in the end comes to grief. (14) A stout-hearted man shall be filled with his own ways; and a good man with his own thoughts. (15) The simple believes every word: but the prudent man betakes himself to after-thought. (16) A wise man fears, and departs from evil; but the fool trusts in himself, and joins himself with the transgressor. (17) A passionate man acts inconsiderately; but a sensible man bears up under many things. (18) Fools shall have mischief for their portion; but the prudent shall take fast hold of understanding. (19) Evil men shall fall before the good; and the ungodly shall attend at the gates of the righteous. (20) Friends will hate poor friends; but the friends of the rich are many. (21) He that dishonours the needy sins: but he that has pity on the poor is most blessed. (22) They that go astray devise evils: but the good devise mercy and truth. The framers of evil do not understand mercy and truth: but compassion and faithfulness are with the framers of good. (23) With every one who is careful there is abundance: but the pleasure-taking and indolent shall be in want. (24) A prudent man is the crown of the wise: but the occupation of fools is evil. (25) A faithful witness shall deliver a soul from evil: but a deceitful man kindles falsehoods. (26) In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and he leaves his children a support. (27) The commandment of the Lord is a fountain of life; and it causes men to turn aside from the snare of death. (28) In a populous nation is the glory of a king: but in the failure of people is the ruin of a prince. (29) A man slow to wrath abounds in wisdom: but a man of impatient spirit is very foolish. (30) A meek-spirited man is a healer of the heart: but a sensitive heart is a corruption of the bones. (31) He that oppresses the needy provokes his Maker: but he that honours him has pity upon the poor. (32) The ungodly shall be driven away in his wickedness: but he who is secure in his own holiness is just. (33) There is wisdom in the good heart of a man: but in the heart of fools it is not discerned. (34) Righteousness exalts a nation: but sins diminish tribes. (35) An understanding servant is acceptable to a king; and by his good behaviour he removes disgrace.

15

(1) Anger slays even wise men; yet a submissive answer turns away wrath: but a grievous word stirs up anger. (2) The tongue of the wise knows what is good: but the mouth of the foolish tells out evil things. (3) The eyes of the Lord behold both the evil and the good in every place. (4) The wholesome tongue is a tree of life, and he that keeps it shall be filled with understanding. (5) A fool scorns his father’s instruction; but he that keeps his commandments is more prudent. In abounding righteousness is great strength: but the ungodly shall utterly perish from the earth. (6) In the houses of the righteous is much strength: but the fruits of the ungodly shall perish. (7) The lips of the wise are bound by discretion: but the hearts of the foolish are not safe. (8) The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord; but the prayers of them that walk honestly are acceptable with him. (9) The ways of an ungodly man are an abomination to the Lord; but he loves those that follow after righteousness. (10) The instruction of the simple is known by them that pass by; but they that hate reproofs die disgracefully. (11) Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord; how shall not also be the hearts of men? (12) An uninstructed person will not love those that reprove him; neither will he associate with the wise. (13) When the heart rejoices the countenance is cheerful; but when it is in sorrow, the countenance is sad. (14) An upright heart seeks discretion; but the mouth of the uninstructed will experience evils. (15) The eyes of the wicked are always looking for evil things; but the good are always quiet. (16) Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without the fear of the Lord. (17) Better is an entertainment of herbs with friendliness and kindness, than a feast of calves, with enmity. (18) A passionate man stirs up strife; but he that is slow to anger appeases even a rising one. (18a) A man slow to anger will extinguish quarrels; but an ungodly man rather stirs them up. (19) The ways of sluggards are strewn with thorns; but those of the diligent are made smooth. (20) A wise son gladdens his father; but a foolish son sneers at his mother. (21) The ways of a foolish man are void of sense; but a wise man proceeds on his way aright. (22) They that honour not councils put off deliberation; but counsel abides in the hearts of counsellors. (23) A bad man will by no means attend to counsel; neither will he say anything seasonable, or good for the common weal. (24) The thoughts of the wise are ways of life, that he may turn aside and escape from hell. (25) The Lord pulls down the houses of scorners; but he establishes the border of the widow. (26) An unrighteous thought is abomination to the Lord; but the sayings of the pure are held in honour. (27) A receiver of bribes destroys himself; but he that hates the receiving of bribes is safe. (27a) By alms and by faithful dealings sins are purged away; but by the fear of the Lord every one departs from evil. (28) The hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness; but the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things. (28a) The ways of righteous men are acceptable with the Lord; and through them even enemies become friends. (29) God is far from the ungodly; but he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous. (29a) Better are small receipts with righteousness, than abundant fruits with unrighteousness. (29b) Let the heart of a man think justly, that his steps may be rightly ordered of God. (30) The eye that sees rightly rejoices the heart; and a good report fattens the bones. (31) (32) He that rejects instruction hates himself; but he that mind reproofs loves his soul. (33) The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom; and the highest honour will correspond therewith.

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(1) (15:33a) All the works of the humble man are manifest with God; but the ungodly shall perish in an evil day. (3) (4) (5) Every one that is proud in heart is unclean before God, and he that unjustly strikes hands with hand shall not be held guiltless. (6) (5a) The beginning of a good way is to do justly; and it is more acceptable with God than to offer sacrifices. (5b) He that seeks the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness: and they that rightly seek him shall find peace. (5c) All of the works of the Lord are done with righteousness; and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day. (10) There is an oracle upon the lips of a king; and his mouth shall not err in judgment. (11) The poise of the balance is righteousness with the Lord; and his works are righteous measures. (12) An evil-doer is an abomination to a king; for the throne of rule is established by righteousness. (13) Righteous lips are acceptable to a king; and he loves right words. (14) The anger of a king is a messenger of death; but a wise man will pacify him. (15) The son of a king is in the light of life; and they that are in favour with him are as a cloud of latter rain. (16) The brood of wisdom is more to be chosen than gold, and the brood of prudence more to be chosen than silver. (17) The paths of life turn aside from evil; and the ways of righteousness are length of life. He that receives instruction shall be in prosperity; and he that regards reproofs shall be made wise. He that keeps his ways, preserves his own soul; and he that loves his life will spare his mouth. (18) Pride goes before destruction, and folly before a fall. (19) Better is a meek-spirited man with lowliness, than one who divides spoils with the proud. (20) He who is skillful in business finds good: but he that trusts in God is most blessed. (21) Men call the wise and understanding evil: but they that are pleasing in speech shall hear more. (22) Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessors; but the instruction of fools is evil. (23) The heart of the wise will discern the things which proceed from his own mouth; and on his lips he will wear knowledge. (24) Good words are honeycombs, and the sweetness thereof is a healing of the soul. (25) There are ways that seem to be right to a man, but the end of them looks to the depth of hell. (26) A man who labours, labours for himself, and drives from him his own ruin. (27) But the perverse bears destruction upon his own mouth: a foolish man digs up evil for himself, and treasures fire on his own lips. (28) A perverse man spreads mischief, and will kindle a torch of deceit with mischiefs; and he separates friends. (29) A transgressor tries to ensnare friends, and leads them in ways that are not good. (30) And the man that fixes his eyes devises perverse things, and marks out with his lips all evil: he is a furnace of wickedness. (31) Old age is a crown of honour, but it is found in the ways of righteousness. (32) A man slow to anger is better than a strong man; and he that governs his temper better than he that takes a city. (33) All evils come upon the ungodly into their bosoms; but all righteous things come of the Lord.

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(1) Better is a morsel with pleasure in peace, than a house full of many good things and unjust sacrifices, with strife. (2) A wise servant shall have rule over foolish masters, and shall divide portions among brethren. (3) As silver and gold are tried in a furnace, so are choice hearts with the Lord. (4) A bad man hearkens to the tongue of transgressors: but a righteous man attends not to false lips. (6a) The faithful has the whole world full of wealth; but the faithless not even a farthing. (5) He that laughs at the poor provokes him that made him; and he that rejoices at the destruction of another shall not be held guiltless: but he that has compassion shall find mercy. (6) Children’s children are the crown of old men; and their fathers are the glory of children. (7) Faithful lips will not suit a fool; nor lying lips a just man. (8) Instruction is to them that use it a gracious reward; and whithersoever it may turn, it shall prosper. (9) He that conceals injuries seeks love; but he that hates to hide them separates friends and kindred. (10) A threat breaks down the heart of a wise man; but a fool, though scourged, understands not. (11) Every bad man stirs up strifes: but the Lord will send out against him an unmerciful messenger. (12) Care may befall a man of understanding; but fools will meditate evils. (13) Whoso rewards evil for good, evil shall not be removed from his house. (14) Rightful rule gives power to words; but sedition and strife precede poverty. (15) He that pronounces the unjust just, and the just unjust, is unclean and abominable with God. (16) Why has the fool wealth? for a senseless man will not be able to purchase wisdom. (16a) He that exalts his own house seeks ruin; and he that turns aside from instruction shall fall into mischief. (17) Have thou a friend for every time, and let brethren be useful in distress; for on this account are they born. (18) A foolish man applauds and rejoices over himself, as he also that becomes surety would make himself responsible for his own friends. (19) A lover of sin rejoices in strifes; (20) and the hard-hearted man comes not in for good. A man of a changeful tongue will fall into mischiefs; (21) and the heart of a fool is grief to its possessor. A father rejoices not over an uninstructed son; but a wise son gladdens his mother. (22) A glad heart promotes health; but the bones of a sorrowful man dry up. (23) The ways of a man who unjustly receives gifts in his bosom do not prosper; and an ungodly man perverts the ways of righteousness. (24) The countenance of a wise man is sensible; but the eyes of a fool go to the ends of the earth. (25) A foolish son is a cause of anger to his father, and grief to her that bore him. (26) It is not right to punish a righteous man, nor is it holy to plot against righteous princes. (27) He that forbears to utter a hard word is discreet, and a patient man is wise. (28) Wisdom shall be imputed to a fool who asks after wisdom: and he who holds his peace shall seem to be sensible.

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(1) A man who wishes to separate from friends seeks excuses; but at all times he will be liable to reproach. (2) A senseless man feels no need of wisdom, for he is rather led by folly. (3) When an ungodly man comes into a depth of evils, he despises them; but dishonour and reproach come upon him. (4) A word in the heart of a man is a deep water, and a river and fountain of life spring forth. (5) It is not good to accept the person of the ungodly, nor is it holy to pervert justice in judgment. (6) The lips of a fool bring him into troubles, and his bold mouth calls for death. (7) A fool’s mouth is ruin to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (8) Fear casts down the slothful; and the souls of the effeminate shall hunger. (9) A man who helps not himself by his labour is brother of him that ruins himself. (10) The name of the Lord is of great strength; and the righteous running to it are exalted. (11) The wealth of a rich man is a strong city; and its glory casts a broad shadow. (12) Before ruin a man’s heart is exalted, and before honour it is humble. (13) Whoso answers a word before he hears a cause, it is folly and reproach to him. (14) A wise servant calms a man’s anger; but who can endure a faint-hearted man? (15) The heart of the sensible man purchases discretion; and the ears of the wise seek understanding. (16) A man’s gift enlarges him, and seats him among princes. (17) A righteous man accuses himself at the beginning of his speech, but when he has entered upon the attack, the adversary is reproved. (18) A silent man quells strifes, and determines between great powers. (19) A brother helped by a brother is as a strong and high city; and is as strong as a well-founded palace. (20) A man fills his belly with the fruits of his mouth; and he shall be satisfied with the fruits of his lips. (21) Life and death are in the power of the tongue; and they that rule it shall eat the fruits thereof. (22) He that has found a good wife has found favours, and has received gladness from God. (22a) He that puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing, and he that keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly. (19:3) The folly of a man spoils his ways: and he blames God in his heart.

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(4) Wealth acquires many friends; but the poor is deserted even of the friend he has. (5) A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that accuses unjustly shall not escape. (6) Many court the favour of kings; but every bad man becomes a reproach to another man. (7) Every one who hates his poor brother shall also be far from friendship. Good understanding will draw near to them that know it, and a sensible man will find it. He that does much harm perfects mischief; and he that used provoking words shall not escape. (8) He that procures wisdom loves himself; and he that keeps wisdom shall find good. (9) A false witness shall not be unpunished; and whosoever shall kindle mischief shall perish by it. (10) Delight does not suit a fool, nor is it seemly if a servant should begin to rule with haughtiness. (11) A merciful man is long-suffering; and his triumph overtakes transgressors. (12) The threatening of a king is like the roaring of a lion; but as dew on the grass, so is his favour. (13) A foolish son is a disgrace to his father: vows paid out of the hire of a harlot are not pure. (14) Fathers divide house and substance to their children: but a wife is suited to a man by the Lord. (15) Cowardice possesses the effeminate man; and the soul of the sluggard shall hunger. (16) He that keeps the commandment keeps his own soul; but he that despises his ways shall perish. (17) He that has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; and he will recompense to him according to his gift. (18) Chasten thy son, for so he shall be hopeful; and be not exalted in thy soul to haughtiness. (19) A malicious man shall be severely punished, and if he commit injury, he shall also lose his life. (20) Hear, son, the instruction of thy father, that thou mayest be wise at thy latter end. (21) There are many thoughts in a man’s heart; but the counsel of the Lord abides for ever. (22) Mercy is a fruit to a man: and a poor man is better than a rich liar. (23) The fear of the Lord is life to a man: and he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not seen. (24) He that unjustly hides his hands in his bosom, will not even bring them up to his mouth. (25) When a pestilent character is scourged, a simple man is made wiser: and if thou reprove a wise man, he will understand discretion. (26) He that dishonours his father, and drives away his mother, shall be disgraced and shall be exposed to reproach. (27) A son who ceases to attend to the instruction of a father will cherish evil designs. (28) He that becomes surety for a foolish child will despise the ordinance: and the mouth of ungodly men shall drink down judgment. (29) Scourges are preparing for the intemperate, and punishments likewise for fools.

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(1) Wine is an intemperate thing, and strong drink full of violence: but every fool is entangled with them. (2) The threat of a king differs not from the rage of a lion; and he that provokes him sins against his own soul. (3) It is a glory to a man to turn aside from railing; but every fool is entangled with such matters. (4) A sluggard when reproached is not ashamed: so also he who borrows corn in harvest. (5) Counsel in a man’s heart is deep water; but a prudent man will draw it out. (6) A man is valuable, and a merciful man precious: but it is hard to find a faithful man. (7) He that walks blameless in justice, shall leave his children blessed. (8) Whenever a righteous king sits on the throne, no evil thing can stand before his presence. (9) Who will boast that he has a pure heart? or who will boldly say that he is pure from sins? (20) The lamp of him that reviles father or mother shall be put out, and his eyeballs shall see darkness. (21) A portion hastily gotten at first shall not be blessed in the end. (22) Say not, I will avenge myself on my enemy; but wait on the Lord, that he may help thee. (10) A large and small weight, and divers measures, are even both of them unclean before the Lord; and so is he that makes them. (11) A youth when in company with a godly man, will be restrained in his devices, and then his way will be straight. (12) The ear hears, and the eye sees: even both of them are the Lord’s work. (13) Love not to speak ill, lest thou be cut off: open thine eyes, and be filled with bread. (23) A double weight is an abomination to the Lord; and a deceitful balance is not good in his sight. (24) A man’s goings are directed of the Lord: how then can a mortal understand his ways? (25) It is a snare to a man hastily to consecrate some of his own property: for in that case repentance comes after vowing. (26) A wise king utterly crushes the ungodly, and will bring a wheel upon them. (27) The spirit of man is a light of the Lord, who searches the inmost parts of the belly. (28) Mercy and truth are a guard to a king, and will surround his throne with righteousness. (29) Wisdom is an ornament to young men; and grey hairs are the glory of old men. (30) Bruises and contusions befall bad men; and plagues shall come in the inward parts of their belly.

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(1) As a rush of water, so is the king’s heart in God’s hand: he turns it whithersoever he may desire to point out. (2) Every man seems to himself righteous; but the Lord directs the hearts. (3) To do justly and to speak truth, are more pleasing to God than the blood of sacrifices. (4) A high-minded man is stout-hearted in his pride; and the lamp of the wicked is sin. (5) (6) He that gathers treasures with a lying tongue pursues vanity on to the snares of death. (7) Destruction shall lodge with the ungodly; for they refuse to do justly. (8) To the froward God sends froward ways; for his works are pure and right. (9) It is better to dwell in a corner on the house-top, than in plastered rooms with unrighteousness, and in an open house. (10) The soul of the ungodly shall not be pitied by any man. (11) When an intemperate man is punished the simple becomes wiser: and a wise man understanding will receive knowledge. (12) A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly: and despises the ungodly for their wickedness. (13) He that stops his ears from hearing the poor, himself also shall cry, and there shall be none to hear him. (14) A secret gift calms anger: but he that forbears to give stirs up strong wrath. (15) It is the joy of the righteous to do judgment: but a holy man is abominable with evil-doers. (16) A man that wanders out of the way of righteousness, shall rest in the congregation of giants. (17) A poor man loves mirth, loving wine and oil in abundance; (18) and a transgressor is the abomination of a righteous man. (19) It is better to dwell in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome and talkative and passionate woman. (20) A desirable treasure will rest on the mouth of the wise; but foolish men will swallow it up. (21) The way of righteousness and mercy will find life and glory. (22) A wise man assaults strong cities, and demolishes the fortress in which the ungodly trusted. (23) He that keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from trouble. (24) A bold and self-willed and insolent man is called a pest: and he that remembers injuries is a transgressor. (25) Desires kill the sluggard; for his hands do not choose to do anything. (26) An ungodly man entertains evil desires all the day: but the righteous is unsparingly merciful and compassionate. (27) The sacrifices of the ungodly are abomination to the Lord, for they offer them wickedly. (28) A false witness shall perish; but an obedient man will speak cautiously. (29) An ungodly man impudently withstands with his face; but the upright man himself understands his ways. (30) There is no wisdom, there is no courage, there is no counsel against the ungodly. (31) A horse is prepared for the day of battle; but help is of the Lord.

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(1) A fair name is better than much wealth, and good favour is above silver and gold. (2) The rich and the poor meet together; but the Lord made them both. (3) An intelligent man seeing a bad man severely punished is himself instructed, but fools pass by and are punished. (4) The fear of the Lord is the offspring of wisdom, and wealth, and glory, and life. (5) Thistles and snares are in perverse ways; but he that keeps his soul will refrain from them. (6) (7) The rich will rule over the poor, and servants will lend to their own masters. (8) He that sows wickedness shall reap troubles; and shall fully receive the punishment of his deeds. (8a) God loves a cheerful and liberal man; but a man shall fully prove the folly of his works. (9) He that has pity on the poor shall himself be maintained; for he has given of his own bread to the poor. (9a) He that gives liberally secures victory an honour; but he takes away the life of them that posses them. (10) Cast out a pestilent person from the council, and strife shall go out with him; for when he sits in the council he dishonours all. (11) The Lord loves holy hearts, and all blameless persons are acceptable with him: a king rules with his lips. (12) But the eyes of the Lord preserve discretion; but the transgressor despises wise words. (13) The sluggard makes excuses, and says, There is a lion in the ways, and murderers in the streets. (14) The mouth of a transgressor is a deep pit; and he that is hated of the Lord shall fall into it. (14a) Evil ways are before a man, and he does not like to turn away from them; but it is needful to turn aside from a perverse and bad way. (15) Folly is attached to the heart of a child, but the rod and instruction are then far from him. (16) He that oppresses the poor, increases his own substance, yet gives to the rich so as to make it less. (17) Incline thine ear to the words of wise men: hear also my word, and apply thine heart, (18) that thou mayest know that they are good: and if thou lay them to heart, they shall also gladden thee on thy lips. (19) That thy hope may be in the Lord, and he may make thy way known to thee. (20) And do thou too repeatedly record them for thyself on the table of thine heart, for counsel and knowledge. (21) I therefore teach thee truth, and knowledge good to hear; that thou mayest answer words of truth to them that question thee. (22) Do no violence to the poor, for he is needy: neither dishonour the helpless man in the gates. (23) For the Lord will plead his cause, and thou shalt deliver thy soul in safety. (24) Be not companion to a furious man; neither lodge with a passionate man: (25) lest thou learn of his ways, and get snares to thy soul. (26) Become not surety from respect of a man’s person. (27) For if those have not whence to give compensation, they will take the bed that is under thee. (28) Remove not the old landmarks, which thy fathers placed. (29) It is fit that an observant man and one diligent in his business should attend on kings, and not attend on slothful men.

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(1) If thou sit to sup at the table of a prince, consider attentively the things set before thee: (2) and apply thine hand, knowing that it behoves thee to prepare such meats: but if thou art very insatiable, (3) desire not his provisions; for these belong to a false life. (4) If thou art poor, measure not thyself with a rich man; but refrain thyself in thy wisdom. (5) If thou shouldest fix thine eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle’s are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master. (6) Sup not with an envious man, neither desire thou his meats: (7b) and do not bring him in to thyself, nor eat thy morsel with him: (7a) so he eats and drinks as if any one should swallow a hair, (8) for he will vomit it up, and spoil thy fair words. (9) Say nothing in the ears of a fool, lest at any time he sneer at thy wise words. (10) Remove not the ancient landmarks; and enter not upon the possession of the fatherless: (11) for the Lord is their redeemer; he is mighty, and will plead their cause with thee. (12) Apply thine heart to instruction, and prepare thine ears for words of discretion. (13) Refrain not from chastening a child; for if thou beat him with the rod, he shall not die. (14) For thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from death. (15) Son, if thy heart be wise, thou shalt also gladden my heart; (16) and thy lips shall converse with my lips, if they be right. (17) Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day. (18) For if thou shouldest keep these things, thou shalt have posterity; and thine hope shall not be removed. (19) Hear, my son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of thine heart. (20) Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh: (21) for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments. (22) Hearken, my son, to thy father which begot thee, and despise not thy mother because she is grown old. (23) (24) A righteous father brings up his children well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son. (25) Let thy father and thy mother rejoice over thee, and let her that bore thee be glad. (26) My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. (27) For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow. (28) For such a one shall perish suddenly; and every transgressor shall be cut off. (29) Who has woe? who trouble? who has quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who has bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid? (30) Are not those of them that stay long at wine? are not those of them that haunt the places where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse with them openly. (31) For if thou shouldest set thine eyes on bowls and cups, thou shalt afterwards go more naked than a pestle. (32) But at last such a one stretches himself out as one smitten by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent. (33) Whenever thine eyes shall behold a strange woman, then thy mouth shall speak perverse things. (34) And thou shalt lie as in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot in a great storm. (35) And thou shalt say, They smote me, and I was not pained; and they mocked me, and I knew it not: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with whom I may go in company?

24

(1) My son, envy not bad men, nor desire to be with them. (2) For their heart meditates falsehoods, and their lips speak mischiefs. (3) A house is built by wisdom, and is set up by understanding. (4) By discretion the chambers are filled with all precious and excellent wealth. (5) A wise man is better than a strong man; and a man who has prudence than a large estate. (6) War is carried on with generalship, and aid is supplied to the heart of a counsellor. (7) Wisdom and good understanding are in the gates of the wise: the wise turn not aside from the mouth of the Lord, (7a) but deliberate in council. (9) Death befalls uninstructed men. The fools also dies in sins; and uncleanness attaches to a pestilent man. (10) He shall be defiled in the evil day, and in the day of affliction, until he be utterly consumed. (11) Deliver them that are led away to death, and redeem them that are appointed to be slain; spare not thy help. (12) But if thou shouldest say, I know not this man; know that the Lord knows the hearts of all; and he that formed breath for all, he knows all things, who renders to every man according to his works. (13) My son, eat honey, for the honeycomb is good, that thy throat may be sweetened. (14) Thus shalt thou perceive wisdom in thy soul: for if thou find it, thine end shall be good, and hope shall not fail thee. (15) Bring not an ungodly man into the dwelling of the righteous: neither be deceived by the feeding of the belly. (16) For a righteous man will fall seven times, and rise again: but the ungodly shall be without strength in troubles. (17) If thine enemy should fall, rejoice not over him, neither be elated at his overthrow. (18) For the Lord will see it, and it will not please him, and he will turn away his wrath from him. (19) Rejoice not in evil-doers, neither be envious of sinners. (20) For the evil man shall have no posterity: and the light of the wicked shall be put out. (21) My son, fear God and the king; and do not disobey either of them. (22) For they will suddenly punish the ungodly, and who can know the vengeance inflicted by both? (22a) A son that keeps the commandment shall escape destruction; for such an one has fully received it. (22b) Let no falsehood be spoken by the king from the tongue; yea, let no falsehood proceed from his tongue. (22c) The king’s tongue is a sword, and not one of flesh; and whosoever shall be given up to it shall be destroyed: (22d) for if his wrath should be provoked, he destroys men with cords, (22e) and devours men’s bones, and burns them up as a flame, so that they are not even fit to be eaten by the young eagles. (23) (30:1) These things says the man to them that trust in God; and I cease. (30:2) For I am the most simple of all men, and there is not in me the wisdom of men. (30:3) God has taught me wisdom, and I know the knowledge of the holy. (30:4) Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? who has gathered the winds in his bosom? who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? who has dominion of all the ends of the earth? what is his name? or what is the name of his children? (30:5) For all the words of God are tried in the fire, and he defends those that reverence him. (30:6) Add not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be made a liar. (30:7) Two things I ask of thee; take not favour from me before I die. (30:8) Remove far from me vanity and falsehood: and give me not wealth or poverty; but appoint me what is needful and sufficient: (30:9) lest I be filled and become false, and say, Who sees me? or be poor and steal, and swear vainly by the name of God. (30:10) Deliver not a servant into the hands of his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be utterly destroyed. (30:11) A wicked generation curse their father, and do not bless their mother. (30:12) A wicked generation judge themselves to be just, but do not cleanse their way. (30:13) A wicked generation have lofty eyes, and exalt themselves with their eyelids. (30:14) A wicked generation have swords for teeth and jaw-teeth as knives, so as to destroy and devour the lowly from the earth, and the poor of them from among men. (23) And this thing I say to you that are wise for you to learn: It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. (24) He that says of the ungodly, He is righteous, shall be cursed by peoples, and hateful among the nations. (25) But they that reprove him shall appear more excellent, and blessing shall come upon them; (26) and men will kiss lips that answer well. (27) Prepare thy works for thy going forth, and prepare thyself for the field; and come after me, and thou shalt rebuild thine house. (28) Be not a false witness against thy fellow citizen, neither exaggerate with thy lips. (29) Say not, As he has treated me, so will I treat him, and I will avenge myself on him for that wherein he has injured me. (30) A foolish man is like a farm, and a senseless man is like a vineyard. (31) If thou let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; and he becomes destitute, and his stone walls are broken down. (32) Afterwards I reflected, I looked that I might receive instruction. (33) The sluggard says,I slumber a little, and I sleep a little, and for a little while I fold my arms across my breast. (34) But if thou do this, thy poverty will come speedily; and thy want like a swift courier. (30:15) The horse-leech had three dearly-beloved daughters: and these three did not satisfy her; and the fourth was not contented so as to say, Enough. (30:16) The grave, and the love of a woman, and the earth not filled with water; water also and fire will not say, It is enough. (30:17) The eye that laughs to scorn a father, and dishonours the old age of a mother, let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, and let the young eagles devour it. (30:18) Moreover there are three things impossible for me to comprehend, and the fourth I know not: (30:19) the track of a flying eagle; and the ways of a serpent on a rock; and the paths of a ship passing through the sea; and the ways of a man in youth. (30:20) Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who having washed herself from what she has done, says she has done nothing amiss. (30:21) By three thing the earth is troubled, and the fourth it cannot bear: (30:22) if a servant reign; or a fool be filled with food; (30:23) or if a maid-servant should cast out her own mistress; and if a hateful woman should marry a good man. (30:24) And there are four very little things upon the earth, but these are wiser than the wise: (30:25) the ants which are weak, and yet prepare their food in summer; (30:26) the rabbits also are a feeble race, who make their houses in the rocks. (30:27) The locusts have no king, and yet march orderly at one command. (30:28) And the eft, which supports itself by its hands, and is easily taken, dwells in the fortresses of kings. (30:29) And there are three things which go well, and a fourth which passes along finely. (30:30) A lion’s whelp, stronger than all other beasts, which turns not away, nor fears any beast; (30:31) and a cock walking in boldly among the hens, and the goat leading the herd; and a king publicly speaking before a nation. (30:32) If thou abandon thyself to mirth, and stretch forth thine hand in a quarrel, thou shalt be disgraced. (30:33) Milk out milk, and there shall be butter, and if thou wing one’s nostrils there shall come out blood: so if thou extort words, there will come forth quarrels and strifes. (31:1) My words have been spoken by God - the oracular answer of a king, whom his mother instructed. (31:2) What wilt thou keep, my son, what? the words of God. My firstborn son, I speak to thee: what? son of my womb? what? son of my vows? (31:3) Give not thy wealth to women, nor thy mind and living to remorse. Do all things with counsel: drink wine with counsel. (31:4) Princes are prone to anger: let them then not drink wine: (31:5) lest they drink, and forget wisdom, and be not able to judge the poor rightly. (31:6) Give strong drink to those that are in sorrow, and the wine to drink to those in pain: (31:7) that they may forget their poverty, and may not remember their troubles any more. (31:8) Open thy mouth with the word of God, and judge all fairly. (31:9) Open thy mouth and judge justly, and plead the cause of the poor and weak.

25

(1) These are the miscellaneous instructions of Solomon, which the friends of Ezekias king of Judea copied out. (2) The glory of God conceals a matter: but the glory of a king honours business. (3) Heaven is high, and earth is deep, and a king’s heart is unsearchable. (4) Beat the drossy silver, and it shall be made entirely pure. (5) Slay the ungodly from before the king, and his throne shall prosper in righteousness. (6) Be not boastful in the presence of the king, and remain not in the places of princes; (7) for it is better for thee that it should be said, Come up to me, than that one should humble thee in the presence of the prince; speak of that which thine eyes have seen. (8) Get not suddenly into a quarrel, lest thou repent at last. (9) Whenever thy friend shall reproach thee, retreat backward, despise him not; (10) lest thy friend continue to reproach thee, so thy quarrel and enmity shall not depart, but shall be to thee like death. (10a) Favour and friendship set a man free, which do thou keep for thyself, lest thou be made liable to reproach; but take heed to thy ways peaceably. (11) As a golden apple in a necklace of sardius, so is it to speak a wise word. (12) In an ear-ring of gold a precious sardius is also set; so is a wise word to an obedient ear. (13) As a fall of snow in the time of harvest is good against heat, so a faithful messenger refreshes those that send him; for he helps the souls of his employers. (14) As winds and clouds and rains are most evident objects, so is he that boasts of a false gift. (15) In long-suffering is prosperity to kings, and a soft tongue breaks the bones. (16) Having found honey, eat only what is enough, lest haply thou be filled, and vomit it up. (17) Enter sparingly into thy friend’s house, lest he be satiated with thy company, and hate thee. (18) As a club, and a dagger, and a pointed arrow, so also is a man who bears false witness against his friend. (19) The way of the wicked and the foot of the transgressor shall perish in an evil day. (20) As vinegar is bad for a sore, so trouble befalling the body afflicts the heart. (20a) As a moth in a garment, and a worm in wood, so the grief of a man hurts the heart. (21) If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; (22) for so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee with good. (23) The north wind raises clouds; so an impudent face provokes the tongue. (24) It is better to dwell on a corner of the roof, than with a railing woman in an open house. (25) As cold water is agreeable to a thirsting soul, so is a good message from a land far off. (26) As if one should stop a well, and corrupt a spring of water, so is it unseemly for a righteous man to fall before an ungodly man. (27) It is not good to eat much honey; but it is right to honour venerable sayings. (28) As a city whose walls are broken down, and which is unfortified, so is a man who does anything without counsel.

26

(1) As dew in harvest, and as rain in summer, so honour is not seemly for a fool. (2) As birds and sparrows fly, so a curse shall not come upon any one without a cause. (3) As a whip for a horse, and a goad for an ass, so is a rod for a simple nation. (4) Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou become like him. (5) Yet answer a fool according to his folly, lest he seem wise in his own conceit. (6) He that sends a message by a foolish messenger procures for himself a reproach from his own ways. (7) As well take away the motion of the legs, as transgression from the mouth of fools. (8) He that binds up a stone in a sling, is like one that gives glory to a fool. (9) Thorns grow in the hand of a drunkard, and servitude in the hand of fools. (10) All the flesh of fools endures much hardship; for their fury is brought to nought. (11) As when a dog goes to his own vomit, and becomes abominable, so is fool who returns in his wickedness to his own sin. (11a) There is a shame that brings sin: and there is a shame that is glory and grace. (12) I have seen a man who seemed to himself to be wise; but a fool had more hope than he. (13) A sluggard when sent on a journey says, There is a lion in the ways, and there are murderers in the streets. (14) As a door turns on the hinge, so does a sluggard on his bed. (15) A sluggard having hid his hand in his bosom, will not be able to bring it up to his mouth. (16) A sluggard seems to himself wiser than one who most satisfactorily brings back a message. (17) As he that lays hold of a dog’s tail, so is he that makes himself the champion of another’s cause. (18) As those who need correction put forth fair words to men, and he that first falls in with the proposal will be overthrown; (19) so are all that lay wait for their own friends, and when they are discovered, say, I did it in jest. (20) With much wood fire increases; but where there is not a double-minded man, strife ceases. (21) A hearth for coals, and wood for fire; and railing man for the tumult of strife. (22) The words of cunning knaves are soft; but they smite even to the inmost parts of the bowels. (23) Silver dishonestly given is to be considered as a potsherd: smooth lips cover a grievous heart. (24) A weeping enemy promises all things with his lips, but in his heart he contrives deceit. (25) Though thine enemy intreat thee with a loud voice, consent not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. (26) He that hides enmity frames deceit: but being easily discerned, exposes his own sins in the public assemblies. (27) He that digs a pit for his neighbour shall fall into it: and he that rolls a stone, rolls it upon himself. (28) A lying tongue hates the truth; and an unguarded mouth causes tumults.

27

(1) Boast not of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what the next day shall bring forth. (2) Let thy neighbour, and not thine own mouth, praise thee; a stranger, and not thine own lips. (3) A stone is heavy, and sand cumbersome; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than both. (4) Wrath is merciless, and anger sharp: but envy can bear nothing. (5) Open reproofs are better than secret love. (6) The wounds of a friend are more to be trusted than the spontaneous kisses of an enemy. (7) A full soul scorns honeycombs; but to a hungry soul even bitter things appear sweet. (8) As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a man is brought into bondage whenever he estranges himself from his own place. (9) The heart delights in ointments and wines and perfumes: but the soul is broken by calamities. (10) Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; and when thou art in distress go not into thy brother’s house: better is a friend that is near than a brother living far off. (11) Son, be wise, that thy heart may rejoice; and remove thou from thyself reproachful words. (12) A wise man, when evils are approaching, hides himself; but fools pass on, and will be punished. (13) Take away the man’s garment, (for a scorner has passed by) whoever lays waste another’s goods. (14) Whosoever shall bless a friend in the morning with a loud voice, shall seem to differ nothing from one who curses him. (15) On a stormy day drops of rain drive a man out of his house; so also does a railing woman drive a man out of his own house. (16) The north wind is sharp, but it is called by name propitious. (17) Iron sharpens iron; and a man sharpens his friend’s countenance. (18) He that plants a fig-tree shall eat the fruits of it: so he that waits on his own master shall be honoured. (19) As faces are not like other faces, so neither are the thoughts of men. (20) Hell and destruction are not filled; so also are the eyes of men insatiable. (20a) He that fixes his eye is an abomination to the Lord; and the uninstructed do not restrain their tongue. (21) Fire is the trial for silver and gold; and a man is tried by the mouth of them that praise him. (21a) The heart of the transgressor seeks after mischiefs; but an upright heart seeks knowledge. (22) Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, thou wilt still in no wise remove his folly from him. (23) Do thou thoroughly know the number of thy flock, and pay attention to thine herds. (24) For a man has not strength and power for ever; neither does he transmit it from generation to generation. (25) Take care of the herbage in the field, and thou shalt cut grass, and gather the mountain hay; (26) that thou mayest have wool of sheep for clothing: pay attention to the land, that thou mayest have lambs. (27) My son, thou hast from me words very useful for thy life, and for the life of thy servants.

28

(1) The ungodly man flees when no one pursues: but the righteous is confident as a lion. (2) By reason of the sins of ungodly men quarrels arise; but a wise man will quell them. (3) A bold man oppresses the poor by ungodly deeds. As an impetuous and profitable rain, (4) so they that forsake the law praise ungodliness; but they that love the law fortify themselves with a wall. (5) Evil men will not understand judgment: but they that seek the Lord will understand everything. (6) A poor man walking in truth is better than a rich liar. (7) A wise son keeps the law: but he that keeps up debauchery dishonours his father. (8) He that increases his wealth by usuries and unjust gains, gathers it for him that pities the poor. (9) He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even he has made his prayer abominable. (10) He that causes upright men to err in an evil way, himself shall fall into destruction: transgressor also shall pass by prosperity, but shall not enter into it. (11) A rich man is wise in his own conceit; but an intelligent poor man will condemn him. (12) By reason of the help of righteous men great glory arises: but in the places of the ungodly men are caught. (13) He that covers his own ungodliness shall not prosper: but he that blames himself shall be loved. (14) Blessed is the man who religiously fears always: but the hard of heart shall fall into mischiefs. (15) A hungry lion and a thirsty wolf is he, who, being poor, rules over a poor nation. (16) A king in need of revenues is a great oppressor: but he that hates injustice shall live a long time. (17) He that becomes surety for a man charged with murder shall be an exile, and not in safety. (17a) Chasten thy son, and he shall love thee, and give honour to thy soul: he shall not obey a sinful nation. (18) He that walks justly is assisted: but he that walks in crooked ways shall be entangled therein. (19) He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that follows idleness shall have plenty of poverty. (20) A man worthy of credit shall be much blessed: but the wicked shall not be unpunished. (21) He that reverences not the persons of the just is not good: such a one will sell a man for a morsel of bread. (22) An envious man makes haste to be rich, and knows not that the merciful man will have the mastery over him. (23) He that reproves a man’s ways shall have more favour than he that flatters with the tongue. (24) He that casts off father or mother, and thinks he sins not; the same is partaker with an ungodly man. (25) An unbelieving man judges rashly: but he that trusts in the Lord will act carefully. (26) He that trusts to a bold heart, such an one is a fool: but he that walks in wisdom shall be safe. (27) He that gives to the poor shall not be in want: but he that turns away his eye from him shall be in great distress. (28) In the places of ungodly men the righteous mourn: but in their destruction the righteous shall be multiplied.

29

(1) A reprover is better than a stiff-necked man: for when the latter is suddenly set on fire, there shall be no remedy. (2) When the righteous are praised, the people will rejoice: but when the ungodly rule, men mourn. (3) When a man loves wisdom, his father rejoices: but he that keeps harlots will waste wealth. (4) A righteous king establishes a country: but a transgressor destroys it. (5) He that prepares a net in the way of his own friend, entangles his own feet in it. (6) A great snare is spread for a sinner: but the righteous shall be in joy and gladness. (7) A righteous man knows how to judge for the poor: but the ungodly understands not knowledge; and the poor man has not an understanding mind. (8) Lawless men burn down a city: but wise men turn away wrath. (9) A wise man shall judge nations: but a worthless man being angry laughs and fears not. (10) Bloody men hate a holy person, but the upright will seek his soul. (11) A fool utters all is mind: but the wise reserves his in part. (12) When a king hearkens to unjust language, all his subjects are transgressors. (13) When the creditor and debtor meet together, the Lord oversees them both. (14) When a king judges the poor in truth, his throne shall be established for a testimony. (15) Stripes and reproofs give wisdom: but an erring child disgraces his parents. (16) When the ungodly abound, sins abound: but when they fall, the righteous are warned. (17) Chasten thy son, and he shall give thee rest; and he shall give honour to thy soul. (18) There shall be no interpreter to a sinful nation: but he that observes the law is blessed. (19) A stubborn servant will not be reproved by words: for even if he understands, still he will not obey. (20) If thou see a man hasty in his words, know that the fool has hope rather than he. (21) He that lives wantonly from a child, shall be a servant, and in the end shall grieve over himself. (22) A furious man stirs up strife, and a passionate man digs up sin. (23) Pride brings a man low, but the Lord upholds the humble-minded with honour. (24) He that shares with a thief, hates his own soul: and if any having heard an oath uttered tell not of it, (25) they fearing and reverencing men unreasonably have been overthrown, but he that trusts in the Lord shall rejoice. Ungodliness causes a man to stumble: but he that trusts in his master shall be safe. (26) Many wait on the favour of rulers; but justice comes to a man from the Lord. (27) A righteous man is an abomination to an unrighteous man, and the direct way is an abomination to the sinner. (31:10) Who shall find a virtuous woman? for such a one is more valuable than precious stones. (31:11) The heart of her husband trusts in her: such a one shall stand in no need of fine spoils. (31:12) For she employs all her living for her husband’s good. (31:13) Gathering wool and flax, she makes it serviceable with her hands. (31:14) She is like a ship trading from a distance: so she procures her livelihood. (31:15) And she rises by night, and gives food to her household, and appointed tasks to her maidens. (31:16) She views a farm, and buys it: and with the fruit of her hands she plants and a possession. (31:17) She strongly girds her loins, and strengthens her arms for work. (31:18) And she finds by experience that working is good; and her candle goes not out all night. (31:19) She reaches forth her arms to needful works, and applies her hands to the spindle. (31:20) And she opens her hands to the needy, and reaches out fruit to the poor. (31:21) Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he tarries anywhere abroad: for all her household are clothed. (31:22) She makes for her husband clothes of double texture, and garments for herself of fine linen and scarlet. (31:23) And her husband becomes a distinguished person in the gates, when he sits in council with the old inhabitants of the land. (31:24) She makes fine linens, and sells girdles to the Chananites: she opens her mouth heedfully and with propriety, and controls her tongue. (31:25) She puts on strength and honour; and rejoices in the last days. (31:27) The ways of her household are careful, and she eats not the bread of idleness. (31:26) But she opens her mouth wisely, and according to law. (31:28) And her kindness to them sets up her children for them, and they grow rich, and her husband praises her. (31:29) Many daughters have obtained wealth, many have wrought valiantly; but thou hast exceeded, thou hast surpassed all. (31:30) Charms are false, and woman’s beauty is vain: for it is a wise woman that is blessed, and let her praise the fear the Lord. (31:31) Give her of the fruit of her lips; and let her husband be praised in the gates.

Ecclesiastes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1

(1) The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Israel in Jerusalem. (2) Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (3) What advantage is there to a man in all his labour that he takes under the sun? (4) A generation goes, and a generation comes: but the earth stands for ever. (5) And the sun arises, and the sun goes down and draws toward its place; (6) arising there it proceeds southward, and goes round toward the north. The wind goes round and round, and the wind returns to its circuits. (7) All the rivers run into the sea; and yet the sea is not filled: to the place whence the rivers come, thither they return again. (8) All things are full of labour; a man will not be able to speak of them: neither shall the eye be satisfied with seeing, neither shall the ear be filled with hearing. (9) What is that which has been? the very thing which shall be: and what is that which has been done? the very thing which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (10) Who is he that shall speak and say, Behold, this is new? it has already been in the ages that have passed before us. (11) There is no memorial to the first things; neither to the things that have been last shall their memorial be with them that shall at the last time. (12) I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. (13) And I applied my heart to seek out and examine by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven, for God has given to the sons of men an evil trouble to be troubled therewith. (14) I beheld all the works that were wrought under the sun; and, beheld, all were vanity and waywardness of spirit. (15) That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and deficiency cannot be numbered. (16) I spoke in my heart, saying, Behold, I am increased, and have acquired wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem: also I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge. (17) And my heart knew much—wisdom, and knowledge, parables and understanding: I perceived that this also is waywardness of spirit. (18) For in the abundance of wisdom is abundance of knowledge; and he that increases knowledge will increase sorrow.

2

(1) I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, and behold thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity. (2) I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this: (3) And I examined whether my heart would excite my flesh as with wine, (though my heart guided me in wisdom,) and I desired to lay hold of mirth, until I should see of what kind is the good to the sons of men, which they should do under the sun all the days of their life. (4) I enlarged my work; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards. (5) I made me gardens and orchards, and planted in them every kind of fruit-tree. (6) I made me pools of water, to water from them the timber-bearing wood. (7) I got servants and maidens, and servants were born to me in the house: also I had abundant possession of flocks and herds, beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem. (8) Moreover I collected for myself both silver and gold also, and the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces: I procured me singing men and singing women, and delights of the sons of men, a butler and female cupbearers. (9) So I became great, and advanced beyond all that were before in Jerusalem: also my wisdom was established to me. (10) And whatever mine eyes desired, I withheld not from them, I withheld not my heart from all my mirth: for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my labour. (11) And I looked on all my works which my hands had wrought, and on my labour which I laboured to perform: and behold, all was vanity and waywardness of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun. (12) Then I looked on to see wisdom, and madness, and folly: for who is the man who will follow after counsel, in all things where in he employs it? (13) And I saw that wisdom excels folly, as much as light excels darkness. (14) The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness: and I perceived, even I, that one event shall happen to them all. (15) And I said in my heart, As the event of the fool is, so shall it be to me, even to me: and to what purpose have I gained wisdom? I said moreover in my heart, This is also vanity, because the fool speaks of his abundance. (16) For there is no remembrance of the wise man with the fool for ever; forasmuch as now in the coming days all things are forgotten: and how shall the wise man die with the fool? (17) So I hated life; because the work that was wrought under the sun was evil before me: for all is vanity and waywardness of spirit. (18) And I hated the whole of my labour which I took under the sun; because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. (19) And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? and whether he will have power over all my labour in which I laboured, and wherein I grew wise under the sun? this is also vanity. (20) so I went about to dismiss from my heart all my labour wherein I had laboured under the sun. (21) For there is such a man that his labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in fortitude; yet this man shall give his portion to one who has not laboured therein. This is also vanity and great evil. (22) For it happens to a man in all his labour, and in the purpose of his heart wherein he labours under the sun. (23) For all his days are days of sorrows, and vexation of spirit is his; in the night also his heart rests not. This is also vanity. (24) A man has nothing really good to eat, and to drink, and to shew his soul as good in his trouble. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God. (25) For who shall eat, or who shall drink, without him? (26) For God has given to the man who is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but he has given to the sinner trouble, to add and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God; for this is also vanity and waywardness of spirit.

3

(1) To all things there is a time, and a season for every matter under heaven. (2) A time of birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted; (3) a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to pull down, and a time to build up; (4) a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to lament, and a time to dance; (5) a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to abstain from embracing; (6) a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (7) a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak; (8) a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (9) What advantage has he that works in those things wherein he labours? (10) I have seen all the trouble, which God has given to the sons of men to be troubled with. (11) All the things which he has made are beautiful in his time: he has also set the whole world in their heart, that man might not find out the work which God has wrought from the beginning even to the end. (12) I know that there is no good in them, except for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. (13) Also in the case of every man who shall eat and drink, and see good in all his labour, this is a gift of God. (14) I know that whatsoever things God has done, they shall be for ever: it is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible to take away from it: and God has done it, that men may fear before him. (15) That which has been is now; and whatever things are appointed to be have already been; and God will seek out that which is past. (16) And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, there was the ungodly one; and the place of righteousness, there was the godly one. (17) And I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the ungodly: for there is a time there for every action and for every work. (18) I said in my heart, concerning the speech of the sons of man, God will judge them, and that to shew that they are breasts. (19) Also to them is the event of the sons of man, and the event of the brute; one event befalls them: as is the death of the one, so also the death of the other; and there is one breath to all: and what has the man more than the brute? nothing; for all is vanity. (20) All go to one place; all were formed of the dust, and all will return to dust. (21) And who has seen the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward? and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? (22) And I saw that there was no good, but that wherein a man shall rejoice in his works, for it is his portion, for who shall bring him to see any thing of that which shall be after him?

4

(1) So I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were done under the sun: and behold the tear of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of them that oppressed them was power; but they had no comforter: (2) and I praised all the dead that had already died more than the living, as many as are alive until now. (3) Better also than both these is he who has not yet been, who has not seen all the evil work that is done under the sun. (4) And I saw all labour, and all the diligent work, that this is a man’s envy from his neighbour. This is also vanity and waywardness of spirit. (5) The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh. (6) Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit. (7) So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun. (8) There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil trouble. (9) Two are better than one, seeing they have a good reward for their labour. (10) For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up. (11) Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed alone? (12) And if one should prevail against him, the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord shall not be quickly broken. (13) Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who knows not how to take heed any longer. (14) For he shall come forth out of the house of the prisoners to reign, because he also that was in his kingdom has become poor. (15) I beheld all the living who were walking under the sun, with the second youth who shall stand up in each one’s place. (16) There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them: and the last shall not rejoice in him: for this also is vanity and waywardness of spirit. (17) Keep thy foot, whensoever thou goest to the house of God; and when thou art near to hear, let thy sacrifice be better than the gift of fools: for they know not that they are doing evil.

5

(1) Be not hasty with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be swift to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven above, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. (2) For through the multitude of trial a dream comes; and a fool’s voice is with a multitude of words. (3) Whenever thou shalt vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay thou therefore whatsoever thou shalt have vowed. (4) It is better that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. (5) Suffer not thy mouth to lead thy flesh to sin; and say not in the presence of God, It was an error: lest God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the works of thy hands. (6) For there is evil in a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God. (7) If thou shouldest see the oppression of the poor, and the wresting of judgment and of justice in the land, wonder not at the matter: for there is a high one to watch over him that is high, and high ones over them. (8) Also the abundance of the earth is for every one: the king is dependent on the tilled field. (9) He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver: and who has loved gain, in the abundance thereof? this is also vanity. (10) In the multitude of good they are increased that eat it: and what virtue has the owner, but the right of beholding it with his eyes? (11) The sleep of a servant is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but to one who is satiated with wealth, there is none that suffers him to sleep. (12) There is an infirmity which I have seen under the sun, namely, wealth kept for its owner to his hurt. (13) And that wealth shall perish in an evil trouble: and the man begets a son, and there is nothing in his hand. (14) As he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, he shall return back as he came, and he shall receive nothing for his labour, that it should go with him in his hand. (15) And this is also an evil infirmity: for as he came, so also shall he return: and what is his gain, for which he vainly labours? (16) Yea, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath. (17) Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing for a man to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labour in which he may labour under the sun, all the number of the days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion. (18) Yea, and as for every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. (19) For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.

6

(1) There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is abundant with man: (2) a man to whom God shall give wealth, and substance, and honour, and he wants nothing for his soul of all things that he shall desire, yet God shall not give him power to eat of it, for a stranger shall devour it: this is vanity, and an evil infirmity. (3) If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, yea, however abundant the days of his years shall be, yet if his soul shall not be satisfied with good, and also he have no burial; I said, An untimely birth is better than he. (4) For he came in vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name shall be covered in darkness. (5) Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known rest: there is no more rest to this one than another. (6) Though he has lived to the return of a thousand years, yet he has seen no good: do not all go to one place? (7) All the labour of a man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite shall not be satisfied. (8) For what advantage has the wise man over the fool, since even the poor knows how to walk in the direction of life? (9) The sight of the eyes is better than that which wanders in soul: this is also vanity, and waywardness of spirit. (10) If anything has been, its name has already been called: and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is stronger than he. (11) For there are many things which increase vanity.

7

(1) What advantage has a man? for who knows what is good for a man in his life, during the number of the life of the days of his vanity? and he has spent them as a shadow; for who shall tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? (2) A good name is better than good oil; and the day of death than the day of birth. (3) It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the banquet house: since this is the end of every man; and the living man will apply good warning to his heart. (4) Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be made better. (5) The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. (6) It is better to hear a reproof of a wise man, than for a man to hear the song of fools. (7) As the sound of thorns under a caldron, so is the laughter of fools: this is also vanity. (8) for oppression makes a wise man mad, and destroys his noble heart. (9) The end of a matter is better than the beginning thereof: the patient is better than the high-minded. (10) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger will rest in the bosom of fools. (11) Say not, What has happened, that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire in wisdom concerning this. (12) Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and there is an advantage by it to them that see the sun. (13) For wisdom in its shadow is as the shadow of silver: and the excellence of the knowledge of wisdom will give life to him that has it. (14) Behold the works of God: for who shall be able to straighten him whom God has made crooked? (15) In the day of prosperity live joyfully, and consider in the day of adversity: consider, I say, God also has caused the one to agree with the other for this reason, that man should find nothing after him. (16) I have seen all things in the days of my vanity: there is a just man perishing in his justice, and there is an ungodly man remaining in his wickedness. (17) Be not very just; neither be very wise: lest thou be confounded. (18) Be not very wicked; and be not stubborn: lest thou shouldest die before thy time. (19) It is well for thee to hold fast by this; also by this defile not thine hand: for to them that fear God all things shall come forth well. (20) Wisdom will help the wise man more than ten mighty men which are in the city. (21) For there is not a righteous man in the earth, who will do good, and not sin (22) Also take no heed to all the words which ungodly men shall speak; lest thou hear thy servant cursing thee. (23) For many times he shall trespass against thee, and repeatedly shall he afflict thine heart; for thus also hast thou cursed others. (24) All these things have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. (25) That which is far beyond what was, and a great depth, who shall find it out? (26) I and my heart went round about to know, and to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account of things, and to know the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man. (27) And I find her to be, and I will pronounce to be more bitter than death the woman which is a snare, and her heart nets, who has a band in her hands: he that is good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her. (28) Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, seeking by one at a time to find out the account, (29) which my soul sought after, but I found not: for I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not found. (30) But, behold, this have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many devices. (8:1) Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying?

8

A man’s wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated. (2) Observe the commandment of the king, and that because of the word of the oath of God. (3) Be not hasty; thou shalt go forth out of his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatsoever he shall please, (4) even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What doest thou? (5) He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgment. (6) For to every thing there is time and judgment; for the knowledge of a man is great to him. (7) For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be? (8) There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary. (9) So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein man has power over man to afflict him. (10) And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and that out of the holy place: and they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity. (11) Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil. (12) He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before him: (13) but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, which are as a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God. (14) There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity. (15) Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labour all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun. (16) Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes. (17) And I beheld all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun; whatsoever things a man shall endeavour to seek, however a man may labour to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yea, how much soever a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it: for I applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.

9

(1) I saw that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: yea, there is no man that knows either love or hatred, though all are before their face. (2) Vanity is in all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifice not: as is the good, so is the sinner: as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath. (3) There is this evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yea, the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after that they go to the dead. (4) for who is he that has fellowship with all the living? there is hope of him: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. (5) For the living will know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them; for their memory is lost. (6) also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, have now perished; yea, there is no portion for them any more for ever in all that is done under the sun. (7) Go, eat thy bread with mirth, and drink thy wine with a joyful heart; for now God has favourably accepted thy works. (8) Let thy garments be always white; and let not oil be wanting on thine head. (9) And see life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which are given thee under the sun: for that is thy portion in thy life, and in thy labour wherein thou labourest under the sun. (10) Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hades wither thou goest. (11) I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all. (12) For surely man also knows not his time: as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a snare; even thus the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them. (13) This I also saw to be wisdom under the sun, and it is great before me: (14) suppose there were a little city, and few men in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great mounds against it; (15) and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom: yet no man would remember that poor man. (16) And I said Wisdom is better than power: yet the wisdom of the poor man is set at nought, and his words not listened to. (17) The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the cry of them that rule in folly. (18) Wisdom is better than weapons of war: and one sinner will destroy much good.

10

(1) Pestilent flies will corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment: and a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly. (2) A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. (3) Yea, and whenever a fool walks by the way, his heart will fail him, and all that he thinks of is folly. (4) If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for soothing will put an end to great offences. (5) There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, wherein an error has proceeded from the ruler. (6) The fool has been set in very high places, while rich men would sit in a low one. (7) I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth. (8) He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and him that breaks down a hedge a serpent shall bite. (9) He that removes stones shall be troubled thereby; he that cleaves wood shall be endangered thereby. (10) If the axe-head should fall off, then the man troubles his countenance, and he must put forth more strength: and in that case skill is of no advantage to a man. (11) If a serpent bite when there is no charmer’s whisper, then there is no advantage to the charmer. (12) The words of a wise mouth are gracious: but the lips of a fool will swallow him up. (13) The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly: and the end of his talk mischievous madness. (14) A fool moreover multiplies words: man knows not what has been, nor what will be: who shall tell him what will come after him? (15) The labour of fools will afflict them, as that of one who knows not to go to the city. (16) Woe to thee, O city, whose king is young, and thy princes eat in the morning! (17) Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall not be ashamed. (18) By slothful neglect a building will be brought low: and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces. (19) Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that the living should rejoice: but to money all things will humbly yield obedience. (20) Even in thy conscience, curse not the king; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry thy voice, and that which has wings shall report thy speech.

11

(1) Send forth thy bread upon the face of the water: for thou shalt find it after many days. (2) Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil there shall be upon the earth. (3) If the clouds be filled with rain, they pour it out upon the earth: and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be. (4) He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap. (5) Among whom none knows what is the way of the wind: as the bones are hid in the womb of a pregnant woman, so thou shalt not know the works of God, even all things whatsoever he shall do. (6) In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thine hand be slack: for thou knowest not what sort shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both shall be good alike. (7) Moreover the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. (8) For even if a man should live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity. (9) Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart blameless, but not in the sight of thine eyes: yet know that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. (10) Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for youth and folly are vanity.

12

(1) And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of evil come, and the years overtake thee in which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. (2) While the sun and light are not darkened, nor the moon and the stars; nor the clouds return after the rain: (3) in the day wherein the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the mighty men shall become bent, and the grinding women cease because they have become few, and the women looking out at the windows be dark; (4) and they shall shut the doors in the market-place, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds at the mill; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low; (5) and they shall look up, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market: (6) before the silver cord be let go, or the choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel run down to the cistern; (7) before the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it. (8) Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity. (9) And because the Preacher was wise above others, so it was that he taught man excellent knowledge, and the ear will trace out the parables. (10) The Preacher sought diligently to find out acceptable words, and a correct writing, even words of truth. (11) The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails firmly fastened, which have been given from one shepherd by agreement. (12) And moreover, my son, guard thyself by means of them: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (13) Hear the end of the matter, the sun: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man. (14) For God will bring every work into judgment, with everything that has been overlooked, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Song of Songs

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1

(1) The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s. (2) Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine. (3) And the smell of thine ointments is better than all spices: thy name is ointment poured forth; therefore do the young maidens love thee. (4) They have drawn thee: we will run after thee, for the smell of thine ointments: the king has brought me into closet: let us rejoice and be glad in thee; we will love thy breasts more than wine: righteousness loves thee. (5) I am black, but beautiful, ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. (6) Look not upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has looked unfavourably upon me: my mother’s sons strove with me; they made me keeper in the vineyards; I have not kept my own vineyard. (7) Tell me, thou whom my soul loves, where thou tendest thy flock, where thou causest them to rest at noon, lest I become as one that is veiled by the flocks of thy companions. (8) If thou know not thyself, thou fair one among women, go thou forth by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids by the shepherd’s tents. (9) I have likened thee, my companion, to my horses in the chariots of Pharao. (10) How are thy cheeks beautiful as those of a dove, thy neck as chains! (11) We will make thee figures of gold with studs of silver. (12) So long as the king was at table, my spikenard gave forth its smell. (13) My kinsman is to me a bundle of myrrh; he shall lie between my breasts. (14) My kinsman is to me a cluster of camphor in the vineyards of Engaddi. (15) Behold, thou art fair, my companion; behold, thou art fair; thine eyes are doves. (16) Behold, thou art fair, my kinsman, yea, beautiful, overshadowing our bed. (17) The beams of our house are cedars, our ceilings are of cypress.

2

(1) I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys. (2) As a lily among thorns, so is my companion among the daughters. (3) As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons. I desired his shadow, and sat down, and his fruit was sweet in my throat. (4) Bring me into the wine house; set love before me. (5) Strengthen me with perfumes, stay me with apples: for I am wounded with love. (6) His left hand shall be under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. (7) I have charged you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that ye do not rouse or wake my love, until he please. (8) The voice of my kinsman! behold, he comes leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. (9) My kinsman is like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Baethel: behold, he is behind our wall, looking through the windows, peeping through the lattices. (10) My kinsman answers, and says to me, Rise up, come, my companion, my fair one, my dove. (11) For, behold, the winter is past, the rain is gone, it has departed. (12) The flowers are seen in the land; the time of pruning has arrived; the voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land. (13) The fig-tree has put forth its young figs, the vines put forth the tender grape, they yield a smell: arise, come, my companion, my fair one, my dove; yea, come. (14) Thou art my dove, in the shelter of the rock, near the wall: shew me thy face, and cause me to hear thy voice; for thy voice is sweet, and thy countenance is beautiful. (15) Take us the little foxes that spoil the vines: for our vines put forth tender grapes. (16) My kinsman is mine, and I am his: he feeds his flock among the lilies. (17) Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, turn, my kinsman, be thou like to a roe or young hart on the mountains of the ravines.

3

(1) By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he hearkened not to me. (2) I will rise now, and go about in the city, in the market-places, and in the streets, and I will seek him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but I found him not. (3) The watchmen who go their rounds in the city found me. I said, Have ye seen him whom my soul loves? (4) It was as a little while after I parted from them, that I found him whom my soul loves: I held him, and did not let him go, until I brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. (5) I have charged you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that ye rouse not nor awake my love, until he please. (6) Who is this that comes up from the wilderness as pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the perfumer? (7) Behold Solomon’s bed; sixty mighty men of the mighty ones of Israel are round about it. (8) They all hold a sword, being expert in war: every man has his sword upon his thigh because of fear by night. (9) King Solomon made himself a litter of woods of Lebanon. (10) He made the pillars of it silver, the bottom of it gold, the covering of it scarlet, in the midst of it a pavement of love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. (11) Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and behold king Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him, in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

4

(1) Behold, thou art fair, my companion; behold, thou art fair; thine eyes are doves, beside thy veil: thy hair is as flocks of goats, that have appeared from Galaad. (2) Thy teeth are as flocks of shorn sheep, that have gone up from the washing; all of them bearing twins, and there is not a barren one among them. (3) Thy lips are as a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: like the rind of a pomegranate is thy cheek without thy veil. (4) Thy neck is as the tower of David, that was built for an armoury: a thousand shields hang upon it, and all darts of mighty men. (5) Thy two breasts are as two twin fawns, that feed among the lilies. (6) Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, I will betake me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. (7) Thou art all fair, my companion, and there is no spot in thee. (8) Come from Libanus, my bride, come from Libanus: thou shalt come and pass from the top of Faith, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards. (9) My sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. (10) How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! how much more beautiful are thy breasts than wine, and the smell of thy garments than all spices! (11) Thy lips drop honeycomb, my spouse: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is as the smell of Libanus. (12) My sister, my spouse is a garden enclosed; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed. (13) Thy shoots are a garden of pomegranates, with the fruit of choice berries; camphor, with spikenard: (14) spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon; with all woods of Libanus, myrrh, aloes, with all chief spices: (15) a fountain of a garden, and a well of water springing and gurgling from Libanus. (16) Awake, O north wind; and come, O south; and blow through my garden, and let my spices flow out.

5

(1) Let my kinsman come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his choice berries. I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spices; I have eaten my bread with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; yea, brethren, drink abundantly. (2) I sleep, but my heart is awake: the voice of my kinsman knocks at the door, saying, Open, open to me, my companion, my sister, my dove, my perfect one: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. (3) I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? (4) My kinsman put forth his hand by the hole of the door, and my belly moved for him. (5) I rose up to open to my kinsman; my hands dropped myrrh, my fingers choice myrrh, on the handles of the lock. (6) I opened to my kinsman; my kinsman was gone: my soul failed at his speech: I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he answered me not. (7) The watchman that go their rounds in the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. (8) I have charged you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and the virtues of the field: if ye should find my kinsman, what are ye to say to him? That I am wounded with love. (9) What is thy kinsman more than another kinsman, O thou beautiful among women? what is thy kinsman more than another kinsman, that thou hast so charged us? (10) My kinsman is white and ruddy, chosen out from myriads. (11) His head is as very fine gold, his locks are flowing, black as a raven. (12) His eyes are as doves, by the pools of waters, washed with milk, sitting by the pools. (13) His cheeks are as bowls of spices pouring forth perfumes: his lips are lilies, dropping choice myrrh. (14) His hands are as turned gold set with beryl: his belly is an ivory tablet on a sapphire stone. (15) His legs are marble pillars set on golden sockets: his form is as Libanus, choice as the cedars. (16) His throat is most sweet, and altogether desirable. This is my kinsman, and this is my companion, O daughters of Jerusalem. (17) Whither is thy kinsman gone, thou beautiful among women? whither has thy kinsman turned aside? tell us, and we will seek him with thee.

6

(1) My kinsman is gone down to his garden, to the beds of spice, to feed his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies. (2) I am my kinsman’s, and my kinsman is mine, who feeds among the lilies. (3) Thou art fair, my companion, as Pleasure, beautiful as Jerusalem, terrible as armies set in array. (4) Turn away thine eyes from before me, for they have ravished me: thy hair is as flocks of goats which have appeared from Galaad. (5) Thy teeth are as flocks of shorn sheep, that have gone up from the washing, all of them bearing twins, and there is none barren among them: thy lips are as a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely. (6) Thy cheek is like the rind of a pomegranate, being seen without thy veil. (7) There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and maidens without number. (8) My dove, my perfect one is one; she is the only one of her mother; she is the choice of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and the queens will pronounce her blessed, yea, and the concubines, and they will praise her. (9) Who is this that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, choice as the sun, terrible as armies set in array? (10) I went down to the garden of nuts, to look at the fruits of the valley, to see if the vine flowered, if the pomegranates blossomed. (11) There I will give thee my breasts: my soul knew it not: it made me as the chariots of Aminadab. (12) Return, return, O Sunamite; return, return, and we will look at thee. What will ye see in the Sunamite? She comes as bands of armies.

7

(1) Thy steps are beautiful in shoes, O daughter of the prince: the joints of thy thighs are like chains, the work of the craftsman. (2) Thy navel is as a turned bowl, not wanting liquor; thy belly is as a heap of wheat set about with lilies. (3) Thy two breasts are as two twin fawns. (4) Thy neck is as an ivory tower; thine eyes are as pools in Esebon, by the gates of the daughter of many: thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, looking toward Damascus. (5) Thy head upon thee is as Carmel, and the curls of thy hair like scarlet; the king is bound in the galleries. (6) How beautiful art thou, and how sweet art thou, my love! (7) This is thy greatness in thy delights: thou wast made like a palm tree, and thy breasts to cluster. (8) I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its high boughs: and now shall thy breasts be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose of apples; (9) and thy throat as good wine, going well with my kinsman, suiting my lips and teeth. (10) I am my kinsman’s, and his desire is toward me. (11) Come, my kinsman, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. (12) Let us go early into the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, if the blossoms have appeared, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there will I give thee my breasts. (13) The mandrakes have given a smell, and at our doors are all kinds of choice fruits, new and old. O my kinsman, I have kept them for thee.

8

(1) I would that thou, O my kinsman, wert he that sucked the breasts of my mother; when I found thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, they should not despise me. (2) I would take thee, I would bring thee into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me; I would make thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranates. (3) His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. (4) I have charged you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the virtues of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. (5) Who is this that comes up all white, leaning on her kinsman? I raised thee up under an apple-tree; there thy mother brought thee forth; there she that bore thee brought thee forth. (6) Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave, her shafts are shafts of fire, even the flames thereof. (7) Much water will not be able to quench love, and rivers shall not drown it; if a man would give all his substance for love, men would utterly despise it. (8) Our sister is little, and has no breasts; what shall we do for our sister, in the day wherein she shall be spoken for? (9) If she is a wall, let us build upon her silver bulwarks; and if she is a door, let us carve for her cedar panels. (10) I am a wall, and my breasts are as towers; I was in their eyes as one that found peace. (11) Solomon had a vineyard in Beelamon; he let his vineyard to keepers; every one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. (12) My vineyard, even mine, is before me; Solomon shall have a thousand, and they that keep its fruit two hundred. (13) Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: make me hear it. (14) Away, my kinsman, and be like a doe or a fawn on the mountains of spices.

Wisdom of Solomon

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1

(1) Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth: think of the Lord with a good (heart,) and in simplicity of heart seek him. (2) For he will be found of them that tempt him not; and sheweth himself unto such as do not distrust him. (3) For froward thoughts separate from God: and his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise. (4) For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin. (5) For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in. (6) For wisdom is a loving spirit; and will not acquit a blasphemer of his words: for God is witness of his reins, and a true beholder of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. (7) For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice. (8) Therefore he that speaketh unrighteous things cannot be hid: neither shall vengeance, when it punisheth, pass by him. (9) For inquisition shall be made into the counsels of the ungodly: and the sound of his words shall come unto the Lord for the manifestation of his wicked deeds. (10) For the ear of jealousy heareth all things: and the noise of murmurings is not hid. (11) Therefore beware of murmuring, which is unprofitable; and refrain your tongue from backbiting: for there is no word so secret, that shall go for nought: and the mouth that belieth slayeth the soul. (12) Seek not death in the error of your life: and pull not upon yourselves destruction with the works of your hands. (13) For God made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living. (14) For he created all things, that they might have their being: and the generations of the world were healthful; and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor the kingdom of death upon the earth: (15) (For righteousness is immortal:) (16) But ungodly men with their works and words called it to them: for when they thought to have it their friend, they consumed to nought, and made a covenant with it, because they are worthy to take part with it.

2

(1) For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave. (2) For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart: (3) Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air, (4) And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof. (5) For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again. (6) Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth. (7) Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us: (8) Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered: (9) Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this. (10) Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged. (11) Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth. (12) Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education. (13) He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord. (14) He was made to reprove our thoughts. (15) He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men’s, his ways are of another fashion. (16) We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father. (17) Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him. (18) For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies. (19) Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience. (20) Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected. (21) Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them. (22) As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls. (23) For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity. (24) Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.

3

(1) But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. (2) In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, (3) And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. (4) For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. (5) And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. (6) As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. (7) And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. (8) They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. (9) They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect. (10) But the ungodly shall be punished according to their own imaginations, which have neglected the righteous, and forsaken the Lord. (11) For whoso despiseth wisdom and nurture, he is miserable, and their hope is vain, their labours unfruitful, and their works unprofitable: (12) Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked: (13) Their offspring is cursed. Wherefore blessed is the barren that is undefiled, which hath not known the sinful bed: she shall have fruit in the visitation of souls. (14) And blessed is the eunuch, which with his hands hath wrought no iniquity, nor imagined wicked things against God: for unto him shall be given the special gift of faith, and an inheritance in the temple of the Lord more acceptable to his mind. (15) For glorious is the fruit of good labours: and the root of wisdom shall never fall away. (16) As for the children of adulterers, they shall not come to their perfection, and the seed of an unrighteous bed shall be rooted out. (17) For though they live long, yet shall they be nothing regarded: and their last age shall be without honour. (18) Or, if they die quickly, they have no hope, neither comfort in the day of trial. (19) For horrible is the end of the unrighteous generation.

4

(1) Better it is to have no children, and to have virtue: for the memorial thereof is immortal: because it is known with God, and with men. (2) When it is present, men take example at it; and when it is gone, they desire it: it weareth a crown, and triumpheth for ever, having gotten the victory, striving for undefiled rewards. (3) But the multiplying brood of the ungodly shall not thrive, nor take deep rooting from bastard slips, nor lay any fast foundation. (4) For though they flourish in branches for a time; yet standing not last, they shall be shaken with the wind, and through the force of winds they shall be rooted out. (5) The imperfect branches shall be broken off, their fruit unprofitable, not ripe to eat, yea, meet for nothing. (6) For children begotten of unlawful beds are witnesses of wickedness against their parents in their trial. (7) But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest. (8) For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. (9) But wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age. (10) He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated. (11) Yea speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. (12) For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind. (13) He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: (14) For his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. (15) This the people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he hath respect unto his chosen. (16) Thus the righteous that is dead shall condemn the ungodly which are living; and youth that is soon perfected the many years and old age of the unrighteous. (17) For they shall see the end of the wise, and shall not understand what God in his counsel hath decreed of him, and to what end the Lord hath set him in safety. (18) They shall see him, and despise him; but God shall laugh them to scorn: and they shall hereafter be a vile carcase, and a reproach among the dead for evermore. (19) For he shall rend them, and cast them down headlong, that they shall be speechless; and he shall shake them from the foundation; and they shall be utterly laid waste, and be in sorrow; and their memorial shall perish. (20) And when they cast up the accounts of their sins, they shall come with fear: and their own iniquities shall convince them to their face.

5

(1) Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours. (2) When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. (3) And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach: (4) We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour: (5) How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! (6) Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us. (7) We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it. (8) What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? (9) All those things are passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hasted by; (10) And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves; (11) Or as when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found, but the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings and parted with the violent noise and motion of them, is passed through, and therein afterwards no sign where she went is to be found; (12) Or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again, so that a man cannot know where it went through: (13) Even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end, and had no sign of virtue to shew; but were consumed in our own wickedness. (14) For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the wind; like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm; like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest, and passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. (15) But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High. (16) Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them. (17) He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies. (18) He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet. (19) He shall take holiness for an invincible shield. (20) His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise. (21) Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark. (22) And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them. (23) Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

6

(1) Hear therefore, O ye kings, and understand; learn, ye that be judges of the ends of the earth. (2) Give ear, ye that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations. (3) For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels. (4) Because, being ministers of his kingdom, ye have not judged aright, nor kept the law, nor walked after the counsel of God; (5) Horribly and speedily shall he come upon you: for a sharp judgment shall be to them that be in high places. (6) For mercy will soon pardon the meanest: but mighty men shall be mightily tormented. (7) For he which is Lord over all shall fear no man’s person, neither shall he stand in awe of any man’s greatness: for he hath made the small and great, and careth for all alike. (8) But a sore trial shall come upon the mighty. (9) Unto you therefore, O kings, do I speak, that ye may learn wisdom, and not fall away. (10) For they that keep holiness holily shall be judged holy: and they that have learned such things shall find what to answer. (11) Wherefore set your affection upon my words; desire them, and ye shall be instructed. (12) Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away: yea, she is easily seen of them that love her, and found of such as seek her. (13) She preventeth them that desire her, in making herself first known unto them. (14) Whoso seeketh her early shall have no great travail: for he shall find her sitting at his doors. (15) To think therefore upon her is perfection of wisdom: and whoso watcheth for her shall quickly be without care. (16) For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her, sheweth herself favourably unto them in the ways, and meeteth them in every thought. (17) For the very true beginning of her is the desire of discipline; and the care of discipline is love; (18) And love is the keeping of her laws; and the giving heed unto her laws is the assurance of incorruption; (19) And incorruption maketh us near unto God: (20) Therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to a kingdom. (21) If your delight be then in thrones and sceptres, O ye kings of the people, honour wisdom, that ye may reign for evermore. (22) As for wisdom, what she is, and how she came up, I will tell you, and will not hide mysteries from you: but will seek her out from the beginning of her nativity, and bring the knowledge of her into light, and will not pass over the truth. (23) Neither will I go with consuming envy; for such a man shall have no fellowship with wisdom. (24) But the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the world: and a wise king is the upholding of the people. (25) Receive therefore instruction through my words, and it shall do you good.

7

(1) I myself also am a mortal man, like to all, and the offspring of him that was first made of the earth, (2) And in my mother’s womb was fashioned to be flesh in the time of ten months, being compacted in blood, of the seed of man, and the pleasure that came with sleep. (3) And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do. (4) I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and that with cares. (5) For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth. (6) For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out. (7) Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. (8) I preferred her before sceptres and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. (9) Neither compared I unto her any precious stone, because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand, and silver shall be counted as clay before her. (10) I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for the light that cometh from her never goeth out. (11) All good things together came to me with her, and innumerable riches in her hands. (12) And I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom goeth before them: and I knew not that she was the mother of them. (13) I learned diligently, and do communicate her liberally: I do not hide her riches. (14) For she is a treasure unto men that never faileth: which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts that come from learning. (15) God hath granted me to speak as I would, and to conceive as is meet for the things that are given me: because it is he that leadeth unto wisdom, and directeth the wise. (16) For in his hand are both we and our words; all wisdom also, and knowledge of workmanship. (17) For he hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are, namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements: (18) The beginning, ending, and midst of the times: the alterations of the turning of the sun, and the change of seasons: (19) The circuits of years, and the positions of stars: (20) The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild beasts: the violence of winds, and the reasonings of men: the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots: (21) And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know. (22) For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit holy, one only, manifold, subtil, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, (23) Kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtil, spirits. (24) For wisdom is more moving than any motion: she passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness. (25) For she is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty: therefore can no defiled thing fall into her. (26) For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness. (27) And being but one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God, and prophets. (28) For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom. (29) For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. (30) For after this cometh night: but vice shall not prevail against wisdom.

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(1) Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth she order all things. (2) I loved her, and sought her out from my youth, I desired to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty. (3) In that she is conversant with God, she magnifieth her nobility: yea, the Lord of all things himself loved her (4) For she is privy to the mysteries of the knowledge of God, and a lover of his works. (5) If riches be a possession to be desired in this life; what is richer than wisdom, that worketh all things? (6) And if prudence work; who of all that are is a more cunning workman than she? (7) And if a man love righteousness her labours are virtues: for she teacheth temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude: which are such things, as men can have nothing more profitable in their life. (8) If a man desire much experience, she knoweth things of old, and conjectureth aright what is to come: she knoweth the subtilties of speeches, and can expound dark sentences: she foreseeth signs and wonders, and the events of seasons and times. (9) Therefore I purposed to take her to me to live with me, knowing that she would be a counsellor of good things, and a comfort in cares and grief. (10) For her sake I shall have estimation among the multitude, and honour with the elders, though I be young. (11) I shall be found of a quick conceit in judgment, and shall be admired in the sight of great men. (12) When I hold my tongue, they shall bide my leisure, and when I speak, they shall give good ear unto me: if I talk much, they shall lay their hands upon their mouth. (13) Moreover by the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an everlasting memorial to them that come after me. (14) I shall set the people in order, and the nations shall be subject unto me. (15) Horrible tyrants shall be afraid, when they do but hear of me; I shall be found good among the multitude, and valiant in war. (16) After I am come into mine house, I will repose myself with her: for her conversation hath no bitterness; and to live with her hath no sorrow, but mirth and joy. (17) Now when I considered these things in myself, and pondered them in my heart, how that to be allied unto wisdom is immortality; (18) And great pleasure it is to have her friendship; and in the works of her hands are infinite riches; and in the exercise of conference with her, prudence; and in talking with her, a good report; I went about seeking how to take her to me. (19) For I was a witty child, and had a good spirit. (20) Yea rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled. (21) Nevertheless, when I perceived that I could not otherwise obtain her, except God gave her me; and that was a point of wisdom also to know whose gift she was; I prayed unto the Lord, and besought him, and with my whole heart I said,

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(1) O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word, (2) And ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made, (3) And order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart: (4) Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children: (5) For I thy servant and son of thine handmaid am a feeble person, and of a short time, and too young for the understanding of judgment and laws. (6) For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded. (7) Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters: (8) Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount, and an altar in the city wherein thou dwellest, a resemblance of the holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning. (9) And wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable in thy sight, and right in thy commandments. (10) O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labour with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee. (11) For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me in her power. (12) So shall my works be acceptable, and then shall I judge thy people righteously, and be worthy to sit in my father’s seat. (13) For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? (14) For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain. (15) For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things. (16) And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labour do we find the things that are before us: but the things that are in heaven who hath searched out? (17) And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above? (18) For so the ways of them which lived on the earth were reformed, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee, and were saved through wisdom.

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(1) She preserved the first formed father of the world, that was created alone, and brought him out of his fall, (2) And gave him power to rule all things. (3) But when the unrighteous went away from her in his anger, he perished also in the fury wherewith he murdered his brother. (4) For whose cause the earth being drowned with the flood, wisdom again preserved it, and directed the course of the righteous in a piece of wood of small value. (5) Moreover, the nations in their wicked conspiracy being confounded, she found out the righteous, and preserved him blameless unto God, and kept him strong against his tender compassion toward his son. (6) When the ungodly perished, she delivered the righteous man, who fled from the fire which fell down upon the five cities. (7) Of whose wickedness even to this day the waste land that smoketh is a testimony, and plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeness: and a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul. (8) For regarding not wisdom, they gat not only this hurt, that they knew not the things which were good; but also left behind them to the world a memorial of their foolishness: so that in the things wherein they offended they could not so much as be hid. (9) Rut wisdom delivered from pain those that attended upon her. (10) When the righteous fled from his brother’s wrath she guided him in right paths, shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things, made him rich in his travels, and multiplied the fruit of his labours. (11) In the covetousness of such as oppressed him she stood by him, and made him rich. (12) She defended him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those that lay in wait, and in a sore conflict she gave him the victory; that he might know that goodness is stronger than all. (13) When the righteous was sold, she forsook him not, but delivered him from sin: she went down with him into the pit, (14) And left him not in bonds, till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: as for them that had accused him, she shewed them to be liars, and gave him perpetual glory. (15) She delivered the righteous people and blameless seed from the nation that oppressed them. (16) She entered into the soul of the servant of the Lord, and withstood dreadful kings in wonders and signs; (17) Rendered to the righteous a reward of their labours, guided them in a marvellous way, and was unto them for a cover by day, and a light of stars in the night season; (18) Brought them through the Red sea, and led them through much water: (19) But she drowned their enemies, and cast them up out of the bottom of the deep. (20) Therefore the righteous spoiled the ungodly, and praised thy holy name, O Lord, and magnified with one accord thine hand, that fought for them. (21) For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of them that cannot speak eloquent.

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(1) She prospered their works in the hand of the holy prophet. (2) They went through the wilderness that was not inhabited, and pitched tents in places where there lay no way. (3) They stood against their enemies, and were avenged of their adversaries. (4) When they were thirsty, they called upon thee, and water was given them out of the flinty rock, and their thirst was quenched out of the hard stone. (5) For by what things their enemies were punished, by the same they in their need were benefited. (6) For instead of a fountain of a perpetual running river troubled with foul blood, (7) For a manifest reproof of that commandment, whereby the infants were slain, thou gavest unto them abundance of water by a means which they hoped not for: (8) Declaring by that thirst then how thou hadst punished their adversaries. (9) For when they were tried albeit but in mercy chastised, they knew how the ungodly were judged in wrath and tormented, thirsting in another manner than the just. (10) For these thou didst admonish and try, as a father: but the other, as a severe king, thou didst condemn and punish. (11) Whether they were absent or present, they were vexed alike. (12) For a double grief came upon them, and a groaning for the remembrance of things past. (13) For when they heard by their own punishments the other to be benefited, they had some feeling of the Lord. (14) For whom they respected with scorn, when he was long before thrown out at the casting forth of the infants, him in the end, when they saw what came to pass, they admired. (15) But for the foolish devices of their wickedness, wherewith being deceived they worshipped serpents void of reason, and vile beasts, thou didst send a multitude of unreasonable beasts upon them for vengeance; (16) That they might know, that wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same also shall he be punished. (17) For thy Almighty hand, that made the world of matter without form, wanted not means to send among them a multitude of bears or fierce lions, (18) Or unknown wild beasts, full of rage, newly created, breathing out either a fiery vapour, or filthy scents of scattered smoke, or shooting horrible sparkles out of their eyes: (19) Whereof not only the harm might dispatch them at once, but also the terrible sight utterly destroy them. (20) Yea, and without these might they have fallen down with one blast, being persecuted of vengeance, and scattered abroad through the breath of thy power: but thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight. (21) For thou canst shew thy great strength at all times when thou wilt; and who may withstand the power of thine arm? (22) For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth. (23) But thou hast mercy upon all; for thou canst do all things, and winkest at the sins of men, because they should amend. (24) For thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made: for never wouldest thou have made any thing, if thou hadst hated it. (25) And how could any thing have endured, if it had not been thy will? or been preserved, if not called by thee? (26) But thou sparest all: for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls.

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(1) For thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things. (2) Therefore chastenest thou them by little and little that offend, and warnest them by putting them in remembrance wherein they have offended, that leaving their wickedness they may believe on thee, O Lord. (3) For it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our fathers both those old inhabitants of thy holy land, (4) Whom thou hatedst for doing most odious works of witchcrafts, and wicked sacrifices; (5) And also those merciless murderers of children, and devourers of man’s flesh, and the feasts of blood, (6) With their priests out of the midst of their idolatrous crew, and the parents, that killed with their own hands souls destitute of help: (7) That the land, which thou esteemedst above all other, might receive a worthy colony of God’s children. (8) Nevertheless even those thou sparedst as men, and didst send wasps, forerunners of thine host, to destroy them by little and little. (9) Not that thou wast unable to bring the ungodly under the hand of the righteous in battle, or to destroy them at once with cruel beasts, or with one rough word: (10) But executing thy judgments upon them by little and little, thou gavest them place of repentance, not being ignorant that they were a naughty generation, and that their malice was bred in them, and that their cogitation would never be changed. (11) For it was a cursed seed from the beginning; neither didst thou for fear of any man give them pardon for those things wherein they sinned. (12) For who shall say, What hast thou done? or who shall withstand thy judgment? or who shall accuse thee for the nations that perish, whom thou made? or who shall come to stand against thee, to be revenged for the unrighteous men? (13) For neither is there any God but thou that careth for all, to whom thou mightest shew that thy judgment is not unright. (14) Neither shall king or tyrant be able to set his face against thee for any whom thou hast punished. (15) Forsomuch then as thou art righteous thyself, thou orderest all things righteously: thinking it not agreeable with thy power to condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished. (16) For thy power is the beginning of righteousness, and because thou art the Lord of all, it maketh thee to be gracious unto all. (17) For when men will not believe that thou art of a full power, thou shewest thy strength, and among them that know it thou makest their boldness manifest. (18) But thou, mastering thy power, judgest with equity, and orderest us with great favour: for thou mayest use power when thou wilt. (19) But by such works hast thou taught thy people that the just man should be merciful, and hast made thy children to be of a good hope that thou givest repentance for sins. (20) For if thou didst punish the enemies of thy children, and the condemned to death, with such deliberation, giving them time and place, whereby they might be delivered from their malice: (21) With how great circumspection didst thou judge thine own sons, unto whose fathers thou hast sworn, and made covenants of good promises? (22) Therefore, whereas thou dost chasten us, thou scourgest our enemies a thousand times more, to the intent that, when we judge, we should carefully think of thy goodness, and when we ourselves are judged, we should look for mercy. (23) Wherefore, whereas men have lived dissolutely and unrighteously, thou hast tormented them with their own abominations. (24) For they went astray very far in the ways of error, and held them for gods, which even among the beasts of their enemies were despised, being deceived, as children of no understanding. (25) Therefore unto them, as to children without the use of reason, thou didst send a judgment to mock them. (26) But they that would not be reformed by that correction, wherein he dallied with them, shall feel a judgment worthy of God. (27) For, look, for what things they grudged, when they were punished, that is, for them whom they thought to be gods; now being punished in them, when they saw it, they acknowledged him to be the true God, whom before they denied to know: and therefore came extreme damnation upon them.

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(1) Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God, and could not out of the good things that are seen know him that is: neither by considering the works did they acknowledge the workmaster; (2) But deemed either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be the gods which govern the world. (3) With whose beauty if they being delighted took them to be gods; let them know how much better the Lord of them is: for the first author of beauty hath created them. (4) But if they were astonished at their power and virtue, let them understand by them, how much mightier he is that made them. (5) For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably the maker of them is seen. (6) But yet for this they are the less to be blamed: for they peradventure err, seeking God, and desirous to find him. (7) For being conversant in his works they search him diligently, and believe their sight: because the things are beautiful that are seen. (8) Howbeit neither are they to be pardoned. (9) For if they were able to know so much, that they could aim at the world; how did they not sooner find out the Lord thereof? (10) But miserable are they, and in dead things is their hope, who call them gods, which are the works of men’s hands, gold and silver, to shew art in, and resemblances of beasts, or a stone good for nothing, the work of an ancient hand. (11) Now a carpenter that felleth timber, after he hath sawn down a tree meet for the purpose, and taken off all the bark skilfully round about, and hath wrought it handsomely, and made a vessel thereof fit for the service of man’s life; (12) And after spending the refuse of his work to dress his meat, hath filled himself; (13) And taking the very refuse among those which served to no use, being a crooked piece of wood, and full of knots, hath carved it diligently, when he had nothing else to do, and formed it by the skill of his understanding, and fashioned it to the image of a man; (14) Or made it like some vile beast, laying it over with vermilion, and with paint colouring it red, and covering every spot therein; (15) And when he had made a convenient room for it, set it in a wall, and made it fast with iron: (16) For he provided for it that it might not fall, knowing that it was unable to help itself; for it is an image, and hath need of help: (17) Then maketh he prayer for his goods, for his wife and children, and is not ashamed to speak to that which hath no life. (18) For health he calleth upon that which is weak: for life prayeth to that which is dead; for aid humbly beseecheth that which hath least means to help: and for a good journey he asketh of that which cannot set a foot forward: (19) And for gaining and getting, and for good success of his hands, asketh ability to do of him, that is most unable to do any thing.

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(1) Again, one preparing himself to sail, and about to pass through the raging waves, calleth upon a piece of wood more rotten than the vessel that carrieth him. (2) For verily desire of gain devised that, and the workman built it by his skill. (3) But thy providence, O Father, governeth it: for thou hast made a way in the sea, and a safe path in the waves; (4) Shewing that thou canst save from all danger: yea, though a man went to sea without art. (5) Nevertheless thou wouldest not that the works of thy wisdom should be idle, and therefore do men commit their lives to a small piece of wood, and passing the rough sea in a weak vessel are saved. (6) For in the old time also, when the proud giants perished, the hope of the world governed by thy hand escaped in a weak vessel, and left to all ages a seed of generation. (7) For blessed is the wood whereby righteousness cometh. (8) But that which is made with hands is cursed, as well it, as he that made it: he, because he made it; and it, because, being corruptible, it was called god. (9) For the ungodly and his ungodliness are both alike hateful unto God. (10) For that which is made shall be punished together with him that made it. (11) Therefore even upon the idols of the Gentiles shall there be a visitation: because in the creature of God they are become an abomination, and stumblingblocks to the souls of men, and a snare to the feet of the unwise. (12) For the devising of idols was the beginning of spiritual fornication, and the invention of them the corruption of life. (13) For neither were they from the beginning, neither shall they be for ever. (14) For by the vain glory of men they entered into the world, and therefore shall they come shortly to an end. (15) For a father afflicted with untimely mourning, when he hath made an image of his child soon taken away, now honoured him as a god, which was then a dead man, and delivered to those that were under him ceremonies and sacrifices. (16) Thus in process of time an ungodly custom grown strong was kept as a law, and graven images were worshipped by the commandments of kings. (17) Whom men could not honour in presence, because they dwelt far off, they took the counterfeit of his visage from far, and made an express image of a king whom they honoured, to the end that by this their forwardness they might flatter him that was absent, as if he were present. (18) Also the singular diligence of the artificer did help to set forward the ignorant to more superstition. (19) For he, peradventure willing to please one in authority, forced all his skill to make the resemblance of the best fashion. (20) And so the multitude, allured by the grace of the work, took him now for a god, which a little before was but honoured. (21) And this was an occasion to deceive the world: for men, serving either calamity or tyranny, did ascribe unto stones and stocks the incommunicable name. (22) Moreover this was not enough for them, that they erred in the knowledge of God; but whereas they lived in the great war of ignorance, those so great plagues called they peace. (23) For whilst they slew their children in sacrifices, or used secret ceremonies, or made revellings of strange rites; (24) They kept neither lives nor marriages any longer undefiled: but either one slew another traitorously, or grieved him by adultery. (25) So that there reigned in all men without exception blood, manslaughter, theft, and dissimulation, corruption, unfaithfulness, tumults, perjury, (26) Disquieting of good men, forgetfulness of good turns, defiling of souls, changing of kind, disorder in marriages, adultery, and shameless uncleanness. (27) For the worshipping of idols not to be named is the beginning, the cause, and the end, of all evil. (28) For either they are mad when they be merry, or prophesy lies, or live unjustly, or else lightly forswear themselves. (29) For insomuch as their trust is in idols, which have no life; though they swear falsely, yet they look not to be hurt. (30) Howbeit for both causes shall they be justly punished: both because they thought not well of God, giving heed unto idols, and also unjustly swore in deceit, despising holiness. (31) For it is not the power of them by whom they swear: but it is the just vengeance of sinners, that punisheth always the offence of the ungodly.

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(1) But thou, O God, art gracious and true, longsuffering, and in mercy ordering all things, (2) For if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy power: but we will not sin, knowing that we are counted thine. (3) For to know thee is perfect righteousness: yea, to know thy power is the root of immortality. (4) For neither did the mischievous invention of men deceive us, nor an image spotted with divers colours, the painter’s fruitless labour; (5) The sight whereof enticeth fools to lust after it, and so they desire the form of a dead image, that hath no breath. (6) Both they that make them, they that desire them, and they that worship them, are lovers of evil things, and are worthy to have such things to trust upon. (7) For the potter, tempering soft earth, fashioneth every vessel with much labour for our service: yea, of the same clay he maketh both the vessels that serve for clean uses, and likewise also all such as serve to the contrary: but what is the use of either sort, the potter himself is the judge. (8) And employing his labours lewdly, he maketh a vain god of the same clay, even he which a little before was made of earth himself, and within a little while after returneth to the same, out when his life which was lent him shall be demanded. (9) Notwithstanding his care is, not that he shall have much labour, nor that his life is short: but striveth to excel goldsmiths and silversmiths, and endeavoureth to do like the workers in brass, and counteth it his glory to make counterfeit things. (10) His heart is ashes, his hope is more vile than earth, and his life of less value than clay: (11) Forasmuch as he knew not his Maker, and him that inspired into him an active soul, and breathed in a living spirit. (12) But they counted our life a pastime, and our time here a market for gain: for, say they, we must be getting every way, though it be by evil means. (13) For this man, that of earthly matter maketh brittle vessels and graven images, knoweth himself to offend above all others. (14) And all the enemies of thy people, that hold them in subjection, are most foolish, and are more miserable than very babes. (15) For they counted all the idols of the heathen to be gods: which neither have the use of eyes to see, nor noses to draw breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers of hands to handle; and as for their feet, they are slow to go. (16) For man made them, and he that borrowed his own spirit fashioned them: but no man can make a god like unto himself. (17) For being mortal, he worketh a dead thing with wicked hands: for he himself is better than the things which he worshippeth: whereas he lived once, but they never. (18) Yea, they worshipped those beasts also that are most hateful: for being compared together, some are worse than others. (19) Neither are they beautiful, so much as to be desired in respect of beasts: but they went without the praise of God and his blessing.

16

(1) Therefore by the like were they punished worthily, and by the multitude of beasts tormented. (2) Instead of which punishment, dealing graciously with thine own people, thou preparedst for them meat of a strange taste, even quails to stir up their appetite: (3) To the end that they, desiring food, might for the ugly sight of the beasts sent among them lothe even that, which they must needs desire; but these, suffering penury for a short space, might be made partakers of a strange taste. (4) For it was requisite, that upon them exercising tyranny should come penury, which they could not avoid: but to these it should only be shewed how their enemies were tormented. (5) For when the horrible fierceness of beasts came upon these, and they perished with the stings of crooked serpents, thy wrath endured not for ever: (6) But they were troubled for a small season, that they might be admonished, having a sign of salvation, to put them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law. (7) For he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by thee, that art the Saviour of all. (8) And in this thou madest thine enemies confess, that it is thou who deliverest from all evil: (9) For them the bitings of grasshoppers and flies killed, neither was there found any remedy for their life: for they were worthy to be punished by such. (10) But thy sons not the very teeth of venomous dragons overcame: for thy mercy was ever by them, and healed them. (11) For they were pricked, that they should remember thy words; and were quickly saved, that not falling into deep forgetfulness, they might be continually mindful of thy goodness. (12) For it was neither herb, nor mollifying plaister, that restored them to health: but thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things. (13) For thou hast power of life and death: thou leadest to the gates of hell, and bringest up again. (14) A man indeed killeth through his malice: and the spirit, when it is gone forth, returneth not; neither the soul received up cometh again. (15) But it is not possible to escape thine hand. (16) For the ungodly, that denied to know thee, were scourged by the strength of thine arm: with strange rains, hails, and showers, were they persecuted, that they could not avoid, and through fire were they consumed. (17) For, which is most to be wondered at, the fire had more force in the water, that quencheth all things: for the world fighteth for the righteous. (18) For sometime the flame was mitigated, that it might not burn up the beasts that were sent against the ungodly; but themselves might see and perceive that they were persecuted with the judgment of God. (19) And at another time it burneth even in the midst of water above the power of fire, that it might destroy the fruits of an unjust land. (20) Instead whereof thou feddest thine own people with angels’ food, and didst send them from heaven bread prepared without their labour, able to content every man’s delight, and agreeing to every taste. (21) For thy sustenance declared thy sweetness unto thy children, and serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man’s liking. (22) But snow and ice endured the fire, and melted not, that they might know that fire burning in the hail, and sparkling in the rain, did destroy the fruits of the enemies. (23) But this again did even forget his own strength, that the righteous might be nourished. (24) For the creature that serveth thee, who art the Maker increaseth his strength against the unrighteous for their punishment, and abateth his strength for the benefit of such as put their trust in thee. (25) Therefore even then was it altered into all fashions, and was obedient to thy grace, that nourisheth all things, according to the desire of them that had need: (26) That thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know, that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man: but that it is thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee. (27) For that which was not destroyed of the fire, being warmed with a little sunbeam, soon melted away: (28) That it might be known, that we must prevent the sun to give thee thanks, and at the dayspring pray unto thee. (29) For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter’s hoar frost, and shall run away as unprofitable water.

17

(1) For great are thy judgments, and cannot be expressed: therefore unnurtured souls have erred. (2) For when unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy nation; they being shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness, and fettered with the bonds of a long night, lay there exiled from the eternal providence. (3) For while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished, and troubled with strange apparitions. (4) For neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear: but noises as of waters falling down sounded about them, and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances. (5) No power of the fire might give them light: neither could the bright flames of the stars endure to lighten that horrible night. (6) Only there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself, very dreadful: for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. (7) As for the illusions of art magick, they were put down, and their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace. (8) For they, that promised to drive away terrors and troubles from a sick soul, were sick themselves of fear, worthy to be laughed at. (9) For though no terrible thing did fear them; yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, (10) They died for fear, denying that they saw the air, which could of no side be avoided. (11) For wickedness, condemned by her own witness, is very timorous, and being pressed with conscience, always forecasteth grievous things. (12) For fear is nothing else but a betraying of the succours which reason offereth. (13) And the expectation from within, being less, counteth the ignorance more than the cause which bringeth the torment. (14) But they sleeping the same sleep that night, which was indeed intolerable, and which came upon them out of the bottoms of inevitable hell, (15) Were partly vexed with monstrous apparitions, and partly fainted, their heart failing them: for a sudden fear, and not looked for, came upon them. (16) So then whosoever there fell down was straitly kept, shut up in a prison without iron bars, (17) For whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken, and endured that necessity, which could not be avoided: for they were all bound with one chain of darkness. (18) Whether it were a whistling wind, or a melodious noise of birds among the spreading branches, or a pleasing fall of water running violently, (19) Or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of skipping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains; these things made them to swoon for fear. (20) For the whole world shined with clear light, and none were hindered in their labour: (21) Over them only was spread an heavy night, an image of that darkness which should afterward receive them: but yet were they unto themselves more grievous than the darkness.

18

(1) Nevertheless thy saints had a very great light, whose voice they hearing, and not seeing their shape, because they also had not suffered the same things, they counted them happy. (2) But for that they did not hurt them now, of whom they had been wronged before, they thanked them, and besought them pardon for that they had been enemies. (3) Instead whereof thou gavest them a burning pillar of fire, both to be a guide of the unknown journey, and an harmless sun to entertain them honourably. (4) For they were worthy to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness, who had kept thy sons shut up, by whom the uncorrupt light of the law was to be given unto the world. (5) And when they had determined to slay the babes of the saints, one child being cast forth, and saved, to reprove them, thou tookest away the multitude of their children, and destroyedst them altogether in a mighty water. (6) Of that night were our fathers certified afore, that assuredly knowing unto what oaths they had given credence, they might afterwards be of good cheer. (7) So of thy people was accepted both the salvation of the righteous, and destruction of the enemies. (8) For wherewith thou didst punish our adversaries, by the same thou didst glorify us, whom thou hadst called. (9) For the righteous children of good men did sacrifice secretly, and with one consent made a holy law, that the saints should be like partakers of the same good and evil, the fathers now singing out the songs of praise. (10) But on the other side there sounded an ill according cry of the enemies, and a lamentable noise was carried abroad for children that were bewailed. (11) The master and the servant were punished after one manner; and like as the king, so suffered the common person. (12) So they all together had innumerable dead with one kind of death; neither were the living sufficient to bury them: for in one moment the noblest offspring of them was destroyed. (13) For whereas they would not believe any thing by reason of the enchantments; upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged this people to be the sons of God. (14) For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night was in the midst of her swift course, (15) Thine Almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, (16) And brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth. (17) Then suddenly visions of horrible dreams troubled them sore, and terrors came upon them unlooked for. (18) And one thrown here, and another there, half dead, shewed the cause of his death. (19) For the dreams that troubled them did foreshew this, lest they should perish, and not know why they were afflicted. (20) Yea, the tasting of death touched the righteous also, and there was a destruction of the multitude in the wilderness: but the wrath endured not long. (21) For then the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them; and bringing the shield of his proper ministry, even prayer, and the propitiation of incense, set himself against the wrath, and so brought the calamity to an end, declaring that he was thy servant. (22) So he overcame the destroyer, not with strength of body, nor force of arms, but with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers. (23) For when the dead were now fallen down by heaps one upon another, standing between, he stayed the wrath, and parted the way to the living. (24) For in the long garment was the whole world, and in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven, and thy Majesty upon the diadem of his head. (25) Unto these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them: for it was enough that they only tasted of the wrath.

19

(1) As for the ungodly, wrath came upon them without mercy unto the end: for he knew before what they would do; (2) How that having given them leave to depart, and sent them hastily away, they would repent and pursue them. (3) For whilst they were yet mourning and making lamentation at the graves of the dead, they added another foolish device, and pursued them as fugitives, whom they had intreated to be gone. (4) For the destiny, whereof they were worthy, drew them unto this end, and made them forget the things that had already happened, that they might fulfil the punishment which was wanting to their torments: (5) And that thy people might pass a wonderful way: but they might find a strange death. (6) For the whole creature in his proper kind was fashioned again anew, serving the peculiar commandments that were given unto them, that thy children might be kept without hurt: (7) As namely, a cloud shadowing the camp; and where water stood before, dry land appeared; and out of the Red sea a way without impediment; and out of the violent stream a green field: (8) Where through all the people went that were defended with thy hand, seeing thy marvellous strange wonders. (9) For they went at large like horses, and leaped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them. (10) For they were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes. (11) But afterwards they saw a new generation of fowls, when, being led with their appetite, they asked delicate meats. (12) For quails came up unto them from the sea for their contentment. (13) And punishments came upon the sinners not without former signs by the force of thunders: for they suffered justly according to their own wickedness, insomuch as they used a more hard and hateful behaviour toward strangers. (14) For the Sodomites did not receive those, whom they knew not when they came: but these brought friends into bondage, that had well deserved of them. (15) And not only so, but peradventure some respect shall be had of those, because they used strangers not friendly: (16) But these very grievously afflicted them, whom they had received with feastings, and were already made partakers of the same laws with them. (17) Therefore even with blindness were these stricken, as those were at the doors of the righteous man: when, being compassed about with horrible great darkness, every one sought the passage of his own doors. (18) For the elements were changed in themselves by a kind of harmony, like as in a psaltery notes change the name of the tune, and yet are always sounds; which may well be perceived by the sight of the things that have been done. (19) For earthly things were turned into watery, and the things, that before swam in the water, now went upon the ground. (20) The fire had power in the water, forgetting his own virtue: and the water forgat his own quenching nature. (21) On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of the corruptible living things, though they walked therein; neither melted they the icy kind of heavenly meat that was of nature apt to melt. (22) For in all things, O Lord, thou didst magnify thy people, and glorify them, neither didst thou lightly regard them: but didst assist them in every time and place.

Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

1

(1) All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him for ever. (2) Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of eternity? (3) Who can find out the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the deep, and wisdom? (4) Wisdom hath been created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. (5) The word of God most high is the fountain of wisdom; and her ways are everlasting commandments. (6) To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed? or who hath known her wise counsels? (7) Unto whom hath the knowledge of wisdom been made manifest? and who hath understood her great experience? (8) There is one wise and greatly to be feared, the Lord sitting upon his throne. (9) He created her, and saw her, and numbered her, and poured her out upon all his works. (10) She is with all flesh according to his gift, and he hath given her to them that love him. (11) The fear of the Lord is honour, and glory, and gladness, and a crown of rejoicing. (12) The fear of the Lord maketh a merry heart, and giveth joy, and gladness, and a long life. (13) Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last, and he shall find favour in the day of his death. (14) To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and it was created with the faithful in the womb. (15) She hath built an everlasting foundation with men, and she shall continue with their seed. (16) To fear the Lord is fulness of wisdom, and filleth men with her fruits. (17) She filleth all their house with things desirable, and the garners with her increase. (18) The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish; both which are the gifts of God: and it enlargeth their rejoicing that love him. (19) Wisdom raineth down skill and knowledge of understanding standing, and exalteth them to honour that hold her fast. (20) The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and the branches thereof are long life. (21) The fear of the Lord driveth away sins: and where it is present, it turneth away wrath. (22) A furious man cannot be justified; for the sway of his fury shall be his destruction. (23) A patient man will tear for a time, and afterward joy shall spring up unto him. (24) He will hide his words for a time, and the lips of many shall declare his wisdom. (25) The parables of knowledge are in the treasures of wisdom: but godliness is an abomination to a sinner. (26) If thou desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord shall give her unto thee. (27) For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction: and faith and meekness are his delight. (28) Distrust not the fear of the Lord when thou art poor: and come not unto him with a double heart. (29) Be not an hypocrite in the sight of men, and take good heed what thou speakest. (30) Exalt not thyself, lest thou fall, and bring dishonour upon thy soul, and so God discover thy secrets, and cast thee down in the midst of the congregation, because thou camest not in truth to the fear of the Lord, but thy heart is full of deceit.

2

(1) My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. (2) Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and make not haste in time of trouble. (3) Cleave unto him, and depart not away, that thou mayest be increased at thy last end. (4) Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate. (5) For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. (6) Believe in him, and he will help thee; order thy way aright, and trust in him. (7) Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and go not aside, lest ye fall. (8) Ye that fear the Lord, believe him; and your reward shall not fail. (9) Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy. (10) Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him? (11) For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction. (12) Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways! (13) Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended. (14) Woe unto you that have lost patience! and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you? (15) They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word; and they that love him will keep his ways. (16) They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well, pleasing unto him; and they that love him shall be filled with the law. (17) They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight, (18) Saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as his majesty is, so is his mercy.

3

(1) Hear me your father, O children, and do thereafter, that ye may be safe. (2) For the Lord hath given the father honour over the children, and hath confirmed the authority of the mother over the sons. (3) Whoso honoureth his father maketh an atonement for his sins: (4) And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up treasure. (5) Whoso honoureth his father shall have joy of his own children; and when he maketh his prayer, he shall be heard. (6) He that honoureth his father shall have a long life; and he that is obedient unto the Lord shall be a comfort to his mother. (7) He that feareth the Lord will honour his father, and will do service unto his parents, as to his masters. (8) Honour thy father and mother both in word and deed, that a blessing may come upon thee from them. (9) For the blessing of the father establisheth the houses of children; but the curse of the mother rooteth out foundations. (10) Glory not in the dishonour of thy father; for thy father’s dishonour is no glory unto thee. (11) For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father; and a mother in dishonour is a reproach to the children. (12) My son, help thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth. (13) And if his understanding fail, have patience with him; and despise him not when thou art in thy full strength. (14) For the relieving of thy father shall not be forgotten: and instead of sins it shall be added to build thee up. (15) In the day of thine affliction it shall be remembered; thy sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fair warm weather. (16) He that forsaketh his father is as a blasphemer; and he that angereth his mother is cursed: of God. (17) My son, go on with thy business in meekness; so shalt thou be beloved of him that is approved. (18) The greater thou art, the more humble thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord. (19) Many are in high place, and of renown: but mysteries are revealed unto the meek. (20) For the power of the Lord is great, and he is honoured of the lowly. (21) Seek not out things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength. (22) But what is commanded thee, think thereupon with reverence, for it is not needful for thee to see with thine eyes the things that are in secret. (23) Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shewed unto thee than men understand. (24) For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment. (25) Without eyes thou shalt want light: profess not the knowledge therefore that thou hast not. (26) A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish therein. (27) An obstinate heart shall be laden with sorrows; and the wicked man shall heap sin upon sin. (28) In the punishment of the proud there is no remedy; for the plant of wickedness hath taken root in him. (29) The heart of the prudent will understand a parable; and an attentive ear is the desire of a wise man. (30) Water will quench a flaming fire; and alms maketh an atonement for sins. (31) And he that requiteth good turns is mindful of that which may come hereafter; and when he falleth, he shall find a stay.

4

(1) My son, defraud not the poor of his living, and make not the needy eyes to wait long. (2) Make not an hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress. (3) Add not more trouble to an heart that is vexed; and defer not to give to him that is in need. (4) Reject not the supplication of the afflicted; neither turn away thy face from a poor man. (5) Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him none occasion to curse thee: (6) For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him. (7) Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head to a great man. (8) Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meekness. (9) Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment. (10) Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as the son of the most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth. (11) Wisdom exalteth her children, and layeth hold of them that seek her. (12) He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with joy. (13) He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and wheresoever she entereth, the Lord will bless. (14) They that serve her shall minister to the Holy One: and them that love her the Lord doth love. (15) Whoso giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations: and he that attendeth unto her shall dwell securely. (16) If a man commit himself unto her, he shall inherit her; and his generation shall hold her in possession. (17) For at the first she will walk with him by crooked ways, and bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her laws. (18) Then will she return the straight way unto him, and comfort him, and shew him her secrets. (19) But if he go wrong, she will forsake him, and give him over to his own ruin. (20) Observe the opportunity, and beware of evil; and be not ashamed when it concerneth thy soul. (21) For there is a shame that bringeth sin; and there is a shame which is glory and grace. (22) Accept no person against thy soul, and let not the reverence of any man cause thee to fall. (23) And refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good, and hide not thy wisdom in her beauty. (24) For by speech wisdom shall be known: and learning by the word of the tongue. (25) In no wise speak against the truth; but be abashed of the error of thine ignorance. (26) Be not ashamed to confess thy sins; and force not the course of the river. (27) Make not thyself an underling to a foolish man; neither accept the person of the mighty. (28) Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee. (29) Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss. (30) Be not as a lion in thy house, nor frantick among thy servants. (31) Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay.

5

(1) Set thy heart upon thy goods; and say not, I have enough for my life. (2) Follow not thine own mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart: (3) And say not, Who shall control me for my works? for the Lord will surely revenge thy pride. (4) Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me? for the Lord is longsuffering, he will in no wise let thee go. (5) Concerning propitiation, be not without fear to add sin unto sin: (6) And say not His mercy is great; he will be pacified for the multitude of my sins: for mercy and wrath come from him, and his indignation resteth upon sinners. (7) Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day: for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of vengeance. (8) Set not thine heart upon goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity. (9) Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so doth the sinner that hath a double tongue. (10) Be stedfast in thy understanding; and let thy word be the same. (11) Be swift to hear; and let thy life be sincere; and with patience give answer. (12) If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbour; if not, lay thy hand upon thy mouth. (13) Honour and shame is in talk: and the tongue of man is his fall. (14) Be not called a whisperer, and lie not in wait with thy tongue: for a foul shame is upon the thief, and an evil condemnation upon the double tongue. (15) Be not ignorant of any thing in a great matter or a small.

6

(1) Instead of a friend become not an enemy; for thereby thou shalt inherit an ill name, shame, and reproach: even so shall a sinner that hath a double tongue. (2) Extol not thyself in the counsel of thine own heart; that thy soul be not torn in pieces as a bull straying alone. (3) Thou shalt eat up thy leaves, and lose thy fruit, and leave thyself as a dry tree. (4) A wicked soul shall destroy him that hath it, and shall make him to be laughed to scorn of his enemies. (5) Sweet language will multiply friends: and a fairspeaking tongue will increase kind greetings. (6) Be in peace with many: nevertheless have but one counsellor of a thousand. (7) If thou wouldest get a friend, prove him first and be not hasty to credit him. (8) For some man is a friend for his own occasion, and will not abide in the day of thy trouble. (9) And there is a friend, who being turned to enmity, and strife will discover thy reproach. (10) Again, some friend is a companion at the table, and will not continue in the day of thy affliction. (11) But in thy prosperity he will be as thyself, and will be bold over thy servants. (12) If thou be brought low, he will be against thee, and will hide himself from thy face. (13) Separate thyself from thine enemies, and take heed of thy friends. (14) A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure. (15) Nothing doth countervail a faithful friend, and his excellency is invaluable. (16) A faithful friend is the medicine of life; and they that fear the Lord shall find him. (17) Whoso feareth the Lord shall direct his friendship aright: for as he is, so shall his neighbour be also. (18) My son, gather instruction from thy youth up: so shalt thou find wisdom till thine old age. (19) Come unto her as one that ploweth and soweth, and wait for her good fruits: for thou shalt not toil much in labouring about her, but thou shalt eat of her fruits right soon. (20) She is very unpleasant to the unlearned: he that is without understanding will not remain with her. (21) She will lie upon him as a mighty stone of trial; and he will cast her from him ere it be long. (22) For wisdom is according to her name, and she is not manifest unto many. (23) Give ear, my son, receive my advice, and refuse not my counsel, (24) And put thy feet into her fetters, and thy neck into her chain. (25) Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her bonds. (26) Come unto her with thy whole heart, and keep her ways with all thy power. (27) Search, and seek, and she shall be made known unto thee: and when thou hast got hold of her, let her not go. (28) For at the last thou shalt find her rest, and that shall be turned to thy joy. (29) Then shall her fetters be a strong defence for thee, and her chains a robe of glory. (30) For there is a golden ornament upon her, and her bands are purple lace. (31) Thou shalt put her on as a robe of honour, and shalt put her about thee as a crown of joy. (32) My son, if thou wilt, thou shalt be taught: and if thou wilt apply thy mind, thou shalt be prudent. (33) If thou love to hear, thou shalt receive understanding: and if thou bow thine ear, thou shalt be wise, (34) Stand in the multitude of the elders; and cleave unto him that is wise. (35) Be willing to hear every godly discourse; and let not the parables of understanding escape thee. (36) And if thou seest a man of understanding, get thee betimes unto him, and let thy foot wear the steps of his door. (37) Let thy mind be upon the ordinances of the Lord and meditate continually in his commandments: he shall establish thine heart, and give thee wisdom at thine owns desire.

7

(1) Do no evil, so shall no harm come unto thee. (2) Depart from the unjust, and iniquity shall turn away from thee. (3) My son, sow not upon the furrows of unrighteousness, and thou shalt not reap them sevenfold. (4) Seek not of the Lord preeminence, neither of the king the seat of honour. (5) justify not thyself before the Lord; and boast not of thy wisdom before the king. (6) Seek not to be judge, being not able to take away iniquity; lest at any time thou fear the person of the mighty, an stumblingblock in the way of thy uprightness. (7) Offend not against the multitude of a city, and then thou shalt not cast thyself down among the people. (8) Bind not one sin upon another; for in one thou shalt not be unpunished. (9) Say not, God will look upon the multitude of my oblations, and when I offer to the most high God, he will accept it. (10) Be not fainthearted when thou makest thy prayer, and neglect not to give alms. (11) Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul: for there is one which humbleth and exalteth. (12) Devise not a lie against thy brother; neither do the like to thy friend. (13) Use not to make any manner of lie: for the custom thereof is not good. (14) Use not many words in a multitude of elders, and make not much babbling when thou prayest. (15) Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry, which the most High hath ordained. (16) Number not thyself among the multitude of sinners, but remember that wrath will not tarry long. (17) Humble thyself greatly: for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms. (18) Change not a friend for any good by no means; neither a faithful brother for the gold of Ophir. (19) Forego not a wise and good woman: for her grace is above gold. (20) Whereas thy servant worketh truly, entreat him not evil. nor the hireling that bestoweth himself wholly for thee. (21) Let thy soul love a good servant, and defraud him not of liberty. (22) Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit, keep them with thee. (23) Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their youth. (24) Hast thou daughters? have a care of their body, and shew not thyself cheerful toward them. (25) Marry thy daughter, and so shalt thou have performed a weighty matter: but give her to a man of understanding. (26) Hast thou a wife after thy mind? forsake her not: but give not thyself over to a light woman. (27) Honour thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother. (28) Remember that thou wast begotten of them; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee? (29) Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and reverence his priests. (30) Love him that made thee with all thy strength, and forsake not his ministers. (31) Fear the Lord, and honour the priest; and give him his portion, as it is commanded thee; the firstfruits, and the trespass offering, and the gift of the shoulders, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things. (32) And stretch thine hand unto the poor, that thy blessing may be perfected. (33) A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; and for the dead detain it not. (34) Fail not to be with them that weep, and mourn with them that mourn. (35) Be not slow to visit the sick: fir that shall make thee to be beloved. (36) Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss.

8

(1) Strive not with a mighty man’ lest thou fall into his hands. (2) Be not at variance with a rich man, lest he overweigh thee: for gold hath destroyed many, and perverted the hearts of kings. (3) Strive not with a man that is full of tongue, and heap not wood upon his fire. (4) Jest not with a rude man, lest thy ancestors be disgraced. (5) Reproach not a man that turneth from sin, but remember that we are all worthy of punishment. (6) Dishonour not a man in his old age: for even some of us wax old. (7) Rejoice not over thy greatest enemy being dead, but remember that we die all. (8) Despise not the discourse of the wise, but acquaint thyself with their proverbs: for of them thou shalt learn instruction, and how to serve great men with ease. (9) Miss not the discourse of the elders: for they also learned of their fathers, and of them thou shalt learn understanding, and to give answer as need requireth. (10) Kindle not the coals of a sinner, lest thou be burnt with the flame of his fire. (11) Rise not up in anger at the presence of an injurious person, lest he lie in wait to entrap thee in thy words (12) Lend not unto him that is mightier than thyself; for if thou lendest him, count it but lost. (13) Be not surety above thy power: for if thou be surety, take care to pay it. (14) Go not to law with a judge; for they will judge for him according to his honour. (15) Travel not by the way with a bold fellow, lest he become grievous unto thee: for he will do according to his own will, and thou shalt perish with him through his folly. (16) Strive not with an angry man, and go not with him into a solitary place: for blood is as nothing in his sight, and where there is no help, he will overthrow thee. (17) Consult not with a fool; for he cannot keep counsel. (18) Do no secret thing before a stranger; for thou knowest not what he will bring forth. (19) Open not thine heart to every man, lest he requite thee with a shrewd turn.

9

(1) Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, and teach her not an evil lesson against thyself. (2) Give not thy soul unto a woman to set her foot upon thy substance. (3) Meet not with an harlot, lest thou fall into her snares. (4) Use not much the company of a woman that is a singer, lest thou be taken with her attempts. (5) Gaze not on a maid, that thou fall not by those things that are precious in her. (6) Give not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine inheritance. (7) Look not round about thee in the streets of the city, neither wander thou in the solitary place thereof. (8) Turn away thine eye from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another’s beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire. (9) Sit not at all with another man’s wife, nor sit down with her in thine arms, and spend not thy money with her at the wine; lest thine heart incline unto her, and so through thy desire thou fall into destruction. (10) Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure. (11) Envy not the glory of a sinner: for thou knowest not what shall be his end. (12) Delight not in the thing that the ungodly have pleasure in; but remember they shall not go unpunished unto their grave. (13) Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill; so shalt thou not doubt the fear of death: and if thou come unto him, make no fault, lest he take away thy life presently: remember that thou goest in the midst of snares, and that thou walkest upon the battlements of the city. (14) As near as thou canst, guess at thy neighbour, and consult with the wise. (15) Let thy talk be with the wise, and all thy communication in the law of the most High. (16) And let just men eat and drink with thee; and let thy glorying be in the fear of the Lord. (17) For the hand of the artificer the work shall be commended: and the wise ruler of the people for his speech. (18) A man of an ill tongue is dangerous in his city; and he that is rash in his talk shall be hated.

10

(1) A wise judge will instruct his people; and the government of a prudent man is well ordered. (2) As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers; and what manner of man the ruler of the city is, such are all they that dwell therein. (3) An unwise king destroyeth his people; but through the prudence of them which are in authority the city shall be inhabited. (4) The power of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, and in due time he will set over it one that is profitable. (5) In the hand of God is the prosperity of man: and upon the person of the scribe shall he lay his honour. (6) Bear not hatred to thy neighbour for every wrong; and do nothing at all by injurious practices. (7) Pride is hateful before God and man: and by both doth one commit iniquity. (8) Because of unrighteous dealings, injuries, and riches got by deceit, the kingdom is translated from one people to another. (9) Why is earth and ashes proud? There is not a more wicked thing than a covetous man: for such an one setteth his own soul to sale; because while he liveth he casteth away his bowels. (10) The physician cutteth off a long disease; and he that is to day a king to morrow shall die. (11) For when a man is dead, he shall inherit creeping things, beasts, and worms. (12) The beginning of pride is when one departeth from God, and his heart is turned away from his Maker. (13) For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination: and therefore the Lord brought upon them strange calamities, and overthrew them utterly. (14) The Lord hath cast down the thrones of proud princes, and set up the meek in their stead. (15) The Lord hath plucked up the roots of the proud nations, and planted the lowly in their place. (16) The Lord overthrew countries of the heathen, and destroyed them to the foundations of the earth. (17) He took some of them away, and destroyed them, and hath made their memorial to cease from the earth. (18) Pride was not made for men, nor furious anger for them that are born of a woman. (19) They that fear the Lord are a sure seed, and they that love him an honourable plant: they that regard not the law are a dishonourable seed; they that transgress the commandments are a deceivable seed. (20) Among brethren he that is chief is honourably; so are they that fear the Lord in his eyes. (21) The fear of the Lord goeth before the obtaining of authority: but roughness and pride is the losing thereof. (22) Whether he be rich, noble, or poor, their glory is the fear of the Lord. (23) It is not meet to despise the poor man that hath understanding; neither is it convenient to magnify a sinful man. (24) Great men, and judges, and potentates, shall be honoured; yet is there none of them greater than he that feareth the Lord. (25) Unto the servant that is wise shall they that are free do service: and he that hath knowledge will not grudge when he is reformed. (26) Be not overwise in doing thy business; and boast not thyself in the time of thy distress. (27) Better is he that laboureth, and aboundeth in all things, than he that boasteth himself, and wanteth bread. (28) My son, glorify thy soul in meekness, and give it honour according to the dignity thereof. (29) Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul? and who will honour him that dishonoureth his own life? (30) The poor man is honoured for his skill, and the rich man is honoured for his riches. (31) He that is honoured in poverty, how much more in riches? and he that is dishonourable in riches, how much more in poverty?

11

(1) Wisdom lifteth up the head of him that is of low degree, and maketh him to sit among great men. (2) Commend not a man for his beauty; neither abhor a man for his outward appearance. (3) The bee is little among such as fly; but her fruit is the chief of sweet things. (4) Boast not of thy clothing and raiment, and exalt not thyself in the day of honour: for the works of the Lord are wonderful, and his works among men are hidden. (5) Many kings have sat down upon the ground; and one that was never thought of hath worn the crown. (6) Many mighty men have been greatly disgraced; and the honourable delivered into other men’s hands. (7) Blame not before thou hast examined the truth: understand first, and then rebuke. (8) Answer not before thou hast heard the cause: neither interrupt men in the midst of their talk. (9) Strive not in a matter that concerneth thee not; and sit not in judgment with sinners. (10) My son, meddle not with many matters: for if thou meddle much, thou shalt not be innocent; and if thou follow after, thou shalt not obtain, neither shalt thou escape by fleeing. (11) There is one that laboureth, and taketh pains, and maketh haste, and is so much the more behind. (12) Again, there is another that is slow, and hath need of help, wanting ability, and full of poverty; yet the eye of the Lord looked upon him for good, and set him up from his low estate, (13) And lifted up his head from misery; so that many that saw from him is peace over all the (14) Prosperity and adversity, life and death, poverty and riches, come of the Lord. (15) Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the law, are of the Lord: love, and the way of good works, are from him. (16) Error and darkness had their beginning together with sinners: and evil shall wax old with them that glory therein. (17) The gift of the Lord remaineth with the ungodly, and his favour bringeth prosperity for ever. (18) There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this his the portion of his reward: (19) Whereas he saith, I have found rest, and now will eat continually of my goods; and yet he knoweth not what time shall come upon him, and that he must leave those things to others, and die. (20) Be stedfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, and wax old in thy work. (21) Marvel not at the works of sinners; but trust in the Lord, and abide in thy labour: for it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord on the sudden to make a poor man rich. (22) The blessing of the Lord is in the reward of the godly, and suddenly he maketh his blessing flourish. (23) Say not, What profit is there of my service? and what good things shall I have hereafter? (24) Again, say not, I have enough, and possess many things, and what evil shall I have hereafter? (25) In the day of prosperity there is a forgetfulness of affliction: and in the day of affliction there is no more remembrance of prosperity. (26) For it is an easy thing unto the Lord in the day of death to reward a man according to his ways. (27) The affliction of an hour maketh a man forget pleasure: and in his end his deeds shall be discovered. (28) Judge none blessed before his death: for a man shall be known in his children. (29) Bring not every man into thine house: for the deceitful man hath many trains. (30) Like as a partridge taken and kept in a cage, so is the heart of the proud; and like as a spy, watcheth he for thy fall: (31) For he lieth in wait, and turneth good into evil, and in things worthy praise will lay blame upon thee. (32) Of a spark of fire a heap of coals is kindled: and a sinful man layeth wait for blood. (33) Take heed of a mischievous man, for he worketh wickedness; lest he bring upon thee a perpetual blot. (34) Receive a stranger into thine house, and he will disturb thee, and turn thee out of thine own.

12

(1) When thou wilt do good know to whom thou doest it; so shalt thou be thanked for thy benefits. (2) Do good to the godly man, and thou shalt find a recompence; and if not from him, yet from the most High. (3) There can no good come to him that is always occupied in evil, nor to him that giveth no alms. (4) Give to the godly man, and help not a sinner. (5) Do well unto him that is lowly, but give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not unto him, lest he overmaster thee thereby: for else thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done unto him. (6) For the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment. (7) Give unto the good, and help not the sinner. (8) A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity. (9) In the prosperity of a man enemies will be grieved: but in his adversity even a friend will depart. (10) Never trust thine enemy: for like as iron rusteth, so is his wickedness. (11) Though he humble himself, and go crouching, yet take good heed and beware of him, and thou shalt be unto him as if thou hadst wiped a lookingglass, and thou shalt know that his rust hath not been altogether wiped away. (12) Set him not by thee, lest, when he hath overthrown thee, he stand up in thy place; neither let him sit at thy right hand, lest he seek to take thy seat, and thou at the last remember my words, and be pricked therewith. (13) Who will pity a charmer that is bitten with a serpent, or any such as come nigh wild beasts? (14) So one that goeth to a sinner, and is defiled with him in his sins, who will pity? (15) For a while he will abide with thee, but if thou begin to fall, he will not tarry. (17) If adversity come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first; and though he pretend to help thee, yet shall he undermine thee. (16) An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart he imagineth how to throw thee into a pit: he will weep with his eyes, but if he find opportunity, he will not be satisfied with blood. (17) If adversity come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first; and though he pretend to help thee, yet shall he undermine thee. (18) He will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his countenance.

13

(1) He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith; and he that hath fellowship with a proud man shall be like unto him. (2) Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken. (3) The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: the poor is wronged, and he must intreat also. (4) If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee. (5) If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee bare, and will not be sorry for it. (6) If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou? (7) And he will shame thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee. (8) Beware that thou be not deceived and brought down in thy jollity. (9) If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee. (10) Press thou not upon him, lest thou be put back; stand not far off, lest thou be forgotten. (11) Affect not to be made equal unto him in talk, and believe not his many words: for with much communication will he tempt thee, and smiling upon thee will get out thy secrets: (12) But cruelly he will lay up thy words, and will not spare to do thee hurt, and to put thee in prison. (13) Observe, and take good heed, for thou walkest in peril of thy overthrowing: when thou hearest these things, awake in thy sleep. (14) Love the Lord all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation. (15) Every beast loveth his like, and every man loveth his neighbour. (16) All flesh consorteth according to kind, and a man will cleave to his like. (17) What fellowship hath the wolf with the lamb? so the sinner with the godly. (18) What agreement is there between the hyena and a dog? and what peace between the rich and the poor? (19) As the wild ass is the lion’s prey in the wilderness: so the rich eat up the poor. (20) As the proud hate humility: so doth the rich abhor the poor. (21) A rich man beginning to fall is held up of his friends: but a poor man being down is thrust away by his friends. (22) When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers: he speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him: the poor man slipped, and yet they rebuked him too; he spake wisely, and could have no place. (23) When a rich man speaketh, every man holdeth his tongue, and, look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds: but if the poor man speak, they say, What fellow is this? and if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him. (24) Riches are good unto him that hath no sin, and poverty is evil in the mouth of the ungodly. (25) The heart of a man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil: and a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. (26) A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity; and the finding out of parables is a wearisome labour of the mind.

14

(1) Blessed is the man that hath not slipped with his mouth, and is not pricked with the multitude of sins. (2) Blessed is he whose conscience hath not condemned him, and who is not fallen from his hope in the Lord. (3) Riches are not comely for a niggard: and what should an envious man do with money? (4) He that gathereth by defrauding his own soul gathereth for others, that shall spend his goods riotously. (5) He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? he shall not take pleasure in his goods. (6) There is none worse than he that envieth himself; and this is a recompence of his wickedness. (7) And if he doeth good, he doeth it unwillingly; and at the last he will declare his wickedness. (8) The envious man hath a wicked eye; he turneth away his face, and despiseth men. (9) A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion; and the iniquity of the wicked drieth up his soul. (10) A wicked eye envieth his bread, and he is a niggard at his table. (11) My son, according to thy ability do good to thyself, and give the Lord his due offering. (12) Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee. (13) Do good unto thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give to him. (14) Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good desire overpass thee. (15) Shalt thou not leave thy travails unto another? and thy labours to be divided by lot? (16) Give, and take, and sanctify thy soul; for there is no seeking of dainties in the grave. (17) All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death. (18) As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall, and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born. (19) Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal. (20) Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reasoneth of holy things by his understanding. (21) He that considereth her ways in his heart shall also have understanding in her secrets. (22) Go after her as one that traceth, and lie in wait in her ways. (23) He that prieth in at her windows shall also hearken at her doors. (24) He that doth lodge near her house shall also fasten a pin in her walls. (25) He shall pitch his tent nigh unto her, and shall lodge in a lodging where good things are. (26) He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches. (27) By her he shall be covered from heat, and in her glory shall he dwell.

15

(1) He that feareth the Lord will do good, and he that hath the knowledge of the law shall obtain her. (2) And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin. (3) With the bread of understanding shall she feed him, and give him the water of wisdom to drink. (4) He shall be stayed upon her, and shall not be moved; and shall rely upon her, and shall not be confounded. (5) She shall exalt him above his neighbours, and in the midst of the congregation shall she open his mouth. (6) He shall find joy and a crown of gladness, and she shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name. (7) But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners shall not see her. (8) For she is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her. (9) Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent him of the Lord. (10) For praise shall be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it. (11) Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth. (12) Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man. (13) The Lord hateth all abomination; and they that fear God love it not. (14) He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel; (15) If thou wilt, to keep the commandments, and to perform acceptable faithfulness. (16) He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt. (17) Before man is life and death; and whether him liketh shall be given him. (18) For the wisdom of the Lord is great, and he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things: (19) And his eyes are upon them that fear him, and he knoweth every work of man. (20) He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any man licence to sin.

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(1) Desire not a multitude of unprofitable children, neither delight in ungodly sons. (2) Though they multiply, rejoice not in them, except the fear of the Lord be with them. (3) Trust not thou in their life, neither respect their multitude: for one that is just is better than a thousand; and better it is to die without children, than to have them that are ungodly. (4) For by one that hath understanding shall the city be replenished: but the kindred of the wicked shall speedily become desolate. (5) Many such things have I seen with mine eyes, and mine ear hath heard greater things than these. (6) In the congregation of the ungodly shall a fire be kindled; and in a rebellious nation wrath is set on fire. (7) He was not pacified toward the old giants, who fell away in the strength of their foolishness. (8) Neither spared he the place where Lot sojourned, but abhorred them for their pride. (9) He pitied not the people of perdition, who were taken away in their sins: (10) Nor the six hundred thousand footmen, who were gathered together in the hardness of their hearts. (11) And if there be one stiffnecked among the people, it is marvel if he escape unpunished: for mercy and wrath are with him; he is mighty to forgive, and to pour out displeasure. (12) As his mercy is great, so is his correction also: he judgeth a man according to his works (13) The sinner shall not escape with his spoils: and the patience of the godly shall not be frustrate. (14) Make way for every work of mercy: for every man shall find according to his works. (15) The Lord hardened Pharaoh, that he should not know him, that his powerful works might be known to the world. (16) His mercy is manifest to every creature; and he hath separated his light from the darkness with an adamant. (17) Say not thou, I will hide myself from the Lord: shall any remember me from above? I shall not be remembered among so many people: for what is my soul among such an infinite number of creatures? (18) Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the deep, and the earth, and all that therein is, shall be moved when he shall visit. (19) The mountains also and foundations of the earth be shaken with trembling, when the Lord looketh upon them. (20) No heart can think upon these things worthily: and who is able to conceive his ways? (21) It is a tempest which no man can see: for the most part of his works are hid. (22) Who can declare the works of his justice? or who can endure them? for his covenant is afar off, and the trial of all things is in the end. (23) He that wanteth understanding will think upon vain things: and a foolish man erring imagineth follies. (24) My son, hearken unto me, and learn knowledge, and mark my words with thy heart. (25) I will shew forth doctrine in weight, and declare his knowledge exactly. (26) The works of the Lord are done in judgment from the beginning: and from the time he made them he disposed the parts thereof. (27) He garnished his works for ever, and in his hand are the chief of them unto all generations: they neither labour, nor are weary, nor cease from their works. (28) None of them hindereth another, and they shall never disobey his word. (29) After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his blessings. (30) With all manner of living things hath he covered the face thereof; and they shall return into it again.

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(1) The Lord created man of the earth, and turned him into it again. (2) He gave them few days, and a short time, and power also over the things therein. (3) He endued them with strength by themselves, and made them according to his image, (4) And put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls. (5) They received the use of the five operations of the Lord, and in the sixth place he imparted them understanding, and in the seventh speech, an interpreter of the cogitations thereof. (6) Counsel, and a tongue, and eyes, ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand. (7) Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding, and shewed them good and evil. (8) He set his eye upon their hearts, that he might shew them the greatness of his works. (9) He gave them to glory in his marvellous acts for ever, that they might declare his works with understanding. (10) And the elect shall praise his holy name. (11) Beside this he gave them knowledge, and the law of life for an heritage. (12) He made an everlasting covenant with them, and shewed them his judgments. (13) Their eyes saw the majesty of his glory, and their ears heard his glorious voice. (14) And he said unto them, Beware of all unrighteousness; and he gave every man commandment concerning his neighbour. (15) Their ways are ever before him, and shall not be hid from his eyes. (16) Every man from his youth is given to evil; neither could they make to themselves fleshy hearts for stony. (17) For in the division of the nations of the whole earth he set a ruler over every people; but Israel is the Lord’s portion: (18) Whom, being his firstborn, he nourisheth with discipline, and giving him the light of his love doth not forsake him. (19) Therefore all their works are as the sun before him, and his eyes are continually upon their ways. (20) None of their unrighteous deeds are hid from him, but all their sins are before the Lord (21) But the Lord being gracious and knowing his workmanship, neither left nor forsook them, but spared them. (22) The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and he will keep the good deeds of man as the apple of the eye, and give repentance to his sons and daughters. (23) Afterwards he will rise up and reward them, and render their recompence upon their heads. (24) But unto them that repent, he granted them return, and comforted those that failed in patience. (25) Return unto the Lord, and forsake thy sins, make thy prayer before his face, and offend less. (26) Turn again to the most High, and turn away from iniquity: for he will lead thee out of darkness into the light of health, and hate thou abomination vehemently. (27) Who shall praise the most High in the grave, instead of them which live and give thanks? (28) Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not: the living and sound in heart shall praise the Lord. (29) How great is the lovingkindness of the Lord our God, and his compassion unto such as turn unto him in holiness! (30) For all things cannot be in men, because the son of man is not immortal. (31) What is brighter than the sun? yet the light thereof faileth; and flesh and blood will imagine evil. (32) He vieweth the power of the height of heaven; and all men are but earth and ashes.

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(1) He that liveth for ever Hath created all things in general. (2) The Lord only is righteous. (4) To whom hath he given power to declare his works? and who shall find out his noble acts? (5) Who shall number the strength of his majesty? and who shall also tell out his mercies? (6) As for the wondrous works of the Lord, there may nothing be taken from them, neither may any thing be put unto them, neither can the ground of them be found out. (7) When a man hath done, then he beginneth; and when he leaveth off, then he shall be doubtful. (8) What is man, and whereto serveth he? what is his good, and what is his evil? (9) The number of a man’s days at the most are an hundred years. (10) As a drop of water unto the sea, and a gravelstone in comparison of the sand; so are a thousand years to the days of eternity. (11) Therefore is God patient with them, and poureth forth his mercy upon them. (12) He saw and perceived their end to be evil; therefore he multiplied his compassion. (13) The mercy of man is toward his neighbour; but the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh: he reproveth, and nurtureth, and teacheth and bringeth again, as a shepherd his flock. (14) He hath mercy on them that receive discipline, and that diligently seek after his judgments. (15) My son, blemish not thy good deeds, neither use uncomfortable words when thou givest any thing. (16) Shall not the dew asswage the heat? so is a word better than a gift. (17) Lo, is not a word better than a gift? but both are with a gracious man. (18) A fool will upbraid churlishly, and a gift of the envious consumeth the eyes. (19) Learn before thou speak, and use physick or ever thou be sick. (20) Before judgment examine thyself, and in the day of visitation thou shalt find mercy. (21) Humble thyself before thou be sick, and in the time of sins shew repentance. (22) Let nothing hinder thee to pay thy vow in due time, and defer not until death to be justified. (23) Before thou prayest, prepare thyself; and be not as one that tempteth the Lord. (24) Think upon the wrath that shall be at the end, and the time of vengeance, when he shall turn away his face. (25) When thou hast enough, remember the time of hunger: and when thou art rich, think upon poverty and need. (26) From the morning until the evening the time is changed, and all things are soon done before the Lord. (27) A wise man will fear in every thing, and in the day of sinning he will beware of offence: but a fool will not observe time. (28) Every man of understanding knoweth wisdom, and will give praise unto him that found her. (29) They that were of understanding in sayings became also wise themselves, and poured forth exquisite parables. (30) Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites. (31) If thou givest thy soul the desires that please her, she will make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies that malign thee. (32) Take not pleasure in much good cheer, neither be tied to the expense thereof. (33) Be not made a beggar by banqueting upon borrowing, when thou hast nothing in thy purse: for thou shalt lie in wait for thine own life, and be talked on.

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(1) A labouring man that is given to drunkenness shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little. (2) Wine and women will make men of understanding to fall away: and he that cleaveth to harlots will become impudent. (3) Moths and worms shall have him to heritage, and a bold man shall be taken away. (4) He that is hasty to give credit is lightminded; and he that sinneth shall offend against his own soul. (5) Whoso taketh pleasure in wickedness shall be condemned: but he that resisteth pleasures crowneth his life. (6) He that can rule his tongue shall live without strife; and he that hateth babbling shall have less evil. (7) Rehearse not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse. (8) Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men’s lives; and if thou canst without offence, reveal them not. (9) For he heard and observed thee, and when time cometh he will hate thee. (10) If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee; and be bold, it will not burst thee. (11) A fool travaileth with a word, as a woman in labour of a child. (12) As an arrow that sticketh in a man’s thigh, so is a word within a fool’s belly. (13) Admonish a friend, it may be he hath not done it: and if he have done it, that he do it no more. (14) Admonish thy friend, it may be he hath not said it: and if he have, that he speak it not again. (15) Admonish a friend: for many times it is a slander, and believe not every tale. (16) There is one that slippeth in his speech, but not from his heart; and who is he that hath not offended with his tongue? (17) Admonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him; and not being angry, give place to the law of the most High. (20) The fear of the Lord is all wisdom; and in all wisdom is the performance of the law, and the knowledge of his omnipotency. (22) The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, neither at any time the counsel of sinners prudence. (23) There is a wickedness, and the same an abomination; and there is a fool wanting in wisdom. (24) He that hath small understanding, and feareth God, is better than one that hath much wisdom, and transgresseth the law of the most High. (25) There is an exquisite subtilty, and the same is unjust; and there is one that turneth aside to make judgment appear; and there is a wise man that justifieth in judgment. (26) There is a wicked man that hangeth down his head sadly; but inwardly he is full of deceit, (27) Casting down his countenance, and making as if he heard not: where he is not known, he will do thee a mischief before thou be aware. (28) And if for want of power he be hindered from sinning, yet when he findeth opportunity he will do evil. (29) A man may be known by his look, and one that hath understanding by his countenance, when thou meetest him. (30) A man’s attire, and excessive laughter, and gait, shew what he is. (20:1) There is a reproof that is not comely: again, some man holdeth his tongue, and he is wise.

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(3) How good is it, when thou art reproved, to shew repentance! for so shalt thou escape wilful sin. (4) As is the lust of an eunuch to deflower a virgin; so is he that executeth judgment with violence. (5) There is one that keepeth silence, and is found wise: and another by much babbling becometh hateful. (6) Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time. (7) A wise man will hold his tongue till he see opportunity: but a babbler and a fool will regard no time. (8) He that useth many words shall be abhorred; and he that taketh to himself authority therein shall be hated. (9) There is a sinner that hath good success in evil things; and there is a gain that turneth to loss. (10) There is a gift that shall not profit thee; and there is a gift whose recompence is double. (11) There is an abasement because of glory; and there is that lifteth up his head from a low estate. (12) There is that buyeth much for a little, and repayeth it sevenfold. (13) A wise man by his words maketh him beloved: but the graces of fools shall be poured out. (14) The gift of a fool shall do thee no good when thou hast it; neither yet of the envious for his necessity: for he looketh to receive many things for one. (15) He giveth little, and upbraideth much; he openeth his mouth like a crier; to day he lendeth, and to morrow will he ask it again: such an one is to be hated of God and man. (16) The fool saith, I have no friends, I have no thank for all my good deeds, and they that eat my bread speak evil of me. (17) How oft, and of how many shall he be laughed to scorn! for he knoweth not aright what it is to have; and it is all one unto him as if he had it not. (18) To slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue: so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily. (19) An unseasonable tale will always be in the mouth of the unwise. (20) A wise sentence shall be rejected when it cometh out of a fool’s mouth; for he will not speak it in due season. (21) There is that is hindered from sinning through want: and when he taketh rest, he shall not be troubled. (22) There is that destroyeth his own soul through bashfulness, and by accepting of persons overthroweth himself. (23) There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend, and maketh him his enemy for nothing. (24) A lie is a foul blot in a man, yet it is continually in the mouth of the untaught. (25) A thief is better than a man that is accustomed to lie: but they both shall have destruction to heritage. (26) The disposition of a liar is dishonourable, and his shame is ever with him. (27) A wise man shall promote himself to honour with his words: and he that hath understanding will please great men. (28) He that tilleth his land shall increase his heap: and he that pleaseth great men shall get pardon for iniquity. (29) Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and stop up his mouth that he cannot reprove. (30) Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is hoarded up, what profit is in them both? (31) Better is he that hideth his folly than a man that hideth his wisdom.

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(1) My son, hast thou sinned? do so no more, but ask pardon for thy former sins. (2) Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest too near it, it will bite thee: the teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men. (3) All iniquity is as a two edged sword, the wounds whereof cannot be healed. (4) To terrify and do wrong will waste riches: thus the house of proud men shall be made desolate. (5) A prayer out of a poor man’s mouth reacheth to the ears of God, and his judgment cometh speedily. (6) He that hateth to be reproved is in the way of sinners: but he that feareth the Lord will repent from his heart. (7) An eloquent man is known far and near; but a man of understanding knoweth when he slippeth. (8) He that buildeth his house with other men’s money is like one that gathereth himself stones for the tomb of his burial. (9) The congregation of the wicked is like tow wrapped together: and the end of them is a flame of fire to destroy them. (10) The way of sinners is made plain with stones, but at the end thereof is the pit of hell. (11) He that keepeth the law of the Lord getteth the understanding thereof: and the perfection of the fear of the Lord is wisdom. (12) He that is not wise will not be taught: but there is a wisdom which multiplieth bitterness. (13) The knowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood: and his counsel is like a pure fountain of life. (14) The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledge as long as he liveth. (15) If a skilful man hear a wise word, he will commend it, and add unto it: but as soon as one of no understanding heareth it, it displeaseth him, and he casteth it behind his back. (16) The talking of a fool is like a burden in the way: but grace shall be found in the lips of the wise. (17) They enquire at the mouth of the wise man in the congregation, and they shall ponder his words in their heart. (18) As is a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool: and the knowledge of the unwise is as talk without sense. (19) Doctrine unto fools is as fetters on the feet, and like manacles on the right hand. (20) A fool lifteth up his voice with laughter; but a wise man doth scarce smile a little. (21) Learning is unto a wise man as an ornament of gold, and like a bracelet upon his right arm. (22) A foolish man’s foot is soon in his neighbour’s house: but a man of experience is ashamed of him. (23) A fool will peep in at the door into the house: but he that is well nurtured will stand without. (24) It is the rudeness of a man to hearken at the door: but a wise man will be grieved with the disgrace. (25) The lips of talkers will be telling such things as pertain not unto them: but the words of such as have understanding are weighed in the balance. (26) The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart. (27) When the ungodly curseth Satan, he curseth his own soul. (28) A whisperer defileth his own soul, and is hated wheresoever he dwelleth.

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(1) A slothful man is compared to a filthy stone, and every one will hiss him out to his disgrace. (2) A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill: every man that takes it up will shake his hand. (3) An evilnurtured man is the dishonour of his father that begat him: and a foolish daughter is born to his loss. (4) A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband: but she that liveth dishonestly is her father’s heaviness. (5) She that is bold dishonoureth both her father and her husband, but they both shall despise her. (6) A tale out of season is as musick in mourning: but stripes and correction of wisdom are never out of time. (7) Whoso teacheth a fool is as one that glueth a potsherd together, and as he that waketh one from a sound sleep. (8) He that telleth a tale to a fool speaketh to one in a slumber: when he hath told his tale, he will say, What is the matter? (11) Weep for the dead, for he hath lost the light: and weep for the fool, for he wanteth understanding: make little weeping for the dead, for he is at rest: but the life of the fool is worse than death. (12) Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead; but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life. (13) Talk not much with a fool, and go not to him that hath no understanding: beware of him, lest thou have trouble, and thou shalt never be defiled with his fooleries: depart from him, and thou shalt find rest, and never be disquieted with madness. (14) What is heavier than lead? and what is the name thereof, but a fool? (15) Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear, than a man without understanding. (16) As timber girt and bound together in a building cannot be loosed with shaking: so the heart that is stablished by advised counsel shall fear at no time. (17) A heart settled upon a thought of understanding is as a fair plaistering on the wall of a gallery. (18) Pales set on an high place will never stand against the wind: so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool cannot stand against any fear. (19) He that pricketh the eye will make tears to fall: and he that pricketh the heart maketh it to shew her knowledge. (20) Whoso casteth a stone at the birds frayeth them away: and he that upbraideth his friend breaketh friendship. (21) Though thou drewest a sword at thy friend, yet despair not: for there may be a returning to favour. (22) If thou hast opened thy mouth against thy friend, fear not; for there may be a reconciliation: except for upbraiding, or pride, or disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for for these things every friend will depart. (23) Be faithful to thy neighbour in his poverty, that thou mayest rejoice in his prosperity: abide stedfast unto him in the time of his trouble, that thou mayest be heir with him in his heritage: (24) As the vapour and smoke of a furnace goeth before the fire; so reviling before blood. (25) I will not be ashamed to defend a friend; neither will I hide myself from him. (26) And if any evil happen unto me by him, every one that heareth it will beware of him. (27) Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my lips, that I fall not suddenly by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?

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(1) O Lord, Father and Governor of all my whole life, leave me not to their counsels, and let me not fall by them. (2) Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over mine heart? that they spare me not for mine ignorances, and it pass not by my sins: (3) Lest mine ignorances increase, and my sins abound to my destruction, and I fall before mine adversaries, and mine enemy rejoice over me, whose hope is far from thy mercy. (4) O Lord, Father and God of my life, give me not a proud look, but turn away from thy servants always a haughty mind. (5) Turn away from me vain hopes and concupiscence, and thou shalt hold him up that is desirous always to serve thee. (6) Let not the greediness of the belly nor lust of the flesh take hold of me; and give not over me thy servant into an impudent mind. (7) Hear, O ye children, the discipline of the mouth: he that keepeth it shall never be taken in his lips. (8) The sinner shall be left in his foolishness: both the evil speaker and the proud shall fall thereby. (9) Accustom not thy mouth to swearing; neither use thyself to the naming of the Holy One. (10) For as a servant that is continually beaten shall not be without a blue mark: so he that sweareth and nameth God continually shall not be faultless. (11) A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with iniquity, and the plague shall never depart from his house: if he shall offend, his sin shall be upon him: and if he acknowledge not his sin, he maketh a double offence: and if he swear in vain, he shall not be innocent, but his house shall be full of calamities. (12) There is a word that is clothed about with death: God grant that it be not found in the heritage of Jacob; for all such things shall be far from the godly, and they shall not wallow in their sins. (13) Use not thy mouth to intemperate swearing, for therein is the word of sin. (14) Remember thy father and thy mother, when thou sittest among great men. Be not forgetful before them, and so thou by thy custom become a fool, and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse they day of thy nativity. (15) The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words will never be reformed all the days of his life. (16) Two sorts of men multiply sin, and the third will bring wrath: a hot mind is as a burning fire, it will never be quenched till it be consumed: a fornicator in the body of his flesh will never cease till he hath kindled a fire. (17) All bread is sweet to a whoremonger, he will not leave off till he die. (18) A man that breaketh wedlock, saying thus in his heart, Who seeth me? I am compassed about with darkness, the walls cover me, and no body seeth me; what need I to fear? the most High will not remember my sins: (19) Such a man only feareth the eyes of men, and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men, and considering the most secret parts. (20) He knew all things ere ever they were created; so also after they were perfected he looked upon them all. (21) This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and where he suspecteth not he shall be taken. (22) Thus shall it go also with the wife that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an heir by another. (23) For first, she hath disobeyed the law of the most High; and secondly, she hath trespassed against her own husband; and thirdly, she hath played the whore in adultery, and brought children by another man. (24) She shall be brought out into the congregation, and inquisition shall be made of her children. (25) Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring forth no fruit. (26) She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her reproach shall not be blotted out. (27) And they that remain shall know that there is nothing better than the fear of the Lord, and that there is nothing sweeter than to take heed unto the commandments of the Lord.

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(1) Wisdom shall praise herself, and shall glory in the midst of her people. (2) In the congregation of the most High shall she open her mouth, and triumph before his power. (3) I came out of the mouth of the most High, and covered the earth as a cloud. (4) I dwelt in high places, and my throne is in a cloudy pillar. (5) I alone compassed the circuit of heaven, and walked in the bottom of the deep. (6) In the waves of the sea and in all the earth, and in every people and nation, I got a possession. (7) With all these I sought rest: and in whose inheritance shall I abide? (8) So the Creator of all things gave me a commandment, and he that made me caused my tabernacle to rest, and said, Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thine inheritance in Israel. (9) He created me from the beginning before the world, and I shall never fail. (10) In the holy tabernacle I served before him; and so was I established in Sion. (11) Likewise in the beloved city he gave me rest, and in Jerusalem was my power. (12) And I took root in an honourable people, even in the portion of the Lord’s inheritance. (13) I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree upon the mountains of Hermon. (14) I was exalted like a palm tree in En-gaddi, and as a rose plant in Jericho, as a fair olive tree in a pleasant field, and grew up as a plane tree by the water. (15) I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aspalathus, and I yielded a pleasant odour like the best myrrh, as galbanum, and onyx, and sweet storax, and as the fume of frankincense in the tabernacle. (16) As the turpentine tree I stretched out my branches, and my branches are the branches of honour and grace. (17) As the vine brought I forth pleasant savour, and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. (19) Come unto me, all ye that be desirous of me, and fill yourselves with my fruits. (20) For my memorial is sweeter than honey, and mine inheritance than the honeycomb. (21) They that eat me shall yet be hungry, and they that drink me shall yet be thirsty. (22) He that obeyeth me shall never be confounded, and they that work by me shall not do amiss. (23) All these things are the book of the covenant of the most high God, even the law which Moses commanded for an heritage unto the congregations of Jacob. (25) He filleth all things with his wisdom, as Phison and as Tigris in the time of the new fruits. (26) He maketh the understanding to abound like Euphrates, and as Jordan in the time of the harvest. (27) He maketh the doctrine of knowledge appear as the light, and as Geon in the time of vintage. (28) The first man knew her not perfectly: no more shall the last find her out. (29) For her thoughts are more than the sea, and her counsels profounder than the great deep. (30) I also came out as a brook from a river, and as a conduit into a garden. (31) I said, I will water my best garden, and will water abundantly my garden bed: and, lo, my brook became a river, and my river became a sea. (32) I will yet make doctrine to shine as the morning, and will send forth her light afar off. (33) I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and leave it to all ages for ever. (34) Behold that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all them that seek wisdom.

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(1) In three things I was beautified, and stood up beautiful both before God and men: the unity of brethren, the love of neighbours, a man and a wife that agree together. (2) Three sorts of men my soul hateth, and I am greatly offended at their life: a poor man that is proud, a rich man that is a liar, and an old adulterer that doateth. (3) If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, how canst thou find any thing in thine age? (4) O how comely a thing is judgment for gray hairs, and for ancient men to know counsel! (5) O how comely is the wisdom of old men, and understanding and counsel to men of honour. (6) Much experience is the crown of old men, and the fear of God is their glory. (7) There be nine things which I have judged in mine heart to be happy, and the tenth I will utter with my tongue: A man that hath joy of his children; and he that liveth to see the fall of his enemy: (8) Well is him that dwelleth with a wife of understanding, and that hath not slipped with his tongue, and that hath not served a man more unworthy than himself: (9) Well is him that hath found prudence, and he that speaketh in the ears of them that will hear: (10) O how great is he that findeth wisdom! yet is there none above him that feareth the Lord. (11) But the love of the Lord passeth all things for illumination: he that holdeth it, whereto shall he be likened? (12) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of his love: and faith is the beginning of cleaving unto him. (13) Give me any plague, but the plague of the heart: and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman: (14) And any affliction, but the affliction from them that hate me: and any revenge, but the revenge of enemies. (15) There is no head above the head of a serpent; and there is no wrath above the wrath of an enemy. (16) I had rather dwell with a lion and a dragon, than to keep house with a wicked woman. (17) The wickedness of a woman changeth her face, and darkeneth her countenance like sackcloth. (18) Her husband shall sit among his neighbours; and when he heareth it shall sigh bitterly. (19) All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman: let the portion of a sinner fall upon her. (20) As the climbing up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man. (21) Stumble not at the beauty of a woman, and desire her not for pleasure. (22) A woman, if she maintain her husband, is full of anger, impudence, and much reproach. (23) A wicked woman abateth the courage, maketh an heavy countenance and a wounded heart: a woman that will not comfort her husband in distress maketh weak hands and feeble knees. (24) Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die. (25) Give the water no passage; neither a wicked woman liberty to gad abroad. (26) If she go not as thou wouldest have her, cut her off from thy flesh, and give her a bill of divorce, and let her go.

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(1) Blessed is the man that hath a virtuous wife, for the number of his days shall be double. (2) A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace. (3) A good wife is a good portion, which shall be given in the portion of them that fear the Lord. (4) Whether a man be rich or poor, if he have a good heart toward the Lord, he shall at all times rejoice with a cheerful countenance. (5) There be three things that mine heart feareth; and for the fourth I was sore afraid: the slander of a city, the gathering together of an unruly multitude, and a false accusation: all these are worse than death. (6) But a grief of heart and sorrow is a woman that is jealous over another woman, and a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all. (7) An evil wife is a yoke shaken to and fro: he that hath hold of her is as though he held a scorpion. (8) A drunken woman and a gadder abroad causeth great anger, and she will not cover her own shame. (9) The whoredom of a woman may be known in her haughty looks and eyelids. (10) If thy daughter be shameless, keep her in straitly, lest she abuse herself through overmuch liberty. (11) Watch over an impudent eye: and marvel not if she trespass against thee. (12) She will open her mouth, as a thirsty traveller when he hath found a fountain, and drink of every water near her: by every hedge will she sit down, and open her quiver against every arrow. (13) The grace of a wife delighteth her husband, and her discretion will fatten his bones. (14) A silent and loving woman is a gift of the Lord; and there is nothing so much worth as a mind well instructed. (15) A shamefaced and faithful woman is a double grace, and her continent mind cannot be valued. (16) As the sun when it ariseth in the high heaven; so is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of her house. (17) As the clear light is upon the holy candlestick; so is the beauty of the face in ripe age. (18) As the golden pillars are upon the sockets of silver; so are the fair feet with a constant heart. (28) There be two things that grieve my heart; and the third maketh me angry: a man of war that suffereth poverty; and men of understanding that are not set by; and one that returneth from righteousness to sin; the Lord prepareth such an one for the sword. (29) A merchant shall hardly keep himself from doing wrong; and an huckster shall not be freed from sin.

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(1) Many have sinned for a small matter; and he that seeketh for abundance will turn his eyes away. (2) As a nail sticketh fast between the joinings of the stones; so doth sin stick close between buying and selling. (3) Unless a man hold himself diligently in the fear of the Lord, his house shall soon be overthrown. (4) As when one sifteth with a sieve, the refuse remaineth; so the filth of man in his talk. (5) The furnace proveth the potter’s vessels; so the trial of man is in his reasoning. (6) The fruit declareth if the tree have been dressed; so is the utterance of a conceit in the heart of man. (7) Praise no man before thou hearest him speak; for this is the trial of men. (8) If thou followest righteousness, thou shalt obtain her, and put her on, as a glorious long robe. (9) The birds will resort unto their like; so will truth return unto them that practise in her. (10) As the lion lieth in wait for the prey; so sin for them that work iniquity. (11) The discourse of a godly man is always with wisdom; but a fool changeth as the moon. (12) If thou be among the indiscreet, observe the time; but be continually among men of understanding. (13) The discourse of fools is irksome, and their sport is the wantonness of sin. (14) The talk of him that sweareth much maketh the hair stand upright; and their brawls make one stop his ears. (15) The strife of the proud is bloodshedding, and their revilings are grievous to the ear. (16) Whoso discovereth secrets loseth his credit; and shall never find friend to his mind. (17) Love thy friend, and be faithful unto him: but if thou betrayest his secrets, follow no more after him. (18) For as a man hath destroyed his enemy; so hast thou lost the love of thy neighbour. (19) As one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and shalt not get him again (20) Follow after him no more, for he is too far off; he is as a roe escaped out of the snare. (21) As for a wound, it may be bound up; and after reviling there may be reconcilement: but he that betrayeth secrets is without hope. (22) He that winketh with the eyes worketh evil: and he that knoweth him will depart from him. (23) When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and slander thy sayings. (24) I have hated many things, but nothing like him; for the Lord will hate him. (25) Whoso casteth a stone on high casteth it on his own head; and a deceitful stroke shall make wounds. (26) Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that setteth a trap shall be taken therein. (27) He that worketh mischief, it shall fall upon him, and he shall not know whence it cometh. (28) Mockery and reproach are from the proud; but vengeance, as a lion, shall lie in wait for them. (29) They that rejoice at the fall of the righteous shall be taken in the snare; and anguish shall consume them before they die. (30) Malice and wrath, even these are abominations; and the sinful man shall have them both.

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(1) He that revengeth shall find vengeance from the Lord, and he will surely keep his sins in remembrance. (2) Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou prayest. (3) One man beareth hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon from the Lord? (4) He sheweth no mercy to a man, which is like himself: and doth he ask forgiveness of his own sins? (5) If he that is but flesh nourish hatred, who will intreat for pardon of his sins? (6) Remember thy end, and let enmity cease; remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments. (7) Remember the commandments, and bear no malice to thy neighbour: remember the covenant of the Highest, and wink at ignorance. (8) Abstain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins: for a furious man will kindle strife, (9) A sinful man disquieteth friends, and maketh debate among them that be at peace. (10) As the matter of the fire is, so it burneth: and as a man’s strength is, so is his wrath; and according to his riches his anger riseth; and the stronger they are which contend, the more they will be inflamed. (11) An hasty contention kindleth a fire: and an hasty fighting sheddeth blood. (12) If thou blow the spark, it shall burn: if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: and both these come out of thy mouth. (13) Curse the whisperer and doubletongued: for such have destroyed many that were at peace. (14) A backbiting tongue hath disquieted many, and driven them from nation to nation: strong cities hath it pulled down, and overthrown the houses of great men. (15) A backbiting tongue hath cast out virtuous women, and deprived them of their labours. (16) Whoso hearkeneth unto it shall never find rest, and never dwell quietly. (17) The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones. (18) Many have fallen by the edge of the sword: but not so many as have fallen by the tongue. (19) Well is he that is defended through the venom thereof; who hath not drawn the yoke thereof, nor hath been bound in her bands. (20) For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, and the bands thereof are bands of brass. (21) The death thereof is an evil death, the grave were better than it. (22) It shall not have rule over them that fear God, neither shall they be burned with the flame thereof. (23) Such as forsake the Lord shall fall into it; and it shall burn in them, and not be quenched; it shall be sent upon them as a lion, and devour them as a leopard. (24) Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns, and bind up thy silver and gold, (25) And weigh thy words in a balance, and make a door and bar for thy mouth. (26) Beware thou slide not by it, lest thou fall before him that lieth in wait.

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(1) He that is merciful will lend unto his neighbour; and he that strengtheneth his hand keepeth the commandments. (2) Lend to thy neighbour in time of his need, and pay thou thy neighbour again in due season. (3) Keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him, and thou shalt always find the thing that is necessary for thee. (4) Many, when a thing was lent them, reckoned it to be found, and put them to trouble that helped them. (5) Till he hath received, he will kiss a man’s hand; and for his neighbour’s money he will speak submissly: but when he should repay, he will prolong the time, and return words of grief, and complain of the time. (6) If he prevail, he shall hardly receive the half, and he will count as if he had found it: if not, he hath deprived him of his money, and he hath gotten him an enemy without cause: he payeth him with cursings and railings; and for honour he will pay him disgrace. (7) Many therefore have refused to lend for other men’s ill dealing, fearing to be defrauded. (8) Yet have thou patience with a man in poor estate, and delay not to shew him mercy. (9) Help the poor for the commandment’s sake, and turn him not away because of his poverty. (10) Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend, and let it not rust under a stone to be lost. (11) Lay up thy treasure according to the commandments of the most High, and it shall bring thee more profit than gold. (12) Shut up alms in thy storehouses: and it shall deliver thee from all affliction. (13) It shall fight for thee against thine enemies better than a mighty shield and strong spear. (14) An honest man is surety for his neighbour: but he that is impudent will forsake him. (15) Forget not the friendship of thy surety, for he hath given his life for thee. (16) A sinner will overthrow the good estate of his surety: (17) And he that is of an unthankful mind will leave him in danger that delivered him. (18) Suretiship hath undone many of good estate, and shaken them as a wave of the sea: mighty men hath it driven from their houses, so that they wandered among strange nations. (19) A wicked man transgressing the commandments of the Lord shall fall into suretiship: and he that undertaketh and followeth other men’s business for gain shall fall into suits. (20) Help thy neighbour according to thy power, and beware that thou thyself fall not into the same. (21) The chief thing for life is water, and bread, and clothing, and an house to cover shame. (22) Better is the life of a poor man in a mean cottage, than delicate fare in another man’s house. (23) Be it little or much, hold thee contented, that thou hear not the reproach of thy house. (24) For it is a miserable life to go from house to house: for where thou art a stranger, thou darest not open thy mouth. (25) Thou shalt entertain, and feast, and have no thanks: moreover thou shalt hear bitter words: (26) Come, thou stranger, and furnish a table, and feed me of that thou hast ready. (27) Give place, thou stranger, to an honourable man; my brother cometh to be lodged, and I have need of mine house. (28) These things are grievous to a man of understanding; the upbraiding of houseroom, and reproaching of the lender.

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(1) He that loveth his son causeth him oft to feel the rod, that he may have joy of him in the end. (2) He that chastiseth his son shall have joy in him, and shall rejoice of him among his acquaintance. (3) He that teacheth his son grieveth the enemy: and before his friends he shall rejoice of him. (4) Though his father die, yet he is as though he were not dead: for he hath left one behind him that is like himself. (5) While he lived, he saw and rejoiced in him: and when he died, he was not sorrowful. (6) He left behind him an avenger against his enemies, and one that shall requite kindness to his friends. (7) He that maketh too much of his son shall bind up his wounds; and his bowels will be troubled at every cry. (8) An horse not broken becometh headstrong: and a child left to himself will be wilful. (9) Cocker thy child, and he shall make thee afraid: play with him, and he will bring thee to heaviness. (10) Laugh not with him, lest thou have sorrow with him, and lest thou gnash thy teeth in the end. (11) Give him no liberty in his youth. (12) Beat his sides while he is still young, lest becoming stubborn, he disobey thee. (13) Train up thy son, and exercise him with work, lest by thy looseness thou stumble. (13a) And overlook not his ignorance. (13b) Bow down his neck in his youth. (14) Better is the poor, being sound and strong of constitution, than a rich man that is afflicted in his body. (15) Health and good estate of body are above all gold, and a strong body above infinite wealth. (16) There is no riches above a sound body, and no joy above the joy of the heart. (17) Death is better than a bitter life or continual sickness. (18) Delicates poured upon a mouth shut up are as messes of meat set upon a grave. (19) What good doeth the offering unto an idol? for neither can it eat nor smell: so is he that is persecuted of the Lord. (20) He seeth with his eyes and groaneth, as an eunuch that embraceth a virgin and sigheth. (21) Give not over thy mind to heaviness, and afflict not thyself in thine own counsel. (22) The gladness of the heart is the life of man, and the joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days. (23) Love thine own soul, and comfort thy heart, remove sorrow far from thee: for sorrow hath killed many, and there is no profit therein. (24) Envy and wrath shorten the life, and carefulness bringeth age before the time. (25) I awaked up last of all, as one that gathereth after the grapegatherers: by the blessing of the Lord I profited, and filled my winepress like a gatherer of grapes. (26) Consider that I laboured not for myself only, but for all them that seek learning. (27) Hear me, O ye great men of the people, and hearken with your ears, ye rulers of the congregation. (28) Give not thy son and wife, thy brother and friend, power over thee while thou livest, and give not thy goods to another: lest it repent thee, and thou intreat for the same again. (29) As long as thou livest and hast breath in thee, give not thyself over to any. (30) For better it is that thy children should seek to thee, than that thou shouldest stand to their courtesy. (31) In all thy works keep to thyself the preeminence; leave not a stain in thine honour. (32) At the time when thou shalt end thy days, and finish thy life, distribute thine inheritance. (33) Fodder, a wand, and burdens, are for the ass; and bread, correction, and work, for a servant. (34) If thou set thy servant to labour, thou shalt find rest: but if thou let him go idle, he shall seek liberty. (35) A yoke and a collar do bow the neck: so are tortures and torments for an evil servant. (36) Send him to labour, that he be not idle; for idleness teacheth much evil. (37) Set him to work, as is fit for him: if he be not obedient, put on more heavy fetters. (38) But be not excessive toward any; and without discretion do nothing. (39) If thou have a servant, let him be unto thee as thyself, because thou hast bought him with a price. (40) If thou have a servant, entreat him as a brother: for thou hast need of him, as of thine own soul: if thou entreat him evil, and he run from thee, which way wilt thou go to seek him?

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(1) The hopes of a man void of understanding are vain and false: and dreams lift up fools. (2) Whoso regardeth dreams is like him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind. (3) The vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another, even as the likeness of a face to a face. (4) Of an unclean thing what can be cleansed? and from that thing which is false what truth can come? (5) Divinations, and soothsayings, and dreams, are vain: and the heart fancieth, as a woman’s heart in travail. (6) If they be not sent from the most High in thy visitation, set not thy heart upon them. (7) For dreams have deceived many, and they have failed that put their trust in them. (8) The law shall be found perfect without lies: and wisdom is perfection to a faithful mouth. (9) A man that hath travelled knoweth many things; and he that hath much experience will declare wisdom. (10) He that hath no experience knoweth little: but he that hath travelled is full of prudence. (11) When I travelled, I saw many things; and I understand more than I can express. (12) I was ofttimes in danger of death: yet I was delivered because of these things. (13) The spirit of those that fear the Lord shall live; for their hope is in him that saveth them. (14) Whoso feareth the Lord shall not fear nor be afraid; for he is his hope. (15) Blessed is the soul of him that feareth the Lord: to whom doth he look? and who is his strength? (16) For the eyes of the Lord are upon them that love him, he is their mighty protection and strong stay, a defence from heat, and a cover from the sun at noon, a preservation from stumbling, and an help from falling. (17) He raiseth up the soul, and lighteneth the eyes: he giveth health, life, and blessing. (18) He that sacrificeth of a thing wrongfully gotten, his offering is ridiculous; and the gifts of unjust men are not accepted. (19) The most High is not pleased with the offerings of the wicked; neither is he pacified for sin by the multitude of sacrifices. (21) The bread of the needy is their life: he that defraudeth him thereof is a man of blood. (20) Whoso bringeth an offering of the goods of the poor doeth as one that killeth the son before his father’s eyes. (22) He that taketh away his neighbour’s living slayeth him; and he that defraudeth the labourer of his hire is a bloodshedder. (23) When one buildeth, and another pulleth down, what profit have they then but labour? (24) When one prayeth, and another curseth, whose voice will the Lord hear? (25) He that washeth himself after the touching of a dead body, if he touch it again, what availeth his washing? (26) So is it with a man that fasteth for his sins, and goeth again, and doeth the same: who will hear his prayer? or what doth his humbling profit him?

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(1) He that keepeth the law bringeth offerings enough: he that taketh heed to the commandment offereth a peace offering. (2) He that requiteth a good turn offereth fine flour; and he that giveth alms sacrificeth praise. (3) To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the Lord; and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation. (4) Thou shalt not appear empty before the Lord. (5) For all these things are to be done because of the commandment. (6) The offering of the righteous maketh the altar fat, and the sweet savour thereof is before the most High. (7) The sacrifice of a just man is acceptable. and the memorial thereof shall never be forgotten. (8) Give the Lord his honour with a good eye, and diminish not the firstfruits of thine hands. (9) In all thy gifts shew a cheerful countenance, and dedicate thy tithes with gladness. (10) Give unto the most High according as he hath enriched thee; and as thou hast gotten, give with a cheerful eye. (11) For the Lord recompenseth, and will give thee seven times as much. (12) Do not think to corrupt with gifts; for such he will not receive: and trust not to unrighteous sacrifices; for the Lord is judge, and with him is no respect of persons. (13) He will not accept any person against a poor man, but will hear the prayer of the oppressed. (14) He will not despise the supplication of the fatherless; nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint. (15) Do not the tears run down the widow’s cheeks? and is not her cry against him that causeth them to fall? (16) He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and his prayer shall reach unto the clouds. (17) The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds: and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart, till the most High shall behold to judge righteously, and execute judgment. (18) For the Lord will not be slack, neither will the Mighty be patient toward them, till he have smitten in sunder the loins of the unmerciful, and repayed vengeance to the heathen; till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptre of the unrighteous; (19) Till he have rendered to every man according to his deeds, and to the works of men according to their devices; till he have judged the cause of his people, and made them to rejoice in his mercy. (20) Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction, as clouds of rain in the time of drought.

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(1) Have mercy upon us, O Lord God of all, and behold us: (2) And send thy fear upon all the nations that seek not after thee. (3) Lift up thy hand against the strange nations, and let them see thy power. (4) As thou wast sanctified in us before them: so be thou magnified among them before us. (5) And let them know thee, as we have known thee, that there is no God but only thou, O God. (6) Shew new signs, and make other strange wonders: glorify thy hand and thy right arm, that they may set forth thy wondrous works. (7) Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath: take away the adversary, and destroy the enemy. (8) Sake the time short, remember the covenant, and let them declare thy wonderful works. (9) Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire; and let them perish that oppress the people. (10) Smite in sunder the heads of the rulers of the heathen, that say, There is none other but we. (11) Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, and inherit thou them, as from the beginning. (12) A cheerful and good heart will have a care of his meat and diet.

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(1) Watching for riches consumeth the flesh, and the care thereof driveth away sleep. (2) Watching care will not let a man slumber, as a sore disease breaketh sleep, (3) The rich hath great labour in gathering riches together; and when he resteth, he is filled with his delicates. (4) The poor laboureth in his poor estate; and when he leaveth off, he is still needy. (5) He that loveth gold shall not be justified, and he that followeth corruption shall have enough thereof. (6) Gold hath been the ruin of many, and their destruction was present. (7) It is a stumblingblock unto them that sacrifice unto it, and every fool shall be taken therewith. (8) Blessed is the rich that is found without blemish, and hath not gone after gold. (9) Who is he? and we will call him blessed: for wonderful things hath he done among his people. (10) Who hath been tried thereby, and found perfect? then let him glory. Who might offend, and hath not offended? or done evil, and hath not done it? (11) His goods shall be established, and the congregation shall declare his alms. (12) If thou sit at a bountiful table, be not greedy upon it, and say not, There is much meat on it. (13) Remember that a wicked eye is an evil thing: and what is created more wicked than an eye? therefore it weepeth upon every occasion. (14) Stretch not thine hand whithersoever it looketh, and thrust it not with him into the dish. (15) Judge not thy neighbour by thyself: and be discreet in every point. (16) Eat as it becometh a man, those things which are set before thee; and devour note, lest thou be hated. (17) Leave off first for manners’ sake; and be not unsatiable, lest thou offend. (18) When thou sittest among many, reach not thine hand out first of all. (19) A very little is sufficient for a man well nurtured, and he fetcheth not his wind short upon his bed. (20) Sound sleep cometh of moderate eating: he riseth early, and his wits are with him: but the pain of watching, and choler, and pangs of the belly, are with an unsatiable man. (21) And if thou hast been forced to eat, arise, go forth, vomit, and thou shalt have rest. (22) My son, hear me, and despise me not, and at the last thou shalt find as I told thee: in all thy works be quick, so shall there no sickness come unto thee. (23) Whoso is liberal of his meat, men shall speak well of him; and the report of his good housekeeping will be believed. (24) But against him that is a niggard of his meat the whole city shall murmur; and the testimonies of his niggardness shall not be doubted of. (25) Shew not thy valiantness in wine; for wine hath destroyed many. (26) The furnace proveth the edge by dipping: so doth wine the hearts of the proud by drunkenness. (27) Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to make men glad. (28) Wine measurably drunk and in season bringeth gladness of the heart, and cheerfulness of the mind: (29) But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind, with brawling and quarrelling. (30) Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool till he offend: it diminisheth strength, and maketh wounds. (31) Rebuke not thy neighbour at the wine, and despise him not in his mirth: give him no despiteful words, and press not upon him with urging him to drink.

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(1) If thou be made the master of a feast, lift not thyself up, but be among them as one of the rest; take diligent care for them, and so sit down. (2) And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayest be merry with them, and receive a crown for thy well ordering of the feast. (3) Speak, thou that art the elder, for it becometh thee, but with sound judgment; and hinder not musick. (4) Pour not out words where there is a musician, and shew not forth wisdom out of time. (5) A concert of musick in a banquet of wine is as a signet of carbuncle set in gold. (6) As a signet of an emerald set in a work of gold, so is the melody of musick with pleasant wine. (7) Speak, young man, if there be need of thee: and yet scarcely when thou art twice asked. (8) Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in few words; be as one that knoweth and yet holdeth his tongue. (9) If thou be among great men, make not thyself equal with them; and when ancient men are in place, use not many words. (10) Before the thunder goeth lightning; and before a shamefaced man shall go favour. (11) Rise up betimes, and be not the last; but get thee home without delay. (12) There take thy pastime, and do what thou wilt: but sin not by proud speech. (13) And for these things bless him that made thee, and hath replenished thee with his good things. (14) Whoso feareth the Lord will receive his discipline; and they that seek him early shall find favour. (15) He that seeketh the law shall be filled therewith: but the hypocrite will be offended thereat. (16) They that fear the Lord shall find judgment, and shall kindle justice as a light. (17) A sinful man will not be reproved, but findeth an excuse according to his will. (18) A man of counsel will be considerate; but a strange and proud man is not daunted with fear, even when of himself he hath done without counsel. (19) Do nothing without advice; and when thou hast once done, repent not. (20) Go not in a way wherein thou mayest fall, and stumble not among the stones. (21) Be not confident in a plain way. (22) And beware of thine own children. (23) In every good work trust thy own soul; for this is the keeping of the commandments. (24) He that believeth in the Lord taketh heed to the commandment; and he that trusteth in him shall fare never the worse.

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(1) There shall no evil happen unto him that feareth the Lord; but in temptation even again he will deliver him. (2) A wise man hateth not the law; but he that is an hypocrite therein is as a ship in a storm. (3) A man of understanding trusteth in the law; and the law is faithful unto him, as an oracle. (4) Prepare what to say, and so thou shalt be heard: and bind up instruction, and then make answer. (5) The heart of the foolish is like a cartwheel; and his thoughts are like a rolling axletree. (6) A stallion horse is as a mocking friend, he neigheth under every one that sitteth upon him. (7) Why doth one day excel another, when as all the light of every day in the year is of the sun? (8) By the knowledge of the Lord they were distinguished: and he altered seasons and feasts. (9) Some of them hath he made high days, and hallowed them, and some of them hath he made ordinary days. (10) And all men are from the ground, and Adam was created of earth: (11) In much knowledge the Lord hath divided them, and made their ways diverse. (12) Some of them hath he blessed and exalted and some of them he sanctified, and set near himself: but some of them hath he cursed and brought low, and turned out of their places. (13) As the clay is in the potter’s hand, to fashion it at his pleasure: so man is in the hand of him that made him, to render to them as liketh him best. (14) Good is set against evil, and life against death: so is the godly against the sinner, and the sinner against the godly. (15) So look upon all the works of the most High; and there are two and two, one against another. (11) Though I was the last to wake up, yet I received their inheritance as from the beginning. (12) O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by thy name, and upon Israel, whom thou hast named thy firstborn. (13) O be merciful unto Jerusalem, thy holy city, the place of thy rest. (14) Fill Sion with thine unspeakable oracles, and thy people with thy glory: (15) Give testimony unto those that thou hast possessed from the beginning, and raise up prophets that have been in thy name. (16) Reward them that wait for thee, and let thy prophets be found faithful. (17) O Lord, hear the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, that all they which dwell upon the earth may know that thou art the Lord, the eternal God. (18) The belly devoureth all meats, yet is one meat better than another. (19) As the palate tasteth divers kinds of venison: so doth an heart of understanding false speeches. (20) A froward heart causeth heaviness: but a man of experience will recompense him. (21) A woman will receive every man, yet is one daughter better than another. (22) The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man loveth nothing better. (23) If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men. (24) He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest. (25) Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning. (26) Who will trust a thief well appointed, that skippeth from city to city? so who will believe a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him?

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(1) Every friend saith, I am his friend also: but there is a friend, which is only a friend in name. (2) Is it not a grief unto death, when a companion and friend is turned to an enemy? (3) O wicked imagination, whence camest thou in to cover the earth with deceit? (4) There is a companion, which rejoiceth in the prosperity of a friend, but in the time of trouble will be against him. (5) There is a companion, which helpeth his friend for the belly, and taketh up the buckler against the enemy. (6) Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches. (7) Every counsellor extolleth counsel; but there is some that counselleth for himself. (8) Beware of a counsellor, and know before what need he hath; for he will counsel for himself; lest he cast the lot upon thee, (9) And say unto thee, Thy way is good: and afterward he stand on the other side, to see what shall befall thee. (10) Consult not with one that suspecteth thee: and hide thy counsel from such as envy thee. (11) Neither consult with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous; neither with a coward in matters of war; nor with a merchant concerning exchange; nor with a buyer of selling; nor with an envious man of thankfulness; nor with an unmerciful man touching kindness; nor with the slothful for any work; nor with an hireling for a year of finishing work; nor with an idle servant of much business: hearken not unto these in any matter of counsel. (12) But be continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep the commandments of the Lord, whose, mind is according to thy mind, and will sorrow with thee, if thou shalt miscarry. (13) And let the counsel of thine own heart stand: for there is no man more faithful unto thee than it. (14) For a man’s mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen, that sit above in an high tower. (15) And above all this pray to the most High, that he will direct thy way in truth. (16) Let reason go before every enterprise, and counsel before every action. (17) The countenance is a sign of changing of the heart. (18) Four manner of things appear: good and evil, life and death: but the tongue ruleth over them continually. (19) There is one that is wise and teacheth many, and yet is unprofitable to himself. (20) There is one that sheweth wisdom in words, and is hated: he shall be destitute of all food. (21) For grace is not given, him from the Lord, because he is deprived of all wisdom. (22) Another is wise to himself; and the fruits of understanding are commendable in his mouth. (23) A wise man instructeth his people; and the fruits of his understanding fail not. (24) A wise man shall be filled with blessing; and all they that see him shall count him happy. (25) The days of the life of man may be numbered: but the days of Israel are innumerable. (26) A wise man shall inherit glory among his people, and his name shall be perpetual. (27) My son, prove thy soul in thy life, and see what is evil for it, and give not that unto it. (28) For all things are not profitable for all men, neither hath every soul pleasure in every thing. (29) Be not unsatiable in any dainty thing, nor too greedy upon meats: (30) For excess of meats bringeth sickness, and surfeiting will turn into choler. (31) By surfeiting have many perished; but he that taketh heed prolongeth his life.

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(1) Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. (2) For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king. (3) The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. (4) The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. (5) Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? (6) And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. (7) With such doth he heal men, and taketh away their pains. (8) Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth, (9) My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole. (10) Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness. (11) Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being. (12) Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. (13) There is a time when in their hands there is good success. (14) For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life. (15) He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician. (16) My son, let tears fall down over the dead, and begin to lament, as if thou hadst suffered great harm thyself; and then cover his body according to the custom, and neglect not his burial. (17) Weep bitterly, and make great moan, and use lamentation, as he is worthy, and that a day or two, lest thou be evil spoken of: and then comfort thyself for thy heaviness. (18) For of heaviness cometh death, and the heaviness of the heart breaketh strength. (19) In affliction also sorrow remaineth: and the life of the poor is the curse of the heart. (20) Take no heaviness to heart: drive it away, and member the last end. (21) Forget it not, for there is no turning again: thou shalt not do him good, but hurt thyself. (22) Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to day for thee. (23) When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his Spirit is departed from him. (24) The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise. (25) How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad, that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours, and whose talk is of bullocks? (26) He giveth his mind to make furrows; and is diligent to give the kine fodder. (27) So every carpenter and workmaster, that laboureth night and day: and they that cut and grave seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work: (28) The smith also sitting by the anvil, and considering the iron work, the vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with the heat of the furnace: the noise of the hammer and the anvil is ever in his ears, and his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh; he setteth his mind to finish his work, and watcheth to polish it perfectly: (29) So doth the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is alway carefully set at his work, and maketh all his work by number; (30) He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his strength before his feet; he applieth himself to lead it over; and he is diligent to make clean the furnace: (31) All these trust to their hands: and every one is wise in his work. (32) Without these cannot a city be inhabited: and they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down: (33) They shall not be sought for in publick counsel, nor sit high in the congregation: they shall not sit on the judges’ seat, nor understand the sentence of judgment: they cannot declare justice and judgment; and they shall not be found where parables are spoken. (34) But they will maintain the state of the world, and all their desire is in the work of their craft.

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(1) But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High, and is occupied in the meditation thereof, will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient, and be occupied in prophecies. (2) He will keep the sayings of the renowned men: and where subtil parables are, he will be there also. (3) He will seek out the secrets of grave sentences, and be conversant in dark parables. (4) He shall serve among great men, and appear before princes: he will travel through strange countries; for he hath tried the good and the evil among men. (5) He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and will pray before the most High, and will open his mouth in prayer, and make supplication for his sins. (6) When the great Lord will, he shall be filled with the spirit of understanding: he shall pour out wise sentences, and give thanks unto the Lord in his prayer. (7) He shall direct his counsel and knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate. (8) He shall shew forth that which he hath learned, and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. (9) Many shall commend his understanding; and so long as the world endureth, it shall not be blotted out; his memorial shall not depart away, and his name shall live from generation to generation. (10) Nations shall shew forth his wisdom, and the congregation shall declare his praise. (11) If he die, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand: and if he live, he shall increase it. (12) Yet have I more to say, which I have thought upon; for I am filled as the moon at the full. (13) Hearken unto me, ye holy children, and bud forth as a rose growing by the brook of the field: (14) And give ye a sweet savour as frankincense, and flourish as a lily, send forth a smell, and sing a song of praise, bless the Lord in all his works. (15) Magnify his name, and shew forth his praise with the songs of your lips, and with harps, and in praising him ye shall say after this manner: (16) All the works of the Lord are exceeding good, and whatsoever he commandeth shall be accomplished in due season. (17) And none may say, What is this? wherefore is that? for at time convenient they shall all be sought out: at his commandment the waters stood as an heap, and at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters. (18) At his commandment is done whatsoever pleaseth him; and none can hinder, when he will save. (19) The works of all flesh are before him, and nothing can be hid from his eyes. (20) He seeth from everlasting to everlasting; and there is nothing wonderful before him. (21) A man need not to say, What is this? wherefore is that? for he hath made all things for their uses. (22) His blessing covered the dry land as a river, and watered it as a flood. (23) As he hath turned the waters into saltness: so shall the heathen inherit his wrath. (24) As his ways are plain unto the holy; so are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked. (25) For the good are good things created from the beginning: so evil things for sinners. (26) The principal things for the whole use of man’s life are water, fire, iron, and salt, flour of wheat, honey, milk, and the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing. (27) All these things are for good to the godly: so to the sinners they are turned into evil. (28) There be spirits that are created for vengeance, which in their fury lay on sore strokes; in the time of destruction they pour out their force, and appease the wrath of him that made them. (29) Fire, and hail, and famine, and death, all these were created for vengeance; (30) Teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions, serpents, and the sword punishing the wicked to destruction. (31) They shall rejoice in his commandment, and they shall be ready upon earth, when need is; and when their time is come, they shall not transgress his word. (32) Therefore from the beginning I was resolved, and thought upon these things, and have left them in writing. (33) All the works of the Lord are good: and he will give every needful thing in due season. (34) So that a man cannot say, This is worse than that: for in time they shall all be well approved. (35) And therefore praise ye the Lord with the whole heart and mouth, and bless the name of the Lord.

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(1) Great travail is created for every man, and an heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day that they go out of their mother’s womb, till the day that they return to the mother of all things. (2) Their imagination of things to come, and the day of death, trouble their thoughts, and cause fear of heart; (3) From him that sitteth on a throne of glory, unto him that is humbled in earth and ashes; (4) From him that weareth purple and a crown, unto him that is clothed with a linen frock. (5) Wrath, and envy, trouble, and unquietness, fear of death, and anger, and strife, and in the time of rest upon his bed his night sleep, do change his knowledge. (6) A little or nothing is his rest, and afterward he is in his sleep, as in a day of keeping watch, troubled in the vision of his heart, as if he were escaped out of a battle. (7) When all is safe, he awaketh, and marvelleth that the fear was nothing. (8) Such things happen unto all flesh, both man and beast, and that is sevenfold more upon sinners. (9) Death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword, calamities, famine, tribulation, and the scourge; (10) These things are created for the wicked, and for their sakes came the flood. (11) All things that are of the earth shall turn to the earth again: and that which is of the waters doth return into the sea. (12) All bribery and injustice shall be blotted out: but true dealing shall endure for ever. (13) The goods of the unjust shall be dried up like a river, and shall vanish with noise, like a great thunder in rain. (14) While he openeth his hand he shall rejoice: so shall transgressors come to nought. (15) The children of the ungodly shall not bring forth many branches: but are as unclean roots upon a hard rock. (16) The weed growing upon every water and bank of a river shall be pulled up before all grass. (17) Bountifulness is as a most fruitful garden, and mercifulness endureth for ever. (18) To labour, and to be content with that a man hath, is a sweet life: but he that findeth a treasure is above them both. (19) Children and the building of a city continue a man’s name: but a blameless wife is counted above them both. (20) Wine and musick rejoice the heart: but the love of wisdom is above them both. (21) The pipe and the psaltery make sweet melody: but a pleasant tongue is above them both. (22) Thine eye desireth favour and beauty: but more than both corn while it is green. (23) A friend and companion never meet amiss: but above both is a wife with her husband. (24) Brethren and help are against time of trouble: but alms shall deliver more than them both. (25) Gold and silver make the foot stand sure: but counsel is esteemed above them both. (26) Riches and strength lift up the heart: but the fear of the Lord is above them both: there is no want in the fear of the Lord, and it needeth not to seek help. (27) The fear of the Lord is a fruitful garden, and covereth him above all glory. (28) My son, lead not a beggar’s life; for better it is to die than to beg. (29) The life of him that dependeth on another man’s table is not to be counted for a life; for he polluteth himself with other men’s meat: but a wise man well nurtured will beware thereof. (30) Begging is sweet in the mouth of the shameless: but in his belly there shall burn a fire.

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(1) O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat! (2) O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength faileth, that is now in the last age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despaireth, and hath lost patience! (3) Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh. (4) And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or an hundred, or a thousand years. (5) The children of sinners are abominable children, and they that are conversant in the dwelling of the ungodly. (6) The inheritance of sinners’ children shall perish, and their posterity shall have a perpetual reproach. (7) The children will complain of an ungodly father, because they shall be reproached for his sake. (8) Woe be unto you, ungodly men, which have forsaken the law of the most high God! for if ye increase, it shall be to your destruction: (9) And if ye be born, ye shall be born to a curse: and if ye die, a curse shall be your portion. (10) All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction. (11) The mourning of men is about their bodies: but an ill name of sinners shall be blotted out. (12) Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold. (13) A good life hath but few days: but a good name endureth for ever. (14) My children, keep discipline in peace: for wisdom that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what profit is in them both? (15) A man that hideth his foolishness is better than a man that hideth his wisdom. (16) Therefore be shamefaced according to my word: for it is not good to retain all shamefacedness; neither is it altogether approved in every thing. (17) Be ashamed of whoredom before father and mother: and of a lie before a prince and a mighty man; (18) Of an offence before a judge and ruler; of iniquity before a congregation and people; of unjust dealing before thy partner and friend; (19) And of theft in regard of the place where thou sojournest, and in regard of the truth of God and his covenant; and to lean with thine elbow upon the meat; and of scorning to give and take; (20) And of silence before them that salute thee; and to look upon an harlot; (21) And to turn away thy face from thy kinsman; or to take away a portion or a gift; or to gaze upon another man’s wife. (22) Or to be overbusy with his maid, and come not near her bed; or of upbraiding speeches before friends; and after thou hast given, upbraid not; (42:1) Or of iterating and speaking again that which thou hast heard; and of revealing of secrets. So shalt thou be truly shamefaced and find favour before all men.

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Of these things be not thou ashamed, and accept no person to sin thereby: (2) Of the law of the most High, and his covenant; and of judgment to justify the ungodly; (3) Of reckoning with thy partners and travellers; or of the gift of the heritage of friends; (4) Of exactness of balance and weights; or of getting much or little; (5) And of merchants’ indifferent selling; of much correction of children; and to make the side of an evil servant to bleed. (6) Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and shut up, where many hands are. (7) Deliver all things in number and weight; and put all in writing that thou givest out, or receivest in. (8) Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contendeth with those that are young: thus shalt thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living. (9) A daughter is a wakeful care to a father; and the care for her taketh away sleep: when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age; and being married, lest she should be hated: (10) In her virginity, lest she should be defiled and gotten with child in her father’s house; and having an husband, lest she should misbehave herself; and when she is married, lest she should be barren. (11) Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, lest she make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and make thee ashamed before the multitude. (12) Behold not every bodys beauty, and sit not in the midst of women. (13) For from garments cometh a moth, and from women wickedness. (14) Better is the churlishness of a man than a courteous woman, a woman, I say, which bringeth shame and reproach. (15) I will now remember the works of the Lord, and declare the things that I have seen: In the words of the Lord are his works. (16) The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the Lord. (17) The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for his glory. (18) He seeketh out the deep, and the heart, and considereth their crafty devices: for the Lord knoweth all that may be known, and he beholdeth the signs of the world. (19) He declareth the things that are past, and for to come, and revealeth the steps of hidden things. (20) No thought escapeth him, neither any word is hidden from him. (21) He hath garnished the excellent works of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting: unto him may nothing be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor. (22) Oh how desirable are all his works! and that a man may see even to a spark. (23) All these things live and remain for ever for all uses, and they are all obedient. (24) All things are double one against another: and he hath made nothing imperfect. (25) One thing establisheth the good or another: and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?

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(1) The pride of the height, the clear firmament, the beauty of heaven, with his glorious shew; (2) The sun when it appeareth, declaring at his rising a marvellous instrument, the work of the most High: (3) At noon it parcheth the country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof? (4) A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, but the sun burneth the mountains three times more; breathing out fiery vapours, and sending forth bright beams, it dimmeth the eyes. (5) Great is the Lord that made it; and at his commandment runneth hastily. (6) He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. (7) From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection. (8) The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of heaven; (9) The beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord. (10) At the commandment of the Holy One they will stand in their order, and never faint in their watches. (11) Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof. (12) It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the most High have bended it. (13) By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment. (14) Through this the treasures are opened: and clouds fly forth as fowls. (15) By his great power he maketh the clouds firm, and the hailstones are broken small. (16) At his sight the mountains are shaken, and at his will the south wind bloweth. (17) The noise of the thunder maketh the earth to tremble: so doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: as birds flying he scattereth the snow, and the falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers: (18) The eye marvelleth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the raining of it. (19) The hoarfrost also as salt he poureth on the earth, and being congealed, it lieth on the top of sharp stakes. (20) When the cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into ice, it abideth upon every gathering together of water, and clotheth the water as with a breastplate. (21) It devoureth the mountains, and burneth the wilderness, and consumeth the grass as fire. (22) A present remedy of all is a mist coming speedily, a dew coming after heat refresheth. (23) By his counsel he appeaseth the deep, and planteth islands therein. (24) They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel thereat. (25) For therein be strange and wondrous works, variety of all kinds of beasts and whales created. (26) By him the end of them hath prosperous success, and by his word all things consist. (27) We may speak much, and yet come short: wherefore in sum, he is all. (28) How shall we be able to magnify him? for he is great above all his works. (29) The Lord is terrible and very great, and marvellous is his power. (30) When ye glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as ye can; for even yet will he far exceed: and when ye exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for ye can never go far enough. (31) Who hath seen him, that he might tell us? and who can magnify him as he is? (32) There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his works. (33) For the Lord hath made all things; and to the godly hath he given wisdom.

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(1) Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us. (2) The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through his great power from the beginning. (3) Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and declaring prophecies: (4) Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent are their instructions: (5) Such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing: (6) Rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations: (7) All these were honoured in their generations, and were the glory of their times. (8) There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported. (9) And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them. (10) But these were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten. (11) With their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance, and their children are within the covenant. (12) Their seed standeth fast, and their children for their sakes. (13) Their seed shall remain for ever, and their glory shall not be blotted out. (14) Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore. (15) The people will tell of their wisdom, and the congregation will shew forth their praise. (16) Enoch pleased the Lord, and was translated, being an example of repentance to all generations. (17) Noah was found perfect and righteous; in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange for the world; therefore was he left as a remnant unto the earth, when the flood came. (18) An everlasting covenant was made with him, that all flesh should perish no more by the flood. (19) Abraham was a great father of many people: in glory was there none like unto him; (20) Who kept the law of the most High, and was in covenant with him: he established the covenant in his flesh; and when he was proved, he was found faithful. (21) Therefore he assured him by an oath, that he would bless the nations in his seed, and that he would multiply him as the dust of the earth, and exalt his seed as the stars, and cause them to inherit from sea to sea, and from the river unto the utmost part of the land. (22) With Isaac did he establish likewise for Abraham his father’s sake the blessing of all men, and the covenant, (23) And made it rest upon the head of Jacob. He acknowledged him in his blessing, and gave him an heritage, and divided his portions; among the twelve tribes did he part them.

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(44:24) And he brought out of him a merciful man, which found favour in the sight of all flesh, even Moses, beloved of God and men, whose memorial is blessed. (2) He made him like to the glorious saints, and magnified him, so that his enemies stood in fear of him. (3) By his words he caused the wonders to cease, and he made him glorious in the sight of kings, and gave him a commandment for his people, and shewed him part of his glory. (4) He sanctified him in his faithfulness and meekness, and chose him out of all men. (5) He made him to hear his voice, and brought him into the dark cloud, and gave him commandments before his face, even the law of life and knowledge, that he might teach Jacob his covenants, and Israel his judgments. (6) He exalted Aaron, an holy man like unto him, even his brother, of the tribe of Levi. (7) An everlasting covenant he made with him and gave him the priesthood among the people; he beautified him with comely ornaments, and clothed him with a robe of glory. (8) He put upon him perfect glory; and strengthened him with rich garments, with breeches, with a long robe, and the ephod. (9) And he compassed him with pomegranates, and with many golden bells round about, that as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of his people; (10) With an holy garment, with gold, and blue silk, and purple, the work of the embroiderer, with a breastplate of judgment, and with Urim and Thummim; (11) With twisted scarlet, the work of the cunning workman, with precious stones graven like seals, and set in gold, the work of the jeweller, with a writing engraved for a memorial, after the number of the tribes of Israel. (12) He set a crown of gold upon the mitre, wherein was engraved Holiness, an ornament of honour, a costly work, the desires of the eyes, goodly and beautiful. (13) Before him there were none such, neither did ever any stranger put them on, but only his children and his children’s children perpetually. (14) Their sacrifices shall be wholly consumed every day twice continually. (15) Moses consecrated him, and anointed him with holy oil: this was appointed unto him by an everlasting covenant, and to his seed, so long as the heavens should remain, that they should minister unto him, and execute the office of the priesthood, and bless the people in his name. (16) He chose him out of all men living to offer sacrifices to the Lord, incense, and a sweet savour, for a memorial, to make reconciliation for his people. (17) He gave unto him his commandments, and authority in the statutes of judgments, that he should teach Jacob the testimonies, and inform Israel in his laws. (18) Strangers conspired together against him, and maligned him in the wilderness, even the men that were of Dathan’s and Abiron’s side, and the congregation of Core, with fury and wrath. (19) This the Lord saw, and it displeased him, and in his wrathful indignation were they consumed: he did wonders upon them, to consume them with the fiery flame. (20) But he made Aaron more honourable, and gave him an heritage, and divided unto him the firstfruits of the increase; especially he prepared bread in abundance: (21) For they eat of the sacrifices of the Lord, which he gave unto him and his seed. (22) Howbeit in the land of the people he had no inheritance, neither had he any portion among the people: for the Lord himself is his portion and inheritance. (23) The third in glory is Phinees the son of Eleazar, because he had zeal in the fear of the Lord, and stood up with good courage of heart: when the people were turned back, and made reconciliation for Israel. (24) Therefore was there a covenant of peace made with him, that he should be the chief of the sanctuary and of his people, and that he and his posterity should have the dignity of the priesthood for ever: (25) According to the covenant made with David son of Jesse, of the tribe of Juda, that the inheritance of the king should be to his posterity alone: so the inheritance of Aaron should also be unto his seed. (26) God give you wisdom in your heart to judge his people in righteousness, that their good things be not abolished, and that their glory may endure for ever.

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(1) Jesus the son a Nave was valiant in the wars, and was the successor of Moses in prophecies, who according to his name was made great for the saving of the elect of God, and taking vengeance of the enemies that rose up against them, that he might set Israel in their inheritance. (2) How great glory gat he, when he did lift up his hands, and stretched out his sword against the cities! (3) Who before him so stood to it? for the Lord himself brought his enemies unto him. (4) Did not the sun go back by his means? and was not one day as long as two? (5) He called upon the most high Lord, when the enemies pressed upon him on every side; and the great Lord heard him. (6) And with hailstones of mighty power he made the battle to fall violently upon the nations, and in the descent of Beth-horon he destroyed them that resisted, that the nations might know all their strength, because he fought in the sight of the Lord, and he followed the Mighty One. (7) In the time of Moses also he did a work of mercy, he and Caleb the son of Jephunne, in that they withstood the congregation, and withheld the people from sin, and appeased the wicked murmuring. (8) And of six hundred thousand people on foot, they two were preserved to bring them in to the heritage, even unto the land that floweth with milk and honey. (9) The Lord gave strength also unto Caleb, which remained with him unto his old age: so that he entered upon the high places of the land, and his seed obtained it for an heritage: (10) That all the children of Israel might see that it is good to follow the Lord. (11) And concerning the judges, every one by name, whose heart went not a whoring, nor departed from the Lord, let their memory be blessed. (12) Let their bones flourish out of their place, and let the name of them that were honoured be continued upon their children. (13) Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, beloved of his Lord, established a kingdom, and anointed princes over his people. (14) By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord had respect unto Jacob. (15) By his faithfulness he was found a true prophet, and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision. (16) He called upon the mighty Lord, when his enemies pressed upon him on every side, when he offered the sucking lamb. (17) And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard. (18) And he destroyed the rulers of the Tyrians, and all the princes of the Philistines. (19) And before his long sleep he made protestations in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, I have not taken any man’s goods, so much as a shoe: and no man did accuse him. (20) And after his death he prophesied, and shewed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.

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(1) And after him rose up Nathan to prophesy in the time of David. (2) As is the fat taken away from the peace offering, so was David chosen out of the children of Israel. (3) He played with lions as with kids, and with bears as with lambs. (4) Slew he not a giant, when he was yet but young? and did he not take away reproach from the people, when he lifted up his hand with the stone in the sling, and beat down the boasting of Goliath? (5) For he called upon the most high Lord; and he gave him strength in his right hand to slay that mighty warrior, and set up the horn of his people. (6) So the people honoured him with ten thousands, and praised him in the blessings of the Lord, in that he gave him a crown of glory. (7) For he destroyed the enemies on every side, and brought to nought the Philistines his adversaries, and brake their horn in sunder unto this day. (8) In all his works he praised the Holy One most high with words of glory; with his whole heart he sung songs, and loved him that made him. (9) He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices they might make sweet melody, and daily sing praises in their songs. (10) He beautified their feasts, and set in order the solemn times until the end, that they might praise his holy name, and that the temple might sound from morning. (11) The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever: he gave him a covenant of kings, and a throne of glory in Israel. (12) After him rose up a wise son, and for his sake he dwelt at large. (13) Solomon reigned in a peaceable time, and was honoured; for God made all quiet round about him, that he might build an house in his name, and prepare his sanctuary for ever. (14) How wise wast thou in thy youth and, as a flood, filled with understanding! (15) Thy soul covered the whole earth, and thou filledst it with dark parables. (16) Thy name went far unto the islands; and for thy peace thou wast beloved. (17) The countries marvelled at thee for thy songs, and proverbs, and parables, and interpretations. (18) By the name of the Lord God, which is called the Lord God of Israel, thou didst gather gold as tin and didst multiply silver as lead. (19) Thou didst bow thy loins unto women, and by thy body thou wast brought into subjection. (20) Thou didst stain thy honour, and pollute thy seed: so that thou broughtest wrath upon thy children, and wast grieved for thy folly. (21) So the kingdom was divided, and out of Ephraim ruled a rebellious kingdom. (22) But the Lord will never leave off his mercy, neither shall any of his works perish, neither will he abolish the posterity of his elect, and the seed of him that loveth him he will not take away: wherefore he gave a remnant unto Jacob, and out of him a root unto David. (23) Thus rested Solomon with his fathers, and of his seed he left behind him Roboam, even the foolishness of the people, and one that had no understanding, who turned away the people through his counsel. There was also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and shewed Ephraim the way of sin: (24) And their sins were multiplied exceedingly, that they were driven out of the land. (25) For they sought out all wickedness, till the vengeance came upon them.

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(1) Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. (2) He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number. (3) By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three times brought down fire. (4) O Elias, how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee! (5) Who didst raise up a dead man from death, and his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the most High: (6) Who broughtest kings to destruction, and honourably men from their bed: (7) Who heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai, and in Horeb the judgment of vengeance: (8) Who anointedst kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him: (9) Who was taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery horses: (10) Who wast ordained for reproofs in their times, to pacify the wrath of the Lord’s judgment, before it brake forth into fury, and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. (11) Blessed are they that saw thee, and slept in love; for we shall surely live. (12) Elias it was, who was covered with a whirlwind: and Eliseus was filled with his spirit: whilst he lived, he was not moved with the presence of any prince, neither could any bring him into subjection. (13) No word could overcome him; and after his death his body prophesied. (14) He did wonders in his life, and at his death were his works marvellous. (15) For all this the people repented not, neither departed they from their sins, till they were spoiled and carried out of their land, and were scattered through all the earth: yet there remained a small people, and a ruler in the house of David: (16) Of whom some did that which was pleasing to God, and some multiplied sins. (17) Ezekias fortified his city, and brought in water into the midst thereof: he digged the hard rock with iron, and made wells for waters. (18) In his time Sennacherib came up, and sent Rabsaces, and lifted up his hand against Sion, and boasted proudly. (19) Then trembled their hearts and hands, and they were in pain, as women in travail. (20) But they called upon the Lord which is merciful, and stretched out their hands toward him: and immediately the Holy One heard them out of heaven, and delivered them by the ministry of Esay. (21) He smote the host of the Assyrians, and his angel destroyed them. (22) For Ezekias had done the thing that pleased the Lord, and was strong in the ways of David his father, as Esay the prophet, who was great and faithful in his vision, had commanded him. (23) In his time the sun went backward, and he lengthened the king’s life. (24) He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last, and he comforted them that mourned in Sion. (25) He shewed what should come to pass for ever, and secret things or ever they came.

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(1) The remembrance of Josias is like the composition of the perfume that is made by the art of the apothecary: it is sweet as honey in all mouths, and as musick at a banquet of wine. (2) He behaved himself uprightly in the conversion of the people, and took away the abominations of iniquity. (3) He directed his heart unto the Lord, and in the time of the ungodly he established the worship of God. (4) All, except David and Ezekias and Josias, were defective: for they forsook the law of the most High, even the kings of Juda failed. (5) Therefore he gave their power unto others, and their glory to a strange nation. (6) They burnt the chosen city of the sanctuary, and made the streets desolate, according to the prophecy of Jeremias. (7) For they entreated him evil, who nevertheless was a prophet, sanctified in his mother’s womb, that he might root out, and afflict, and destroy; and that he might build up also, and plant. (8) It was Ezekiel who saw the glorious vision, which was shewed him upon the chariot of the cherubims. (9) For he made mention of the enemies under the figure of the rain, and directed them that went right. (10) And of the twelve prophets let the memorial be blessed, and let their bones flourish again out of their place: for they comforted Jacob, and delivered them by assured hope. (11) How shall we magnify Zorobabel? even he was as a signet on the right hand: (12) So was Jesus the son of Josedec: who in their time builded the house, and set up an holy temple to the Lord, which was prepared for everlasting glory. (13) And among the elect was Neemias, whose renown is great, who raised up for us the walls that were fallen, and set up the gates and the bars, and raised up our ruins again. (14) But upon the earth was no man created like Enoch; for he was taken from the earth. (15) Neither was there a young man born like Joseph, a governor of his brethren, a stay of the people, whose bones were regarded of the Lord. (16) Sem and Seth were in great honour among men, and so was Adam above every living thing in creation.

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(1) Simon the high priest, the son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house again, and in his days fortified the temple: (2) And by him was built from the foundation the double height, the high fortress of the wall about the temple: (3) In his days the cistern to receive water, being in compass as the sea, was covered with plates of brass: (4) He took care of the temple that it should not fall, and fortified the city against besieging: (5) How was he honoured in the midst of the people in his coming out of the sanctuary! (6) He was as the morning star in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full: (7) As the sun shining upon the temple of the most High, and as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds: (8) And as the flower of roses in the spring of the year, as lilies by the rivers of waters, and as the branches of the frankincense tree in the time of summer: (9) As fire and incense in the censer, and as a vessel of beaten gold set with all manner of precious stones: (10) And as a fair olive tree budding forth fruit, and as a cypress tree which groweth up to the clouds. (11) When he put on the robe of honour, and was clothed with the perfection of glory, when he went up to the holy altar, he made the garment of holiness honourable. (12) When he took the portions out of the priests’ hands, he himself stood by the hearth of the altar, compassed about, as a young cedar in Libanus; and as palm trees compassed they him round about. (13) So were all the sons of Aaron in their glory, and the oblations of the Lord in their hands, before all the congregation of Israel. (14) And finishing the service at the altar, that he might adorn the offering of the most high Almighty, (15) He stretched out his hand to the cup, and poured of the blood of the grape, he poured out at the foot of the altar a sweetsmelling savour unto the most high King of all. (16) Then shouted the sons of Aaron, and sounded the silver trumpets, and made a great noise to be heard, for a remembrance before the most High. (17) Then all the people together hasted, and fell down to the earth upon their faces to worship their Lord God Almighty, the most High. (18) The singers also sang praises with their voices, with great variety of sounds was there made sweet melody. (19) And the people besought the Lord, the most High, by prayer before him that is merciful, till the solemnity of the Lord was ended, and they had finished his service. (20) Then he went down, and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of the children of Israel, to give the blessing of the Lord with his lips, and to rejoice in his name. (21) And they bowed themselves down to worship the second time, that they might receive a blessing from the most High. (22) Now therefore bless ye the God of all, which only doeth wondrous things every where, which exalteth our days from the womb, and dealeth with us according to his mercy. (23) He grant us joyfulness of heart, and that peace may be in our days in Israel for ever: (24) That he would confirm his mercy with us, and deliver us at his time! (25) There be two manner of nations which my heart abhorreth, and the third is no nation: (26) They that sit upon the mountain of Samaria, and they that dwell among the Philistines, and that foolish people that dwell in Sichem. (27) Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem hath written in this book the instruction of understanding and knowledge, who out of his heart poured forth wisdom. (28) Blessed is he that shall be exercised in these things; and he that layeth them up in his heart shall become wise. (29) For if he do them, he shall be strong to all things: for the light of the Lord leadeth him, who giveth wisdom to the godly. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever. Amen, Amen.

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(1) I will thank thee, O Lord and King, and praise thee, O God my Saviour: I do give praise unto thy name: (2) For thou art my defender and helper, and has preserved my body from destruction, and from the snare of the slanderous tongue, and from the lips that forge lies, and has been mine helper against mine adversaries: (3) And hast delivered me, according to the multitude of they mercies and greatness of thy name, from the teeth of them that were ready to devour me, and out of the hands of such as sought after my life, and from the manifold afflictions which I had; (4) From the choking of fire on every side, and from the midst of the fire which I kindled not; (5) From the depth of the belly of hell, from an unclean tongue, and from lying words. (6) By an accusation to the king from an unrighteous tongue my soul drew near even unto death, my life was near to the hell beneath. (7) They compassed me on every side, and there was no man to help me: I looked for the succour of men, but there was none. (8) Then thought I upon thy mercy, O Lord, and upon thy acts of old, how thou deliverest such as wait for thee, and savest them out of the hands of the enemies. (9) Then lifted I up my supplications from the earth, and prayed for deliverance from death. (10) I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the days of my trouble, and in the time of the proud, when there was no help. (11) I will praise thy name continually, and will sing praises with thanksgiving; and so my prayer was heard: (12) For thou savedst me from destruction, and deliveredst me from the evil time: therefore will I give thanks, and praise thee, and bless they name, O Lord. (13) When I was yet young, or ever I went abroad, I desired wisdom openly in my prayer. (14) I prayed for her before the temple, and will seek her out even to the end. (15) Even from the flower till the grape was ripe hath my heart delighted in her: my foot went the right way, from my youth up sought I after her. (16) I bowed down mine ear a little, and received her, and gat much learning. (17) I profited therein, therefore will I ascribe glory unto him that giveth me wisdom. (18) For I purposed to do after her, and earnestly I followed that which is good; so shall I not be confounded. (19) My soul hath wrestled with her, and in my doings I was exact: I stretched forth my hands to the heaven above, and bewailed my ignorances of her. (20) I directed my soul unto her, and I found her in pureness: I have had my heart joined with her from the beginning, therefore shall I not be forsaken. (21) My heart was troubled in seeking her: therefore have I gotten a good possession. (22) The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward, and I will praise him therewith. (23) Draw near unto me, ye unlearned, and dwell in the house of learning. (24) Wherefore are ye slow, and what say ye to these things, seeing your souls are very thirsty? (25) I opened my mouth, and said, Buy her for yourselves without money. (26) Put your neck under the yoke, and let your soul receive instruction: she is hard at hand to find. (27) Behold with your eyes, how that I have but little labour, and have gotten unto me much rest. (28) Get learning with a great sum of money, and get much gold by her. (29) Let your soul rejoice in his mercy, and be not ashamed of his praise. (30) Work your work betimes, and in his time he will give you your reward.

Isaiah

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1

(1) The vision which Esaias the son of Amos saw, which he saw against Juda, and against Jerusalem, in the reign of Ozias, and Joatham, and Achaz, and Ezekias, who reigned over Judea. (2) Hear, O heaven, and hearken, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, saying, I have begotten and reared up children, but they have rebelled against me. (3) The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel does not know me, and the people has not regarded me. (4) Ah sinful nation, a people full of sins, an evil seed, lawless children: ye have forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. (5) Why should ye be smitten any more, transgressing more and more? the whole head is pained, and the whole heart sad. (6) From the feet to the head, there is no soundness in them; neither wound, nor bruise, nor festering ulcer are healed: it is not possible to apply a plaister, nor oil, nor bandages. (7) Your land is desolate, your cities burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is made desolate, overthrown by strange nations. (8) The daughter of Sion shall be deserted as a tent in a vineyard, and as a storehouse of fruits in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. (9) And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha. (10) Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodoma; attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrha. (11) Of what value to me is the abundance of your sacrifices? saith the Lord: I am full of whole-burnt-offerings of rams; and I delight not in the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats: (12) neither shall ye come with these to appear before me; for who has required these things at your hands? Ye shall no more tread my court. (13) Though ye bring fine flour, it is vain; incense is an abomination to me; I cannot bear your new moons, and your sabbaths, and the great day; (14) your fasting, and rest from work, your new moons also, and your feasts my soul hates: ye have become loathsome to me; I will no more pardon your sins. (15) When ye stretch forth your hands, I will turn away mine eyes from you: and though ye make many supplications, I will not hearken to you; for your hands are full of blood. (16) Wash you, be clean; remove your iniquities from your souls before mine eyes; cease from your iniquities; (17) learn to do well; diligently seek judgment, deliver him that is suffering wrong, plead for the orphan, and obtain justice for the widow. (18) And come, let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your sins be as purple, I will make them white as snow; and though they be as scarlet, I will make them white as wool. (19) And if ye be willing, and hearken to me, ye shall eat the good of the land: (20) but if ye be not willing, nor hearken to me, a sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this. (21) How has the faithful city Sion, once full of judgment, become a harlot! wherein righteousness lodged, but now murderers. (22) Your silver is worthless, thy wine merchants mix the wine with water. (23) Thy princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows. (24) Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty men of Israel; for my wrath shall not cease against mine adversaries, and I will execute judgment on mine enemies. (25) And I will bring my hand upon thee, and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away from thee all transgressors. (26) And I will establish thy judges as before, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: and afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city of Sion. (27) For her captives shall be saved with judgment, and with mercy. (28) And the transgressors and the sinners shall be crushed together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be utterly consumed. (29) For they shall be ashamed of their idols, which they delighted in, and they are made ashamed of the gardens which they coveted. (30) For they shall be as a turpentine tree that has cast its leaves, and as a garden that has no water. (31) And their strength shall be as a thread of tow, and their works as sparks, and the transgressors and the sinners shall be burnt up together, and there shall be none to quench them.

2

(1) The word which came to Esaias the son of Amos concerning Judea, and concerning Jerusalem. (2) For in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious, and the house of God shall be on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come to it. (3) And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will tell us his way, and we will walk in it: for out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem. (4) And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into sickles: and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more. (5) And now, O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (6) For he has forsaken his people the house of Israel, because their land is filled as at the beginning with divinations, as the land of the Philistines, and many strange children were born to them. (7) For their land is filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures; their land also is filled with horses, and there was no number of chariots. (8) And the land is filled with abominations, even the works of their hands; and they have worshipped the works which their fingers made. (9) And the mean man bowed down, and the great man was humbled: and I will not pardon them. (10) Now therefore enter ye into the rocks, and hide yourselves in the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth. (11) For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (12) For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought down; (13) and upon every cedar of Libanus, of them that are high and towering, and upon every oak of Basan, (14) and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, (15) and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall, (16) and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every display of fine ships. (17) And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (18) And they shall hide all idols made with hands, (19) having carried them into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth. (20) For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made in order to worship vanities and bats; (21) to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.

3

(1) Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water, (2) the great and mighty man, the warrior and the judge, and the prophet, and the counsellor, and the elder, (3) the captain of fifty also, and the honourable counsellor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer. (4) And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them. (5) And the people shall fall, man upon man, and every man upon his neighbor: the child shall insult the elder man, and the base the honourable. (6) For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father’s household, saying, Thou hast raiment, be thou our ruler, and let my meat be under thee. (7) And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be thy ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor raiment: I will not be the ruler of this people. (8) For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues have spoken with iniquity, disobedient as they are towards the Lord. (9) Wherefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest. (10) Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works. (11) Woe to the transgressor! evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands. (12) O my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: O my people, they that pronounce you blessed lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet. (13) But now the Lord will stand up for judgment, and will enter into judgment with his people. (14) The Lord himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers: but why have ye set my vineyard on fire, and why is the spoil of the poor in your houses? (15) Why do ye wrong my people, and shame the face of the poor? (16) Thus saith the Lord, Because the daughters of Sion are haughty, and have walked with an outstretched neck, and with winking of the eyes, and motion of the feet, at the same time drawing their garments in trains, and at the same time sporting with their feet: (17) therefore the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Sion, and the Lord will expose their form in that day; (18) and the Lord will take away the glory of their raiment, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents, (19) and the chains, and the ornaments of their faces, (20) and the array of glorious ornaments, and the armlets, and the bracelets, and the wreathed work, and the finger-rings, and the ornaments for the right hand, (23) and the ear-rings, and the garments with scarlet borders, and the garments with purple grounds, and the shawls to be worn in the house, and the Spartan transparent dresses, and those made of fine linen, and the purple ones, and the scarlet ones, and the fine linen, interwoven with gold and purple, and the light coverings for couches. (24) And there shall be instead of a sweet smell, dust; and instead of a girdle, thou shalt gird thyself with a rope; and instead of a golden ornament for the head, thou shalt have baldness on account of thy works; and instead of a tunic with a scarlet ground, thou shalt gird thyself with sackcloth. (25) And thy most beautiful son whom thou lovest shall fall by the sword; and your mighty men shall fall by the sword, and shall be brought low. (26) And the stores of your ornaments shall mourn, and thou shalt be left alone, and shalt be levelled with the ground.

4

(1) And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own raiment: only let thy name be called upon us, and take away our reproach. (2) And in that day God shall shine gloriously in counsel on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel. (3) And it shall be, that the remnant left in Sion, and the remnant left in Jerusalem, even all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy. (4) For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. (5) And he shall come, and it shall be with regard to every place of mount Sion, yea, all the region round about it shall a cloud overshadow by day, and there shall be as it were the smoke and light of fire burning by night: and upon all the glory shall be a defence. (6) And it shall be for a shadow from the heat, and as a shelter and a hiding place from inclemency of weather and from rain.

5

(1) Now I will sing to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard. (2) And I made a hedge round it, and dug a trench, and planted a choice vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a place for the wine-vat in it: and I waited for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth thorns. (3) And now, ye dwellers in Jerusalem, and every man of Juda, judge between me and my vineyard. (4) What shall I do any more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? Whereas I expected it to bring forth grapes, but it has brought forth thorns. (5) And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be left to be trodden down. (6) And I will forsake my vineyard; and it shall not be pruned, nor dug, and thorns shall come up upon it as on barren land; and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it. (7) For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Juda his beloved plant: I expected it to bring forth judgment, and it brought forth iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry. (8) Woe to them that join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbor’s: will ye dwell alone upon the land? (9) For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts: for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses shall be desolate, and there shall be no inhabitants in them. (10) For where ten yoke of oxen plough the land shall yield one jar-full, and he that sows six homers shall produce three measures. (11) Woe to them that rise up in the morning, and follow strong drink; who wait at it till evening: for the wine shall inflame them. (12) For they drink wine with harp, and psaltery, and drums, and pipes: but they regard not the works of the Lord, and consider not the works of his hands. (13) Therefore my people have been taken captive, because they know not the Lord: and there has been a multitude of dead bodies, because of hunger and of thirst for water. (14) Therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing: and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down into it. (15) And the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low. (16) But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness. (17) And they that were spoiled shall be fed as bulls, and lambs shall feed on the waste places of them that are taken away. (18) Woe to them that draw sins to them as with a long rope, and iniquities as with a thong of the heifer’s yoke: (19) who say, Let him speedily hasten what he will do, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it. (20) Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; who make darkness light, and light darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter. (21) Woe to them that are wise in their own conceit, and knowing in their own sight. (22) Woe to the strong ones of you that drink wine, and the mighty ones that mingle strong drink: (23) who justify the ungodly for rewards, and take away the righteousness of the righteous. (24) Therefore as stubble shall be burnt by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust: for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel. (25) Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against his people, and he reached forth his hand upon them, and smote them: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way: yet for all this his anger has not been turned away, but his hand is yet raised. (26) Therefore shall he lift up a signal to the nations that are afar, and shall hiss for them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they are coming very quickly. (27) They shall not hunger nor be weary, neither shall they slumber nor sleep; neither shall they loose their girdles from their loins, neither shall their shoe-latchets be broken. (28) Whose arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs are counted as solid rock: their chariot-wheels are as a storm. (29) They rage as lions, and draw nigh as a lion’s whelps: and he shall seize, and roar as a wild beast, and he shall cast them forth, and there shall be none to deliver them. (30) And he shall roar on account of them in that day, as the sound of the swelling sea; and they shall look to the land, and, behold, there shall be thick darkness in their perplexity.

6

(1) And it came to pass in the year in which king Ozias died, that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory. (2) And seraphs stood round about him: each one had six wings: and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. (3) And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. (4) And the lintel shook at the voice they uttered, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) And I said, Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips; and I have seen with mine eyes the King, the Lord of hosts. (6) And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs: (7) and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins. (8) And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, behold, I am here, send me. And he said, Go, and say to this people, (9) Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not understand; and ye shall see indeed, but ye shall not perceive. (10) For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (11) And I said, How long, O Lord? And he said, Until cities be deserted by reason of their not being inhabited, and the houses by reason of there being no men, and the land shall be left desolate. (12) And after this God shall remove the men far off, and they that are left upon the land shall be multiplied. (13) And yet there shall be a tenth upon it, and again it shall be for a spoil, as a turpentine tree, and as an acorn when it falls out of its husk.

7

(1) And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it. (2) And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind. (3) And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, thou, and thy son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller’s field. (4) And thou shalt say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let thy soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again. (5) And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying, (6) We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it; (7) thus saith the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass. (8) But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people. (9) And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if ye believe not, neither will ye at all understand. (10) And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying, (11) Ask for thyself a sign of the Lord thy God, in the depth or in the height. (12) And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. (13) And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do ye contend against the Lord? (14) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel. (15) Butter and honey shall he eat, before he knows either to prefer evil or choose the good. (16) For before the child shall know good or evil, he refuses evil, to choose the good; and the land shall be forsaken which thou art afraid of because of the two kings. (17) But God shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days which have never come, from the day that Ephraim took away from Juda the king of the Assyrians. (18) And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss for the flies, which insect shall rule over a part of the river of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of the Assyrians. (19) And they all shall enter into the clefts of the land, and into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves, and into every ravine. (20) In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard. (21) And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall rear a heifer, and two sheep. (22) And it shall come to pass from their drinking an abundance of milk, that every one that is left on the land shall eat butter and honey. (23) And it shall come to pass in that day, for every place where there shall be a thousand vines at a thousand shekels, they shall become barren land and thorns. (24) Men shall enter thither with arrow and bow; for all the land shall be barren ground and thorns. (25) And every mountain shall be certainly ploughed: there shall no fear come thither: for there shall be from among the barren ground and thorns that whereon cattle shall feed and oxen shall tread.

8

(1) And the Lord said to me, Take to thyself a volume of a great new book, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning the making a rapid plunder of spoils; for it is near at hand. (2) And make me witnesses of faithful men, Urias, and Zacharias the son of Barachias. (3) And I went in to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, Call his name, Spoil quickly, plunder speedily. (4) For before the child shall know how to call his father or his mother, one shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians. (5) And the Lord spoke to me yet again, saying, (6) Because this people chooses not the water of Siloam that goes softly, but wills to have Rassin, and the son of Romelias to be king over you; (7) therefore, behold, the Lord brings up upon you the water of the river, strong and abundant, even the king of the Assyrians, and his glory: and he shall come up over every valley of yours, and shall walk over every wall of yours: (8) and he shall take away from Juda every man who shall be able to lift up his head, and every one able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of thy land, O God with us. (9) Know, ye Gentiles, and be conquered; hearken ye, even to the extremity of the earth: be conquered, after ye strengthened yourselves; for even if ye should again strengthen yourselves, ye shall again be conquered. (10) And whatsoever counsel ye shall take, the Lord shall bring it to nought; and whatsoever word ye shall speak, it shall not stand among you: for God is with us. (11) Thus saith the Lord, With a strong hand they revolt from the course of the way of this people, saying, (12) Let them not say, It is hard, for whatsoever this people says, is hard: but fear not ye their fear, neither be dismayed. (13) Sanctify ye the Lord himself; and he shall be thy fear. (14) And if thou shalt trust in him, he shall be to thee for a sanctuary; and ye shall not come against him as against a stumbling-stone, neither as against the falling of a rock: but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and the dwellers in Jerusalem in a pit. (15) Therefore many among them shall be weak, and fall, and be crushed; and they shall draw nigh, and men shall be taken securely. (16) Then shall those who seal themselves that they may not learn the law be made manifest. (17) And one shall say, I will wait for God, who has turned away his face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in him. (18) Behold I and the children which God has given me: and they shall be for signs and wonders in the house of Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in mount Sion. (19) And if they should say to you, Seek those who have in them a divining spirit, and them that speak out of the earth, them that speak vain words, who speak out of their belly: shall not a nation diligently seek to their God? why do they seek to the dead concerning the living? (20) For he has given the law for a help, that they should not speak according to this word, concerning which there are no gifts to give for it. (21) And famine shall come sorely upon you, and it shall come to pass, that when ye shall be hungry, ye shall be grieved, and ye shall speak ill of the prince and your fathers’ ordinances: and they shall look up to heaven above, (22) and they shall look on the earth below, and behold severe distress, and darkness, affliction, and anguish, and darkness so that one cannot see; and he that is in anguish shall not be distressed only for a time.

9

(1) Drink this first. Act quickly, O land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim, and the rest inhabiting the sea-coast, and the land beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. (2) O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you. (3) The multitude of the people which thou hast brought down in thy joy, they shall even rejoice before thee as they that rejoice in harvest, and as they that divide the spoil. (4) Because the yoke that was laid upon them has been taken away, and the rod that was on their neck: for he has broken the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Madiam. (5) For they shall compensate for every garment that has been acquired by deceit, and all raiment with restitution; and they shall be willing, even if they were burnt with fire. (6) For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him. (7) His government shall be great, and of his peace there is no end: it shall be upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to support it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth and forever. The seal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. (8) The Lord has sent death upon Jacob, and it has come upon Israel. (9) And all the people of Ephraim, and they that dwelt in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart, (10) The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower. (11) And God shall dash down them that rise up against him on mount Sion, and shall scatter his enemies; (12) even Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but still his hand is exalted. (13) But the people turned not until they were smitten, and they sought not the Lord. (14) So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day: (15) the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail. (16) And they that pronounce this people blessed shall mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them. (17) Therefore the Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall he have pity on their orphans or on their widows: for they are all transgressors and wicked, and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted. (18) And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills. (19) The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt by fire: no man shall pity his brother. (20) But one shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm. (21) For Manasses shall eat the flesh of Ephraim, and Ephraim the flesh of Manasses; for they shall besiege Juda together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.

10

(1) Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness, (2) perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgment of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil. (3) And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction shall come to you from afar: and to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory, (4) that ye may not fall into captivity? (5) Woe to the Assyrians; the rod of my wrath, and anger are in their hands. (6) I will send my wrath against a sinful nation, and I will charge my people to take plunder and spoil, and to trample the cities, and to make them dust. (7) But he meant not thus, neither did he devise thus in his soul: but his mind shall change, and that to destroy nations not a few. (8) And if they should say to him, Thou alone art ruler; (9) then shall he say, Have I not taken the country above Babylon and Chalanes, where the tower was built? and have I not taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria? (10) As I have taken them, I will also take all the kingdoms: howl, ye idols in Jerusalem, and in Samaria. (11) For as I did to Samaria and her idols, so will I do also to Jerusalem and her idols. (12) And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have finished doing all things on Mount Sion and Jerusalem, that I will visit upon the proud heart, even upon the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the boastful haughtiness of his eyes. (13) For he said, I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of my understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations, and will spoil their strength. (14) And I will shake the inhabited cities: and I will take with my hand all the world as a nest: and I will even take them as eggs that have been left; and there is none that shall escape me, or contradict me. (15) Shall the axe glorify itself without him that hews with it? or shall the saw lift up itself without him that uses it, as if one should lift a rod or staff? but it shall not be so; (16) but the Lord of hosts shall send dishonour upon thine honour, and burning fire shall be kindled upon thy glory. (17) And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and he shall sanctify him with burning fire, and it shall devour the wood as grass. (18) In that day the mountains shall be consumed, and the hills, and the forests, and fire shall devour both soul and body: and he that flees shall be as one fleeing from burning flame. (19) And they that are left of them shall be a small number, and a child shall write them. (20) And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel shall no more join themselves with, and the saved of Jacob shall no more trust in, them that injured them; but they shall trust in the Holy God of Israel, in truth. (21) And the remnant of Jacob shall trust on the mighty God. (22) And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved. (23) He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because the Lord will make a short work in all the world. (24) Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Be not afraid, my people who dwell in Sion, of the Assyrians, because he shall smite thee with a rod: for I am bringing a stroke upon thee, that thou mayest see the way of Egypt. (25) For yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease: but my wrath shall be against their council. (26) And God will stir up enemies against them, according to the stroke of Madiam in the place of affliction: and his wrath shall be by the way of the sea, even to the way that leads to Egypt. (27) And it shall come to pass in that day, that his yoke shall be taken away from thy shoulder, and his fear from thee, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders. (28) For he shall arrive at the city of Angai, and shall pass on to Maggedo, and shall lay up his stores in Machmas. (29) And he shall pass by the valley, and shall arrive at Angai: fear shall seize upon Rama, the city of Saul. (30) The daughter of Gallim shall flee; Laisa shall hear; one shall hear in Anathoth. (31) Madebena also is amazed, and the inhabitants of Gibbir. (32) Exhort ye them to-day to remain in the way: exhort ye beckoning with the hand the mountain, the daughter of Sion, even ye hills that are in Jerusalem. (33) Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will mightily confound the glorious ones; and the haughty in pride shall be crushed, and the lofty shall be brought low: (34) and the lofty ones shall fall by the sword, and the Libanus shall fall with his lofty ones.

11

(1) And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from his root: (2) and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness shall fill him; (3) the spirit of the fear of God. He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report: (4) but he shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he destroy the ungodly one. (5) And he shall have his loins girt with righteousness, and his sides clothed with truth. (6) And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the young calf and bull and lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them. (7) And the ox and bear shall feed together; and their young shall be together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (8) And an infant shall put his hand on the holes of asps, and on the nest of young asps. (9) And they shall not hurt, nor shall they at all be able to destroy any one on my holy mountain: for the whole world is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas. (10) And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust, and his rest shall be glorious. (11) And it shall be in that day, that the Lord shall again shew his hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left by the Assyrians, and that from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia. (12) And he shall lift up a standard for the nations, and he shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Juda from the four corners of the earth. (13) And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not afflict Ephraim. (14) And they shall fly in the ships of the Philistines: they shall at the same time spoil the sea, and them that come from the east, and Idumea: and they shall lay their hands on Moab first; but the children of Ammon shall first obey them. (15) And the Lord shall make desolate the sea of Egypt; and he shall lay his hand on the river with a strong wind, and he shall smite the seven channels, so that men shall pass through it dry-shod. (16) And there shall be a passage for my people that is left in Egypt: and it shall be to Israel as the day when he came forth out of the land of Egypt.

12

(1) And in that day thou shalt say, I will bless thee, O Lord; for thou wast angry with me, but thou hast turned aside thy wrath, and hast pitied me. (2) Behold, my God is my Saviour; I will trust in him, and not be afraid: for the Lord is my glory and my praise, and is become my salvation. (3) Draw ye therefore water with joy out of the wells of salvation. (4) And in that day thou shalt say, sing to the Lord, call aloud upon his name, proclaim his glorious deeds among the Gentiles; make mention that his name is exalted. (5) Sing praise to the name of the Lord; for he has done great things: declare this in all the earth. (6) Exalt and rejoice, ye that dwell in Sion: for the Holy One of Israel is exalted in the midst of her.

13

(1) THE VISION WHICH ESAIAS SON OF AMOS SAW AGAINST BABYLON. (2) Lift up a standard on the mountain of the plain, exalt the voice to them, beckon with the hand, open the gates, ye rulers. (3) I give command, and I bring them: giants are coming to fulfil my wrath, rejoicing at the same time and insulting. (4) A voice of many nations on the mountains, even like to that of many nations; a voice of kings and nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts has given command to a war-like nation, (5) to come from a land afar off, from the utmost foundation of heaven; the Lord and his warriors are coming to destroy all the world. (6) Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is near, and destruction from God shall arrive. (7) Therefore every hand shall become powerless, and every soul of man shall be dismayed. (8) The elders shall be troubled, and pangs shall seize them, as of a woman in travail: and they shall mourn one to another, and shall be amazed, and shall change their countenance as a flame. (9) For behold! the day of the Lord is coming which cannot be escaped, a day of wrath and anger, to make the world desolate, and to destroy sinners out of it. (10) For the stars of heaven, and Orion, and all the host of heaven, shall not give their light; and it shall be dark at sunrise, and the moon shall not give her light. (11) And I will command evils for the whole world, and will visit their sins on the ungodly: and I will destroy the pride of transgressors, and will bring low the pride of the haughty. (12) And they that are left shall be more precious than gold tried in the fire; and a man shall be more precious than the stone that is in Suphir. (13) For the heaven shall be enraged, and the earth shall be shaken from her foundation, because of the fierce anger of the Lord of hosts, in the day in which his wrath shall come on. (14) And they that are left shall be as a fleeing fawn, and as a stray sheep, and there shall be none to gather them: so that a man shall turn back to his people, and a man shall flee to his own land. (15) For whosoever shall be taken shall be overcome; and they that are gathered together shall fall by the sword. (16) And they shall dash their children before their eyes; and they shall spoil their houses, and shall take their wives. (17) Behold, I will stir up against you the Medes, who do not regard silver, neither have they need of gold. (18) They shall break the bows of the young men; and they shall have no mercy on your children; nor shall their eyes spare thy children. (19) And Babylon, which is called glorious by the king of the Chaldeans, shall be as when God overthrew Sodoma, and Gomorrha. (20) It shall never be inhabited, neither shall any enter into it for many generations: neither shall the Arabians pass through it; nor shall shepherds at all rest in it. (21) But wild beasts shall rest there; and the houses shall be filled with howling; and monsters shall rest there, and devils shall dance there, (22) and satyrs shall dwell there; and hedgehogs shall make their nests in their houses. It will come soon, and will not tarry.

14

(1) And the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and they shall rest on their land: and the stranger shall be added to them, yea, shall be added to the house of Jacob. (2) And the Gentiles shall take them, and bring them into their place: and they shall inherit them, and they shall be multiplied upon the land for servants and handmaidens: and they that took them captives shall become captives to them; and they that had lordship over them shall be under their rule. (3) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and vexation, and from thy hard servitude wherein thou didst serve them. (4) And thou shalt take up this lamentation against the king of Babylon, (5) The Lord has broken the yoke of sinners, the yoke of princes. (6) Having smitten a nation in wrath, with an incurable plague, smiting a nation with a wrathful plague, which spared them not, he rested in quiet. (7) All the earth cries aloud with joy: (8) the trees also of Libanus rejoice against thee, and the cedar of Libanus, saying, From the time that thou hast been laid low, no one has come up to cut us down. (9) Hell from beneath is provoked to meet thee: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against thee, they that have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. (10) All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us. (11) Thy glory has come down to Hades, and thy great mirth: under thee they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be thy covering. (12) How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent orders to all the nations is crushed to the earth. (13) But thou saidst in thine heart, I will go up to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven: I will sit on a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north: (14) I will go up above the clouds: I will be like the Most High. (15) But now thou shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth. (16) They that see thee shall wonder at thee, and say, This is the man that troubled the earth, that made kings to shake; (17) that made the whole world desolate, and destroyed its cities; he loosed not those who were in captivity. (18) All the kings of the nations lie in honour, every man in his house. (19) But thou shalt be cast forth on the mountains, as a loathed carcase, with many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave. (20) As a garment defiled with blood shall not be pure, so neither shalt thou be pure; because thou hast destroyed my land, and hast slain my people: thou shalt not endure for ever, —thou an evil seed. (21) Prepare thy children to be slain for the sins of their father; that they arise not, and inherit the earth, nor fill the earth with wars. (22) And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will destroy their name, and remnant, and seed: thus saith the Lord. (23) And I will make the region of Babylon desert, so that hedgehogs shall dwell there, and it shall come to nothing: and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction. (24) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so the matter shall remain: (25) even to destroy the Assyrians upon my land, and upon my mountains: and they shall be for trampling; and their yoke shall be taken away from them, and their glory shall be taken away from their shoulders. (26) This is the purpose which the Lord has purposed upon the whole earth: and this the hand that is uplifted against all the nations. (27) For what the Holy God has purposed, who shall frustrate? and who shall turn back his uplifted hand? (28) In the year in which king Achaz died this word came. (29) Rejoice not, all ye Philistines, because the yoke of him that smote you is broken: for out of the seed of the serpent shall come forth the young asps, and their young shall come forth flying serpents, (30) And the poor shall be fed by him, and poor men shall rest in peace: but he shall destroy thy seed with hunger, and shall destroy thy remnant. (31) Howl, ye gates of cities; let the cities be troubled and cry, even all the Philistines: for smoke is coming from the north, and there is no possibility of living. (32) And what shall the kings of the nations answer? That the Lord has founded Sion, and by him the poor of the people shall be saved.

15

(1) THE WORD AGAINST THE LAND OF MOAB. (2) Grieve for yourselves; for even Debon, where your altar is, shall be destroyed: thither shall ye go up to weep, over Nabau of the land of Moab: howl ye: baldness shall be on every head, and all arms shall be wounded. (3) Gird yourselves with sackcloth in her streets: and lament upon her roofs, and in her streets, and in her ways; howl all of you with weeping. (4) For Esebon and Eleale have cried: their voice was heard to Jassa: therefore the loins of the region of Moab cry aloud; her soul shall know. (5) The heart of the region of Moab cries within her to Segor; for it is as a heifer of three years old: and on the ascent of Luith they shall go up to thee weeping by the way of Aroniim: she cries, Destruction, and trembling. (6) The water of Nemerim shall be desolate, and the grass thereof shall fail: for there shall be no green grass. (7) Shall Moab even thus be delivered? for I will bring the Arabians upon the valley, and they shall take it. (8) For the cry has reached the border of the region of Moab, even of Agalim; and her howling has gone as far as the well of Ælim. (9) And the water of Dimon shall be filled with blood: for I will bring Arabians upon Dimon, and I will take away the seed of Moab, and Ariel, and the remnant of Adama.

16

(1) I will send as it were reptiles on the land: is not the mount of the daughter of Sion a desolate rock? (2) For thou shalt be as a young bird taken away from a bird that has flown: even thou shalt be so, daughter of Moab: and then do thou, O Arnon, (3) take farther counsel, and continually make thou a shelter from grief: they flee in darkness at mid-day; they are amazed; be not thou led captive. (4) The fugitives of Moab shall sojourn with thee; they shall be to you a shelter from the face of the pursuer: for thine alliance has been taken away, and the oppressing ruler has perished from off the earth. (5) And a throne shall be established with mercy; and one shall sit upon it with truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and earnestly seeking judgments, and hasting righteousness. (6) We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud. I have cut off his pride: thy prophecy shall not be thus, no not thus. (7) Moab shall howl; for all shall howl in the land of Moab: but thou shalt care for them that dwell in Seth, and thou shalt not be ashamed. (8) The plains of Esebon shall mourn, the vine of Sebama: swallowing up the nations, trample ye her vines, even to Jazer: ye shall not come together; wander ye in the desert: they that were sent are deserted, for they have gone over to the sea. (9) Therefore will I weep as with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sebama; Esebon and Eleale have cast down thy trees; for I will trample on thy harvest and on thy vintages, and all thy plants shall fall. (10) And gladness and rejoicing shall be taken away from the vineyards; and they shall not at all tread wine into the vats; for the vintage has ceased. (11) Therefore my belly shall sound as a harp for Moab, and thou hast repaired my inward parts as a wall. (12) And it shall be to thy shame, (for Moab is wearied at the altars,) that he shall go in to the idols thereof to pray, but they shall not be at all able to deliver him. (13) This is the word which the Lord spoke against Moab, when he spoke. (14) And now I say, in three years, of the years of an hireling, the glory of Moab shall be dishonoured with all his great wealth; and he shall be left few in number, and not honoured.

17

(1) THE WORD AGAINST DAMASCUS. Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from among cities, and shall become a ruin; (2) abandoned for ever, to be a fold and resting-place for flocks, and there shall be none to go after them. (3) And she shall no longer be a strong place for Ephraim to flee to, and there shall no longer be a kingdom in Damascus, or a remnant of Syrians; for thou art no better than the children of Israel, even than their glory; thus saith the Lord of hosts. (4) There shall be in that day a failure of the glory of Jacob, and the riches of his glory shall be shaken. (5) And it shall be as if one should gather standing corn, and reap the grain of the ears; and it shall be as if one should gather ears in a rich valley; (6) and as if there should be left stubble therein, or as it were the berries of an olive tree, two or three on the topmost bough, or as if four or five should be left on their branches; thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel. (7) In that day a man shall trust in him that made him, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. (8) And they shall not at all trust in their altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers made; and they shall not look to the trees, nor to their abominations. (9) In that day thy cities shall be deserted, as the Amorites and the Evaeans deserted theirs, because of the children of Israel; and they shall be desolate. (10) Because thou hast forsaken God thy Saviour, and hast not been mindful of the Lord thy helper; therefore shalt thou plant a false plant, and a false seed. (11) In the day wherein thou shalt plant thou shalt be deceived; but if thou sow in the morning, the seed shall spring up for a crop in the day wherein thou shalt obtain an inheritance, and as a man’s father, thou shalt obtain an inheritance for thy sons. (12) Woe to the multitude of many nations, as the swelling sea, so shall ye be confounded; and the force of many nations shall sound like water; (13) many nations like much water, as when much water rushes violently: and they shall drive him away, and pursue him afar, as the dust of chaff when men winnow before the wind, and as a storm whirling the dust of the wheel. (14) Toward evening, and there shall be grief; before the morning, and he shall not be. This is the portion of them that spoiled you, and the inheritance to them that robbed you of your inheritance.

18

(1) Woe to you, ye wings of the land of ships, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. (2) He sends messengers by the sea, and paper letters on the water: for swift messengers shall go to a lofty nation, and to a strange and harsh people. Who is beyond it? a nation not looked for, and trodden down. (3) Now all the rivers of the land shall be inhabited as an inhabited country; their land shall be as when a signal is raised from a mountain; it shall be audible as the sound of a trumpet. (4) For thus said the Lord to me, There shall be security in my city, as the light of noonday heat, and it shall be as a cloud of dew in the day of harvest. (5) Before the reaping time, when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, then shall he take away the little clusters with pruning-hooks, and shall take away the small branches, and cut them off; (6) And he shall leave them together to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth: and the fowls of the sky shall be gathered upon them, and all the beasts of the land shall come upon him. (7) In that time shall presents be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people afflicted and peeled, and from a people great from henceforth and for ever; a nation hoping and yet trodden down, which is in a part of a river of his land, to the place where is the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Sion.

19

(1) THE VISION OF EGYPT. Behold, the Lord sits on a swift cloud, and shall come to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and their heart shall faint within them. (2) And the Egyptians shall be stirred up against the Egyptians: and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, and law against law. (3) And the spirit of the Egyptians shall be troubled within them; and I will frustrate their counsel: and they shall enquire of their gods and their images, and them that speak out of the earth, and them that have in them a divining spirit. (4) And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of men, of cruel lords; and cruel kings shall rule over them: thus saith the Lord of hosts. (5) And the Egyptians shall drink the water that is by the sea, but the river shall fail, and be dried up. (6) And the streams shall fail, and the canals of the river; and every reservoir of water shall be dried up, in every marsh also of reed and papyrus. (7) And all the green herbage round about the river, and everything sown by the side of the river, shall be blasted with the wind and dried up. (8) And the fishermen shall groan, and all that cast a hook into the river shall groan; they also that cast nets, and the anglers shall mourn. (9) And shame shall come upon them that work fine flax, and them that make fine linen. (10) And they that work at them shall be in pain, and all that make beer shall be grieved, and be pained in their souls. (11) And the princes of Tanis shall be fools: as for the king’s wise counsellors, their counsel shall be turned into folly: how will ye say to the king, we are sons of wise men, sons of ancient kings? (12) Where are now thy wise men? and let them declare to thee, and say, What has the Lord of hosts purposed upon Egypt? (13) The princes of Tanis have failed, and the princes of Memphis are lifted up with pride, and they shall cause Egypt to wander by tribes. (14) For the Lord has prepared for them a spirit of error, and they have caused Egypt to err in all their works, as one staggers who is drunken and vomits also. (15) And there shall be no work to the Egyptians, which shall make head or tail, or beginning or end. (16) But in that day the Egyptians shall be as women, in fear and in trembling because of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall bring upon them. (17) And the land of the Jews shall be for a terror to the Egyptians: whosoever shall name it to them, they shall fear, because of the counsel which the Lord of hosts has purposed concerning it. (18) In that day there shall be five cities in Egypt speaking the language of Chanaan, and swearing by the name of the Lord of hosts; one city shall be called the city of Asedec. (19) In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar to the Lord by its border. (20) And it shall be for a sign to the Lord for ever in the land of Egypt: for they shall presently cry to the Lord by reason of them that afflict them, and he shall send them a man who shall save them; he shall judge and save them. (21) And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay them. (22) And the Lord shall smite the Egyptians with a stroke, and shall completely heal them: and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall hear them, and thoroughly heal them. (23) In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrians shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrians. (24) In that day shall Israel be third with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, blessed in the land which the Lord of hosts has blessed, (25) saying, Blessed be my people that is in Egypt, and that is among the Assyrians, and Israel mine inheritance.

20

(1) In the year when Tanathan came to Azotus, when he was sent by Arna king of the Assyrians, and warred against Azotus, and took it; (2) then the Lord spoke to Esaias the son of Amos, saying, Go and take the sackcloth off thy loins, and loose thy sandals from off thy feet, and do thus, going naked and barefoot. (3) And the Lord said, As my servant Esaias has walked naked and barefoot three years, there shall be three years for signs and wonders to the Egyptians and Ethiopians; (4) for thus shall the king of the Assyrians lead the captivity of Egypt and the Ethiopians, young men and old, naked and barefoot, having the shame of Egypt exposed. (5) And the Egyptians being defeated shall be ashamed of the Ethiopians, in whom they had trusted; for they were their glory. (6) And they that dwell in this island shall say in that day, Behold, we trusted to flee to them for help, who could not save themselves from the king of the Assyrians: and how shall we be saved?

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(1) THE VISION OF THE DESERT. As though a whirlwind should pass through the desert, coming from a desert, even from such a land, (2) so a fearful and a grievous vision was declared to me: he that is treacherous deals treacherously, the transgressor transgresses. The Elamites are upon me, and the ambassadors of the Persians come against me: now will I groan and comfort myself. (3) Therefore are my loins filled with feebleness, and pangs have seized me as a travailing woman: I dealt wrongfully that I might not hear; I hasted that I might not see. (4) My heart wanders, and transgression overwhelms me; my soul is occupied with fear. (5) Prepare the table, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and prepare your shields. (6) For thus said the Lord to me, Go and station a watchman for thyself, and declare whatever thou shalt see. (7) And I saw two mounted horsemen, and a rider on an ass, and a rider on a camel. (8) Hearken with great attention, and call thou Urias to the watch-tower: the Lord has spoken. I stood continually during the day, and I stood in the camp all night: (9) and, behold, he comes riding in a chariot and pair: and he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all her images and her idols have been crushed to the ground. (10) Hear, ye that are left, and ye that are in pain, hear what things I have heard of the Lord of hosts which the God of Israel has declared to us. THE VISION OF IDUMEA. (11) Call to me out of Seir; guard ye the bulwarks. (12) I watch in the morning and the night: if thou wouldest enquire, enquire, and dwell by me. (13) Thou mayest lodge in the forest in the evening, or in the way of Daedan. (14) Ye that dwell in the country of Thaeman, bring water to meet him that is thirsty; (15) meet the fugitives with bread, because of the multitude of the slain, and because of the multitude of them that lose their way, and because of the multitude of swords, and because of the multitude of bent bows, and because of the multitude of them that have fallen in war. (16) For thus said the Lord to me, Yet a year, as the year of an hireling, and the glory of the sons of Kedar shall fail: (17) and the remnant of the strong bows of the sons of Kedar shall be small: for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.

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(1) THE WORD OF THE VALLEY OF SION. What has happened to thee, that now ye are all gone up to the housetops which help you not? (2) The city is filled with shouting men: thy slain are not slain with swords, nor are thy dead those who have died in battle. (3) All thy princes have fled, and thy captives are tightly bound, and the mighty men in thee have fled far away. (4) Therefore I said, Let me alone, I will weep bitterly; labour not to comfort me for the breach of the daughter of my people. (5) For it is a day of trouble, and of destruction, and of treading down, and there is perplexity sent from the Lord of hosts: they wander in the valley of Sion; they wander from the least to the greatest on the mountains. (6) And the Elamites took their quivers, and there were men mounted on horses, and there was a gathering for battle. (7) And it shall be that thy choice valleys shall be filled with chariots, and horsemen shall block up thy gates. (8) And they shall uncover the gates of Juda, and they shall look in that day on the choice houses of the city. (9) And they shall uncover the secret places of the houses of the citadel of David: and they saw that they were many, and that one had turned the water of the old pool into the city; (10) and that they had pulled down the houses of Jerusalem, to fortify the wall of the city. (11) And ye procured to yourselves water between the two walls within the ancient pool: but ye looked not to him that made it from the beginning, and regarded not him that created it. (12) And the Lord, the Lord of hosts, called in that day for weeping, and lamentation, and baldness, and for girding with sackcloth: (13) but they engaged in joy and gladness, slaying calves, and killing sheep, so as to eat flesh, and drink wine; saying, Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die. (14) And these things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of hosts: for this sin shall not be forgiven you, until ye die. (15) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Go into the chamber, to Somnas the treasurer, and say to him, Why art thou here? (16) and what hast thou to do here, that thou hast here hewn thyself a sepulchre, and madest thyself a sepulchre on high, and hast graven for thyself a dwelling in the rock? (17) Behold now, the Lord of hosts casts forth and will utterly destroy such a man, and will take away thy robe and thy glorious crown, (18) and will cast thee into a great and unmeasured land, and there thou shalt die: and he will bring thy fair chariot to shame, and the house of thy prince to be trodden down. (19) And thou shalt be removed from thy stewardship, and from thy place. (20) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Chelcias: (21) and I will put on him thy robe, and I will grant him thy crown with power, and I will give thy stewardship into his hands: and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to them that dwell in Juda. (22) And I will give him the glory of David; and he shall rule, and there shall be none to speak against him: and I will give him the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and there shall be none to shut; and he shall shut, and there shall be none to open. (23) And I will make him a ruler in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne of his father’s house. (24) And every one that is glorious in the house of his father shall trust in him, from the least to the greatest; and they shall depend upon him in that day. (25) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, The man that is fastened in the sure place shall be removed and be taken away, and shall fall; and the glory that is upon him shall be utterly destroyed: for the Lord has spoken it.

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(1) THE WORD CONCERNING TYRE. Howl, ye ships of Carthage; for she has perished, and men no longer arrive from the land of the Citians: she is led captive. (2) To whom are the dwellers in the island become like, the merchants of Phoenice, passing over the sea (3) in great waters, a generation of merchants? as when the harvest is gathered in, so are these traders with the nations. (4) Be ashamed, O Sidon: the sea has said, yea, the strength of the sea has said, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, nor have I brought up young men, nor reared virgins. (5) Moreover when it shall be heard in Egypt, sorrow shall seize them for Tyre. (6) Depart ye to Carthage; howl, ye that dwell in this island. (7) Was not this your pride from the beginning, before she was given up? (8) Who has devised this counsel against Tyre? Is she inferior? or has she no strength? her merchants were the glorious princes of the earth. (9) The Lord of hosts has purposed to bring down all the pride of the glorious ones, and to disgrace every glorious thing on the earth. (10) Till thy land; for ships no more come out of Carthage. (11) And thy hand prevails no more by sea, which troubled kings: the Lord of hosts has given a command concerning Chanaan, to destroy the strength thereof. (12) And men shall say, Ye shall no longer at all continue to insult and injure the daughter of Sidon: and if thou depart to the Citians, neither there shalt thou have rest. (13) And if thou depart to the land of the Chaldeans, this also is laid waste by the Assyrians, for her wall is fallen. (14) Howl, ye ships of Carthage: for your strong hold is destroyed. (15) And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be left seventy years, as the time of a king, as the time of a man: and it shall come to pass after seventy years, that Tyre shall be as the song of a harlot. (16) Take a harp, go about, O city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; play well on the harp, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. (17) And it shall come to pass after the seventy years, that God will visit Tyre, and she shall be again restored to her primitive state, and she shall be a mart for all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. (18) And her trade and her gain shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be gathered for them, but for those that dwell before the Lord, even all her trade, to eat and drink and be filled, and for a covenant and a memorial before the Lord.

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(1) Behold, the Lord is about to lay waste the world, and will make it desolate, and will lay bare the surface of it, and scatter them that dwell therein. (2) And the people shall be as the priest, and the servant as the lord, and the maid as the mistress; the buyer shall be as the seller, the lender as the borrower, and the debtor as his creditor. (3) The earth shall be completely laid waste, and the earth shall be utterly spoiled: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. (4) The earth mourns, and the world is ruined, the lofty ones of the earth are mourning. (5) And she has sinned by reason of her inhabitants; because they have transgressed the law, and changed the ordinances, even the everlasting covenant. (6) Therefore a curse shall consume the earth, because the inhabitants thereof have sinned: therefore the dwellers in the earth shall be poor, and few men shall be left. (7) The wine shall mourn, the vine shall mourn, all the merry-hearted shall sigh. (8) The mirth of timbrels has ceased, the sound of the harp has ceased. (9) They are ashamed, they have not drunk wine; strong drink has become bitter to them that drink it. (10) All the city has become desolate: one shall shut his house so that none shall enter. (11) There is a howling for the wine everywhere; all the mirth of the land has ceased, all the mirth of the land has departed. (12) And cities shall be left desolate, and houses being left shall fall to ruin. (13) All this shall be in the land in the midst of the nations, as if one should strip an olive tree, so shall they strip them; but when the vintage is done, (14) these shall cry aloud; and they that are left on the land shall rejoice together in the glory of the Lord: the water of the sea shall be troubled. (15) Therefore shall the glory of the Lord be in the isles of the sea; the name of the Lord shall be glorious. (16) O Lord God of Israel, from the ends of the earth we have heard wonderful things, and there is hope to the godly: but they shall say, Woe to the despisers, that despise the law. (17) Fear, and a pit, and a snare, are upon you that dwell on the earth. (18) And it shall come to pass, that he that flees from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that comes up out of the pit shall be caught by the snare: for windows have been opened in heaven, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken, (19) the earth shall be utterly confounded, and the earth shall be completely perplexed. (20) It reels as a drunkard and one oppressed with wine, and the earth shall be shaken as a storehouse of fruits; for iniquity has prevailed upon it, and it shall fall, and shall not be able to rise. (21) And God shall bring his hand upon the host of heaven, and upon the kings of the earth. (22) And they shall gather the multitude thereof into prisons, and they shall shut them into a strong hold: after many generations they shall be visited. (23) And the brick shall decay, and the wall shall fall; for the Lord shall reign from out of Sion, and out of Jerusalem, and shall be glorified before his elders.

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(1) O Lord God, I will glorify thee, I will sing to thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even an ancient and faithful counsel. So be it. (2) For thou hast made cities a heap, even cities made strong that their foundations should not fall: the city of ungodly men shall not be built for ever. (3) Therefore shall the poor people bless thee, and cities of injured men shall bless thee. (4) For thou hast been a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to them that were disheartened by reason of poverty: thou shalt deliver them from wicked men: thou hast been a shelter of them that thirst, and a refreshing air to injured men. (5) We were as faint-hearted men thirsting in Sion, by reason of ungodly men to whom thou didst deliver us. (6) And the Lord of hosts shall make a feast for all the nations: on this mount they shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine: (7) they shall anoint themselves with ointment in this mountain. Impart thou all these things to the nations; for this is God’s counsel upon all the nations. (8) Death has prevailed and swallowed men up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of his people from all the earth: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. (9) And in that day they shall say, behold our God in whom we have trusted, and he shall save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, and we have exulted, and will rejoice in our salvation. (10) God will give rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons. (11) And he shall spread forth his hands, even as he also brings down man to destroy him: and he shall bring low his pride in regard to the thing on which he has laid his hands. (12) And he shall bring down the height of the refuge of the wall, and it shall come down even to the ground.

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(1) In that day they shall sing this song in the land of Judea; Behold a strong city; and he shall make salvation its wall and bulwark. (2) Open ye the gates, let the nation enter that keeps righteousness, and keeps truth, (3) supporting truth, and keeping peace: for on thee, O Lord, (4) they have trusted with confidence for ever, the great, the eternal God; (5) who hast humbled and brought down them that dwell on high, thou shalt cast down strong cities, and bring them to the ground. (6) And the feet of the meek and lowly shall trample them. (7) The way of the godly is made straight: the way of the godly is also prepared. (8) For the way of the Lord is judgment: we have hoped in thy name, and on the remembrance of thee, (9) which our soul longs for: my spirit seeks thee very early in the morning, O God, for thy commandments are a light on the earth: learn righteousness, ye that dwell upon the earth. (10) For the ungodly one is put down: no one who will not learn righteousness on the earth, shall be able to do the truth: let the ungodly be taken away, that he see not the glory of the Lord. (11) O Lord, thine arm is exalted, yet they knew it not: but when they know they shall be ashamed: jealousy shall seize upon an untaught nation, and now fire shall devour the adversaries. (12) O Lord our God, give us peace: for thou hast rendered to us all things. (13) O Lord our God, take possession of us: O Lord, we know not any other beside thee: we name thy name. (14) But the dead shall not see life, neither shall physicians by any means raise them up: therefore thou hast brought wrath upon them, and slain them, and hast taken away every male of them. Bring more evils upon them, O Lord; (15) bring more evils on the glorious ones of the earth. (16) Lord, in affliction I remembered thee; thy chastening was to us with small affliction. (17) And as a woman in travail draws nigh to be delivered, and cries out in her pain; so have we been to thy beloved. (18) We have conceived, O Lord, because of thy fear, and have been in pain, and have brought forth the breath of thy salvation, which we have wrought upon the earth: we shall not fall, but all that dwell upon the land shall fall. (19) The dead shall rise, and they that are in the tombs shall be raised, and they that are in the earth shall rejoice: for the dew from thee is healing to them: but the land of the ungodly shall perish. (20) Go, my people, enter into thy closets, shut thy door, hide thyself for a little season, until the anger of the Lord have passed away. (21) For, behold, the Lord is bringing wrath from his holy place upon the dwellers on the earth: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall not cover her slain.

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(1) In that day God shall bring his holy and great and strong sword upon the dragon, even the serpent that flees, upon the dragon, the crooked serpent: he shall destroy the dragon. (2) In that day there shall be a fair vineyard, and a desire to commence a song concerning it. (3) I am a strong city, a city in a siege: in vain shall I water it; for it shall be taken by night, and by day the wall shall fall. (4) There is no woman that has not taken hold of it; who will set me to watch stubble in the field? because of this enemy I have set her aside; therefore on this account the Lord has done all that he appointed. (5) I am burnt up; they that dwell in her shall cry, Let us make peace with him, let us make peace, (6) they that are coming are the children of Jacob. Israel shall bud and blossom, and the world shall be filled with his fruit. (7) Shall he himself be thus smitten, even as he smote? and as he slew, shall he be thus slain? (8) Fighting and reproaching he will dismiss them; didst thou not meditate with a harsh spirit, to slay them with a wrathful spirit? (9) Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away; and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away his sin; when they shall have broken to pieces all the stones of the altars as fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols shall be cut off, as a thicket afar off. (10) The flock that dwelt there shall be left, as a deserted flock; and the ground shall be for a long time for pasture, and there shall flocks lie down to rest. (11) And after a time there shall be in it no green thing because of the grass being parched. Come hither, ye women that come from a sight; for it is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them shall have no pity upon them, and he that formed them shall have no mercy upon them. (12) And it shall come to pass in that day that God shall fence men off from the channel of the river as far as Rhinocorura; but do ye gather one by one the children of Israel. (13) And it shall come to pass in that day that they shall blow the great trumpet, and the lost ones in the land of the Assyrians shall come, and the lost ones in Egypt, and shall worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

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(1) Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, the flower that has fallen from the glory of the top of the fertile mountain, they that are drunken without wine. (2) Behold, the anger of the Lord is strong and severe, as descending hail where there is no shelter, violently descending; as a great body of water sweeping away the soil, he shall make rest for the land. (3) The crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, shall be beaten down with the hands and with the feet. (4) And the fading flower of the glorious hope on the top of the high mountain shall be as the early fig; he that sees it, before he takes it into his hand, will desire to swallow it down. (5) In that day the Lord of hosts shall be the crown of hope, the woven crown of glory, to the remnant of the people. (6) They shall be left in the spirit of judgment for judgment, and for the strength of them that hinder slaying. (7) For these have trespassed through wine; they have erred through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are mad through strong drink, they are swallowed up by reason of wine, they have staggered through drunkenness; they have erred: this is their vision. (8) A curse shall devour this counsel, for this is their counsel for the sake of covetousness. (9) To whom have we reported evils? and to whom have we reported a message? even to those that are weaned from the milk, who are drawn from the breast. (10) Expect thou affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, and yet a little, (11) by reason of the contemptuous words of the lips, by means of another language: for they shall speak to this people, saying to them, (12) This is the rest to him that is hungry, and this is the calamity: but they would not hear. (13) Therefore the oracle of God shall be to them affliction on affliction, hope on hope, yet a little, and yet a little, that they may go and fall backward; and they shall be crushed and shall be in danger, and shall be taken. (14) Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, ye afflicted men, and ye princes of this people that is in Jerusalem. (15) Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: (16) Therefore thus saith the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed. (17) And I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just measures, and ye that trust vainly in falsehood shall fall: for the storm shall by no means pass by you, (18) except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. (19) Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. (20) ye that are distressed; we cannot fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered. (21) The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly men, and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, even a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange. (22) Therefore do not ye rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth. (23) Hearken, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words. (24) Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground? (25) Does he not, when he has levelled the surface thereof, then sow the small black poppy, or cumin, and afterward sow wheat, and barley, and millet, and bread-corn in thy borders? (26) So thou shalt be chastened by the judgment of thy God, and shalt rejoice. (27) For the black poppy is not cleansed with harsh treatment, nor will a wagon-wheel pass over the cumin; but the black poppy is threshed with a rod, and the cumin shall be eaten with bread; (28) for I will not be wroth with you for ever, neither shall the voice of my anger crush you. (29) And these signs came forth from the Lord of hosts. Take counsel, exalt vain comfort.

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(1) Alas for the city of Ariel, which David besieged. Gather ye fruits year by year; eat ye, for ye shall eat with Moab. (2) For I will grievously afflict Ariel: and her strength and her wealth shall be mine. (3) And I will compass thee about like David, and will raise a mound about thee, and set up towers round thee. (4) And thy words shall be brought down to the earth, and thy words shall sink down to the earth, and thy voice shall be as they that speak out of the earth, and thy voice shall be lowered to the ground. (5) But the wealth of the ungodly shall be as dust from a wheel, and the multitude of them that oppress thee as flying chaff, and it shall be suddenly as a moment, (6) from the Lord of Hosts: for there shall be a visitation with thunder, and earthquake, and a loud noise, a rushing tempest, and devouring flame of fire. (7) And the wealth of all the nations together, as many as have fought against Ariel, and all they that war against Jerusalem, and all who are gathered against her, and they that distress her, shall be as one that dreams in sleep by night. (8) And as men drink and eat in sleep, and when they have arisen, the dream is vain: and as a thirsty man dreams as if he drank, and having arisen is still thirsty, and his soul has desired in vain: so shall be the wealth of all the nations, as many as have fought against the mount Sion. (9) Faint ye, and be amazed, and be overpowered, not with strong drink nor with wine. (10) For the Lord has made you to drink a spirit of deep sleep; and he shall close their eyes, and the eyes of their prophets and of their rulers, who see secret things. (11) And all these things shall be to you as the words of this sealed book, which if they shall give to a learned man, saying, Read this, he shall then say, I cannot read it, for it is sealed. (12) And this book shall be given into the hands of a man that is unlearned, and one shall say to him, Read this; and he shall say, I am not learned. (13) And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men. (14) Therefore behold I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them: and I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent. (15) Woe to them that deepen their counsel, and not by the Lord. Woe to them that take secret counsel, and whose works are in darkness, and they say, Who has seen us? and who shall know us, or what we do? (16) Shall ye not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Thou didst not form me? or the work to the maker, Thou hast not made me wisely? (17) Is it not yet a little while, and Libanus shall be changed as the mountains of Chermel, and Chermel shall be reckoned as a forest? (18) And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they that are in darkness, and they that are in mist: the eyes of the blind shall see, (19) and the poor shall rejoice with joy because of the Lord, and they that had no hope among men shall be filled with joy. (20) The lawless man has come to nought, and the proud man has perished, and they that transgress mischievously have been utterly destroyed: (21) and they that cause men to sin by a word: and men shall make all that reprove in the gates an offence, because they have unjustly turned aside the righteous. (22) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the house of Jacob, whom he set apart from Abraam, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall he now change countenance. (23) But when their children shall have seen my works, they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. (24) And they that erred in spirit shall know understanding, and the murmurers shall learn obedience, and the stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace.

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(1) Woe to the apostate children, saith the Lord: ye have framed counsel, not by me, and covenants not by my Spirit, to add sins to sins: (2) even they that proceed to go down into Egypt, but they have not enquired of me, that they might be helped by Pharao, and protected by the Egyptians. (3) For the protection of Pharaoh shall be to you a disgrace, and there shall be a reproach to them that trust in Egypt. (4) For there are princes in Tanes, evil messengers. (5) In vain shall they labour in seeking to a people, which shall not profit them for help, but shall be for a shame and reproach. (6) THE VISION OF THE QUADRUPEDS IN THE DESERT. (7) The Egyptians shall help you utterly in vain: tell them, This your consolation is vain. (8) Now then sit down and write these words on a tablet, and in a book; for these things shall be for many long days, and even for ever. (9) For the people is disobedient, false children, who would not hear the law of God: (10) who say to the prophets, Report not to us; and to them that see visions, Speak them not to us, but speak and report to us another error; (11) and turn us aside from this way; remove from us this path, and remove from us the oracle of Israel. (12) Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye have refused to obey these words, and have trusted in falsehood; and because thou hast murmured, and been confident in this respect: (13) therefore shall this sin be to you as a wall suddenly falling when a strong city has been taken, of which the fall is very near at hand. (14) And the fall thereof shall be as the breaking of an earthen vessel, as small fragments of a pitcher, so that thou shouldest not find among them a sherd, with which thou mightest take up fire, and with which thou shouldest draw a little water. (15) Thus saith the Lord, the Holy Lord of Israel; When thou shalt turn and mourn, then thou shalt be saved; and thou shalt know where thou wast, when thou didst trust in vanities: then your strength became vain, yet ye would not hearken: (16) but ye said, We will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will be aided by swift riders; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. (17) A thousand shall flee because of the voice of one, and many shall flee on account of the voice of five; until ye be left as a signal-post upon a mountain, and as one bearing an ensign upon a hill. (18) And the Lord will again wait, that he may pity you, and will therefore be exalted that he may have mercy upon you: because the Lord your God is a judge: blessed are they that stay themselves upon him. (19) For the holy people shall dwell in Sion: and whereas Jerusalem has wept bitterly, saying, Pity me; he shall pity thee: when he perceived the voice of thy cry, he hearkened to thee. (20) And though the Lord shall give you the bread of affliction and scant water, yet they that cause thee to err shall no more at all draw nigh to thee; for thine eyes shall see those that cause thee to err, (21) and thine ears shall hear the words of them that went after thee to lead thee astray, who say, This is the way, let us walk in it, whether to the right or to the left. (22) And thou shalt pollute the plated idols, and thou shalt grind to powder the gilt ones, and shalt scatter them as the water of a removed woman, and thou shalt thrust them forth as dung. (23) Then shall there be rain to the seed of thy land; and the bread of the fruit of thy land shall be plenteous and rich: and thy cattle shall feed in that day in a fertile and spacious place. (24) Your bulls and your oxen that till the ground, shall eat chaff mixed with winnowed barley. (25) And there shall be upon every lofty mountain and upon every high hill, water running in that day, when many shall perish, and when the towers shall fall. (26) And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold in the day when the Lord shall heal the breach of his people, and shall heal the pain of thy wound. (27) Behold, the name of the Lord comes after a long time, burning wrath: the word of his lips is with glory, a word full of anger, and the anger of his wrath shall devour as fire. (28) And his breath, as rushing water in a valley, shall reach as far as the neck, and be divided, to confound the nations for their vain error: error also shall pursue them, and overtake them. (29) Must ye always rejoice, and go into my holy places continually, as they that keep a feast? and must ye go with a pipe, as those that rejoice, into the mountain of the Lord, to the God of Israel? (30) And the Lord shall make his glorious voice to be heard, and the wrath of his arm, to make a display with wrath and anger and devouring flame: he shall lighten terribly, and his wrath shall be as water and violent hail. (31) For by the voice of the Lord the Assyrians shall be overcome, even by the stroke wherewith he shall smite them. (32) And it shall happen to him from every side, that they from whom their hope of assistance was, in which he trusted, themselves shall war against him in turn with drums and with harp. (33) For thou shalt be required before thy time: has it been prepared for thee also to reign? nay, God has prepared for thee a deep trench, wood piled, fire and much wood: the wrath of the Lord shall be as a trench kindled with sulphur.

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(1) Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and chariots, for they are many; and in horses, which are a great multitude; and have not trusted in the Holy One of Israel, and have not sought the Lord. (2) Therefore he has wisely brought evils upon them, and his word shall not be frustrated; and he shall rise up against the houses of wicked men, and against their vain hope, (3) even an Egyptian, a man, and not God; the flesh of horses, and there is no help in them: but the Lord shall bring his hand upon them, and the helpers shall fail, and all shall perish together. (4) For thus said the Lord to me, As a lion would roar, or a lion’s whelp over prey which he has taken, and cry over it, until the mountains are filled with his voice, and the animals are awe-struck and tremble at the fierceness of his wrath: so the Lord of hosts shall descend to fight upon the mount Sion, even upon her mountains. (5) As birds flying, so shall the Lord of hosts defend; he shall defend Jerusalem, and he shall rescue, and save and deliver. (6) Turn, ye children of Israel, who devise a deep and sinful counsel. (7) For in that day men shall renounce their silver idols and their golden idols, which their hands made. (8) And the Assyrian shall fall: not the sword of a great man, nor the sword of a mean man shall devour him; neither shall he flee from the face of the sword: but the young men shall be overthrown: (9) for they shall be compassed with rocks as with a trench, and shall be worsted; and he that flees shall be taken. Thus saith the Lord, Blesses is he that has a seed in Sion, and household friends in Jerusalem.

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(1) For, behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall govern with judgment. (2) And a man shall hide his words, and be hidden, as from rushing water, and shall appear in Sion as a rushing river, glorious in a thirsty land. (3) And they shall no more trust in men, but they shall incline their ears to hear. (4) And the heart of the weak ones shall attend to hear, and the stammering tongues shall soon learn to speak peace. (5) And they shall no more at all tell a fool to rule, and thy servants shall no more at all say, Be silent. (6) For the fool shall speak foolish words, and his heart shall meditate vanities, and to perform lawless deeds and to speak error against the Lord, to scatter hungry souls, and he will cause the thirsty souls to be empty. (7) For the counsel of the wicked will devise iniquity, to destroy the poor with unjust words, and ruin the cause of the poor in judgment. (8) But the godly have devised wise measures, and this counsel shall stand. (9) Rise up, ye rich women, and hear my voice; ye confident daughters, hearken to my words. (10) Remember for a full year in pain, yet with hope: the vintage has been cut off; it has ceased, it shall by no means come again. (11) Be amazed, be pained, ye confident ones: strip you, bare yourselves, gird your loins; (12) and beat your breasts, because of the pleasant field, and the fruit of the vine. (13) As for the land of my people, the thorn and grass shall come upon it, and joy shall be removed from every house. (14) As for the rich city, the houses are deserted; they shall abandon the wealth of the city, and the pleasant houses: and the villages shall be caves for ever, the joy of wild asses, shepherds’ pastures; (15) until the Spirit shall come upon you from on high, and Chermel shall be desert, and Chermel shall be counted for a forest. (16) Then judgment shall abide in the wilderness, and righteousness shall dwell in Carmel. (17) And the works of righteousness shall be peace; and righteousness shall ensure rest, and the righteous shall be confident for ever. (18) And his people shall inhabit a city of peace, and dwell in it in confidence, and they shall rest with wealth. (19) And if the hail should come down, it shall not come upon you; and they that dwell in the forests shall be in confidence, as those in the plain country. (20) Blessed are they that sow by every water, where the ox and ass tread.

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(1) Woe to them that afflict you; but no one makes you miserable: and he that deals perfidiously with you does not deal perfidiously: they that deal perfidiously shall be taken and given up, and as a moth on a garment, so shall they be spoiled. (2) Lord, have mercy upon us; for we have trusted in thee: the seed of the rebellious is gone to destruction, but our deliverance was in a time of affliction. (3) By reason of the terrible sound the nations were dismayed for fear of thee, and the heathen were scattered. (4) And now shall the spoils of your small and great be gathered: as if one should gather locusts, so shall they mock you. (5) The God who dwells on high is holy: Sion is filled with judgment and righteousness. (6) They shall be delivered up to the law: our salvation is our treasure: there are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward the Lord; these are the treasures of righteousness. (7) Behold now, these shall be terrified with fear of you: those whom ye feared shall cry out because of you: messengers shall be sent, bitterly weeping, entreating for peace. (8) For the ways of these shall be made desolate: the terror of the nations has been made to cease, and the covenant with these is taken away, and ye shall by no means deem them men. (9) The land mourns; Libanus is ashamed: Saron is become marshes; Galilee shall be laid bare, and Chermel. (10) Now will I arise, saith the Lord, now will I be glorified; now will I be exalted. (11) Now shall ye see, now shall ye perceive; the strength of your breath, shall be vain; fire shall devour you. (12) And the nations shall be burnt up; as a thorn in the field cast out and burnt up. (13) They that are afar off shall hear what I have done; they that draw nigh shall know my strength. (14) The sinners in Sion have departed; trembling shall seize the ungodly. Who will tell you that a fire is kindled? Who will tell you of the eternal place? (15) He that walks in righteousness, speaking rightly, hating transgression and iniquity, and shaking his hands from gifts, stopping his ears that he should not hear the judgment of blood, shutting his eyes that he should not see injustice. (16) he shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock: bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure. (17) Ye shall see a king with glory: your eyes shall behold a land from afar. (18) Your soul shall meditate terror. Where are the scribes? where are the counsellors, where is he that numbers them that are growing up, (19) even the small and great people? with whom he took not counsel, neither did he understand a people of deep speech, so that a despised people should not hear, and there is no understanding to him that hears. (20) Behold the city of Sion, our refuge: thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles which shall not be shaken, neither shall the pins of her tabernacle be moved for ever, neither shall her cords be at all broken: (21) for the name of the Lord is great to you: ye shall have a place, even rivers and wide and spacious channels: thou shalt not go this way, neither a vessel with oars go thereby. (22) For my God is great: the Lord our judge shall not pass me by: the Lord is our prince, the Lord is our king; the Lord, he shall save us. (23) Thy cords are broken, for they had no strength: thy meat has given way, it shall not spread the sails, it shall not bear a signal, until it be given up for plunder; therefore shall many lame men take spoil. (24) And the people dwelling among them shall by no means say, I am in pain: for their sin shall be forgiven them.

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(1) Draw near, ye nations; and hearken, ye princes; let the earth hear, and they that are in it; the world, and the people that are therein. (2) For the wrath of the Lord is upon all nations, and his anger upon the number of them, to destroy them, and give them up to slaughter. (3) And their slain shall be cast forth, and their corpses; and their ill savour shall come up, and the mountains shall be made wet with their blood. (4) And all the powers of the heavens shall melt, and the sky shall be rolled up like a scroll: and all the stars shall fall like leaves from a vine, and as leaves fall from a fig-tree. (5) My sword has been made drunk in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and with judgment upon the people doomed to destruction. (6) The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is glutted with fat, with the blood of goats and lambs, and with the fat of goats and rams: for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bosor, and a great slaughter in Idumea. (7) And the mighty ones shall fall with them, and the rams and the bulls; and the land shall be soaked with blood, and shall be filled with their fat. (8) For it is the day of judgment of the Lord, and the year of the recompence of Sion in judgment. (9) And her valleys shall be turned into pitch, and her land into sulphur; and her land shall be as pitch burning night and day; (10) and it shall never be quenched, and her smoke shall go up: it shall be made desolate throughout her generations, (11) and for a long time birds and hedgehogs, and ibises and ravens shall dwell in it: and the measuring line of desolation shall be cast over it, and satyrs shall dwell in it. (12) Her princes shall be no more; for her kings and her great men shall be destroyed. (13) And thorns shall spring up in their cities, and in her strong holds: and they shall be habitations of monsters, and a court of ostriches. (14) And devils shall meet with satyrs, and they shall cry one to the other: there shall satyrs rest, having found for themselves a place of rest. (15) There has the hedgehog made its nest, and the earth has safely preserved its young: there have the deer met, and seen one another’s faces. (16) They passed by in full number, and not one of them perished: they sought not one another; for the Lord commanded them, and his Spirit gathered them. (17) And he shall cast lots for them, and his hand has portioned out their pasture, saying, Ye shall inherit the land for ever: they shall rest on it through all generations.

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(1) Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult, and flower as the lily. (2) And the desert places of Jordan shall blossom and rejoice; the glory of Libanus has been given to it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God. (3) Be strong, ye relaxed hands and palsied knees. (4) Comfort one another, ye fainthearted; be strong, fear not; behold, our God renders judgment, and he will render it; he will come and save us. (5) Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. (6) Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly; for water has burst forth in the desert, and a channel of water in a thirsty land. (7) And the dry land shall become pools, and a fountain of water shall be poured into the thirsty land; there shall there be a joy of birds, ready habitations and marshes. (8) There shall be there a pure way, and it shall be called a holy way; and there shall not pass by there any unclean person, neither shall there be there an unclean way; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray. (9) And there shall be no lion there, neither shall any evil beast go up upon it, nor at all be found there; but the redeemed and gathered on the Lord’s behalf, shall walk in it, (10) and shall return, and come to Sion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head; for on their head shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall take possession of them: sorrow and pain, and groaning have fled away.

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(1) Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of the reign of Ezekias, that Sennacherim, king of the Assyrians, came up against the strong cities of Judea, and took them. (2) And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabsaces out of Laches to Jerusalem to king Ezekias with a large force: and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller’s field. (3) And there went forth to him Heliakim the steward, the son of Chelcias, and Somnas the scribe, and Joach the son of Asaph, the recorder. (4) And Rabsaces said to them, Say to Ezekias, Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians, Why art thou secure? (5) Is war carried on with counsel and mere words of the lips? and now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? (6) Behold, thou trustest on this bruised staff of reed, on Egypt: as soon as a man leans upon it, it shall go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharao king of Egypt and all that trust in him. (7) But if ye say, We trust in the Lord our God; (8) yet now make an agreement with my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, if ye shall be able to set riders upon them. (9) And how can ye then turn to the face of the satraps? They that trust on the Egyptians for horse and rider, are our servants. (10) And now, Have we come up against this land to fight against it without the Lord? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. (11) Then Eliakim and Somnas and Joach said to him, Speak to thy servants in the Syrian tongue; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jewish tongue: and wherefore speakest thou in the ears of the men on the wall? (12) And Rabsaces said to them, Has my lord sent me to your lord or to you, to speak these words? has he not sent me to the men that sit on the wall, that they may eat dung, and drink their water together with you? (13) And Rabsaces stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians: (14) thus says the king, Let not Ezekias deceive you with words: he will not be able to deliver you. (15) And let not Ezekias say to you, That God will deliver you, and this city will not at all be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians. (16) Hearken not to Ezekias: thus says the king of the Assyrians, If ye wish to be blessed, come out to me: and ye shall eat every one of his vine and his fig-trees, and ye shall drink water out of your own cisterns: (17) until I come and take you to a land, like your own land, a land of corn and wine, and bread, and vineyards. (18) Let not Ezekias deceive you, saying, God will deliver you. Have the gods of the nations delivered each one his own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians? (19) Where is the god of Emath, and Arphath? and where is the god of Eppharuaim? have they been able to deliver Samaria out of my hand? (20) Which is the god of all these nations, that has delivered his land out of my hand, that God should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? (21) And they were silent, and none answered him a word; because the king had commanded that none should answer. (22) And Heliakim the son of Chelcias, the steward, and Somnas the military scribe, and Joach the son of Asaph, the recorder, came in to Ezekias, having their garments rent, and they reported to him the words of Rabsaces.

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(1) And it came to pass, when king Ezekias heard it, that he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and went up to the house of the Lord. (2) And he sent Heliakim the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and the elders of the priests clothed with sackcloth, to Esaias the son of Amos, the prophet. And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias, (3) To-day is a day of affliction, and reproach, and rebuke, and anger: for the pangs are come upon the travailing woman, but she has not strength to bring forth. (4) May the Lord thy God hear the words of Rabsaces, which the king of the Assyrians has sent, to reproach the living God, even to reproach with the words which the Lord thy God has heard: therefore thou shalt pray to thy Lord for these that are left. (5) So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias. (6) And Esaias said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not thou afraid at the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the ambassadors of the king of the Assyrians have reproached me, (7) Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a report, and return to his own country, and he shall fall by the sword in his own land. (8) So Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna: for he had heard that he had departed from Lachis. (9) And Tharaca king of the Ethiopians went forth to attack him. And when he heard it, he turned aside, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying, (10) Thus shall ye say to Ezekias king of Judea, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians. (11) Hast thou not heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done, how they have destroyed the whole earth? and shalt thou be delivered? (12) Have the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed delivered them, both Gozan, and Charrhan, and Rapheth, which are in the land of Theemath? (13) Where are the kings of Emath? and where is the king of Arphath? and where is the king of the city of Eppharuaim, and of Anagugana? (14) And Ezekias received the letter from the messengers, and read it, and went up to the house of the Lord, and opened it before the Lord. (15) And Ezekias prayed to the Lord, saying, (16) O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who sittest upon the cherubs, thou alone art the God of every kingdom of the world: thou hast made heaven and earth. (17) Incline thine ear, O Lord, hearken, O Lord; open thine eyes, O Lord, look, O Lord: and behold the words of Sennacherim, which he has sent to reproach the living God. (18) For of a truth, Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste the whole world, and the countries thereof, (19) and have cast their idols into the fire: for, they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; and they have cast them away. (20) But now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hands, that every kingdom of the earth may know that thou art God alone. (21) And Esaias the son of Amos was sent to Ezekias, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, I have heard thy prayer to me concerning Sennacherim king of the Assyrians. (22) This is the word which God has spoken concerning him; The virgin daughter of Sion has despised thee, and mocked thee; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. (23) Whom hast thou reproached and provoked? and against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice? and hast thou not lifted up thine eyes on high against the Holy One of Israel? (24) For thou hast reproached the Lord by messengers; for thou hast said, With the multitude of chariots have I ascended to the height of mountains, and to the sides of Libanus; and I have cropped the height of his cedars and the beauty of his cypresses; and I entered into the height of the forest region: (25) and I have made a bridge, and dried up the waters, and every pool of water. (26) Hast thou not heard of these things which I did of old? I appointed them from ancient times; but now have I manifested my purpose of desolating nations in their strong holds, and them that dwell in strong cities. (27) I weakened their hands, and they withered; and they became as dry grass on the house-tops, and as grass. (28) But now I know thy rest, and thy going out, and thy coming in. (29) And thy wrath wherewith thou hast been enraged, and thy rancour has come up to me; therefore I will put a hook in thy nose, and a bit in thy lips, and will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. (30) And this shall be a sign to thee, Eat this year what thou hast sown; and the second year that which is left: and the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. (31) And they that are left in Judea shall take root downward, and bear fruit upward: (32) for out of Jerusalem there shall be a remnant, and the saved ones out of mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. (33) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, nor cast a weapon against it, nor bring a shield against it, nor make a rampart round it. (34) But by the way by which he came, by it shall he return, and shall not enter into this city: thus saith the Lord. (35) I will protect this city to save it for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. (36) And the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew out of the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand: and they arose in the morning and found all these bodies dead. (37) And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians turned and departed, and dwelt in Nineve. (38) And while he was worshipping Nasarach his country’s god in the house, Adramelech and Sarasar his sons smote him with swords; and they escaped into Armenia: and Asordan his son reigned in his stead.

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(1) And it came to pass at that time, that Ezekias was sick even to death. And Esaias the prophet the son of Amos came to him, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Give orders concerning thy house: for thou shalt die, and not live. (2) And Ezekias turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, (3) Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth, with a true heart, and have done that which was pleasing in thy sight. And Ezekias wept bitterly. (4) And the word of the Lord came to Esaias, saying, Go, and say to Ezekias, (5) Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, and seen thy tears: behold, I will add to thy time fifteen years. (6) And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians: and I will defend this city. (7) And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that God will do this thing; (8) behold, I will turn back the shadow of the degrees of the dial by which ten degrees on the house of thy father the sun has gone down—I will turn back the sun the ten degrees; so the sun went back the ten degrees by which the shadow had gone down. (9) THE PRAYER OF EZEKIAS KING OF JUDEA, WHEN HE HAD BEEN SICK, AND WAS RECOVERED FROM HIS SICKNESS. (10) I said in the end of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I shall part with the remainder of my years. (11) I said, I shall no more at all see the salvation of God in the land of the living: I shall no more at all see the salvation of Israel on the earth: I shall no more at all see man. (12) My life has failed from among my kindred: I have parted with the remainder of my life: it has gone forth and departed from me, as one that having pitched a tent takes it down again: my breath was with me as a weaver’s web, when she that weaves draws nigh to cut off the thread. (13) In that day I was given up as to a lion until the morning: so has he broken all my bones: for I was so given up from day even to night. (14) As a swallow, so will I cry, and as a dove, so do I mourn: for mine eyes have failed with looking to the height of heaven to the Lord, who has delivered me, and removed the sorrow of my soul. (16) Yea, O Lord, for it was told thee concerning this; and thou hast revived my breath; and I am comforted, and live. (17) For thou hast chosen my soul, that it should not perish: and thou hast cast all my sins behind me. (18) For they that are in the grave shall not praise thee, neither shall the dead bless thee, neither shall they that are in Hades hope for thy mercy. (19) The living shall bless thee, as I also do: for from this day shall I beget children, who shall declare thy righteousness, (20) O God of my salvation; and I will not cease blessing thee with the psaltery all the days of my life before the house of God. (21) Now Esaias had said to Ezekias; Take a cake of figs, and mash them, and apply them as a plaster, and thou shalt be well. (22) And Ezekias said, This is a sign to Ezekias, that I shall go up to the house of God.

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(1) At that time Marodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylonia, sent letters and ambassadors and gifts to Ezekias: for he had heard that he had been sick even to death, and was recovered. (2) And Ezekias was glad of their coming, and he shewed them the house of his spices, and of silver, and gold, and myrrh, and incense, and ointment, and all the houses of his treasures, and all that he had in his stores: and there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, which Ezekias did not shew. (3) And Esaias the prophet came to king Ezekias, and said to him, What say these men? and whence came they to thee? and Ezekias said, They are come to me from a land afar off, from Babylon. (4) And Esaias said, What have they seen in thine house? and Ezekias said, They have seen everything in my house; and there is nothing in my house which they have not seen: yea, also the possessions in my treasuries. (5) And Esaias said to him, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: (6) Behold, the days come, when they shall take all the things that are in thine house, and all that thy fathers have gathered until this day, shall go to Babylon; and they shall not leave anything at all: and God hath said, (7) that they shall take also of thy children whom thou shalt beget; and they shall make them eunuchs in the house of the king of the Babylonians. (8) And Ezekias said to Esaias, Good is the word of the Lord, which he hath spoken: let there, I pray, be peace and righteousness in my days.

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(1) Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith God. (2) Speak, ye priests, to the heart of Jerusalem; comfort her, for her humiliation is accomplished, her sin is put away: for she has received of the Lord’s hand double the amount of her sins. (3) The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. (4) Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and all the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. (5) And the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for the Lord has spoken it. (6) The voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass: (8) The grass withers, and the flower fades: but the word of our God abides for ever. (9) O thou that bringest glad tidings to Zion, go up on the high mountain; lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest glad tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, fear not; say unto the cities of Juda, Behold your God! (10) Behold the Lord! The Lord is coming with strength, and his arm is with power: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. (11) He shall tend his flock as a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and shall soothe them that are with young. (12) Who has measured the water in his hand, and the heaven with a span, and all the earth in a handful? Who has weighed the mountains in scales, and the forests in a balance? (13) Who has known the mind of the Lord? and who has been his counsellor, to instruct him? (14) Or with whom has he taken counsel, and he has instructed him? or who has taught him judgment, or who has taught him the way of understanding; (15) since all the nations are counted as a drop from a bucket, and as the turning of a balance, and shall be counted as spittle? (16) And Libanus is not enough to burn, nor all beasts enough for a whole-burnt offering: (17) and all the nations are as nothing, and counted as nothing. (18) To whom have ye compared the Lord? and with what likeness have ye compared him? (19) Has not the artificer made an image, or the goldsmith having melted gold, gilt it over, and made it a similitude? (20) For the artificer chooses out a wood that will not rot, and will wisely enquire how he shall set up his image, and that so that it should not be moved. (21) Will ye not know? will ye not hear? has it not been told you of old? Have ye not known the foundations of the earth? (22) It is he that comprehends the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants in it are as grasshoppers; he that set up the heaven as a chamber, and stretched it out as a tent to dwell in: (23) he that appoints princes to rule as nothing, and has made the earth as nothing. (24) For they shall not plant, neither shall they sow, neither shall their root be fixed in the ground: he has blown upon them, and they are withered, and a storm shall carry them away like sticks. (25) Now then to whom have ye compared me, that I may be exalted? saith the Holy One. (26) Lift up your eyes on high, and see, who has displayed all these things? even he that brings forth his host by number: he shall call them all by name by means of his great glory, and by the power of his might: nothing has escaped thee. (27) For say not thou, O Jacob, and why hast thou spoken, Israel, saying, My way is hid from God, and my God has taken away my judgement, and has departed? (28) And now, hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? the eternal God, the God that formed the ends of the earth, shall not hunger, nor be weary, and there is no searching of his understanding. (29) He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to them that are not suffering. (30) For the young men shall hunger, and the youths shall be weary, and the choice men shall be powerless: (31) but they that wait on God shall renew their strength; they shall put forth new feathers like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not hunger.

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(1) Hold a feast to me, ye islands: for the princes shall renew their strength: let them draw nigh and speak together: then let them declare judgment. (2) Who raised up righteousness from the east, and called it to his feet, so that it should go? shall appoint it an adversary of Gentiles, and shall dismay kings, and bury their swords in the earth, and cast forth their bows and arrows as sticks? (3) And he shall pursue them; the way of his feet shall proceed in peace. (4) Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. (5) The nations saw, and feared; the ends of the earth drew nigh, and came together, (6) every one judging for his neighbor and that to assist his brother: and one will say, (7) The artificer has become strong, and the coppersmith that smites with the hammer, and forges also: sometimes he will say, It is a piece well joined: they have fastened them with nails; they will fix them, and they shall not be moved. (8) But thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob, and he whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraam, whom I have loved: (9) whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and from the high places of it I have called thee, and said to thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and I have not forsaken thee. (10) Fear not; for I am with thee: wander not; for I am thy God, who have strengthened thee; and I have helped thee, and have established thee with my just right hand. (11) Behold, all thine adversaries shall be ashamed and confounded; for they shall be as if they were not: and all thine opponents shall perish. (12) Thou shalt seek them, and thou shalt not find the men who shall insolently rage against thee: for they shall be as if they were not, and they that war against thee shall not be. (13) For I am thy God, who holdeth thy right hand, who saith to thee, (14) Fear not, Jacob, and thou Israel few in number; I have helped thee, saith thy God, he that redeems thee, O Israel. (15) Behold, I have made thee as new saw-shaped threshing wheels of a waggon; and thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat the hills to powder, and make them as chaff: (16) and thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and a tempest shall scatter them: but thou shalt rejoice in the holy ones of Israel. (17) And the poor and the needy shall exult; for when they shall seek water, and there shall be none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord God, I the God of Israel will hear, and will not forsake them: (18) but I will open rivers on the mountains, and fountains in the midst of plains: I will make the desert pools of water, and a thirsty land watercourses. (19) I will plant in the dry land the cedar and box, the myrtle and cypress, and white poplar: (20) that they may see, and know, and perceive, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has wrought these works, and the Holy One of Israel has displayed them. (21) Your judgment draws nigh, saith the Lord God; your counsels have drawn nigh, saith the King of Jacob. (22) Let them draw nigh, and declare to you what things shall come to pass; or tell us what things were of old, and we will apply our understanding, and we shall know what are the last and the future things: (23) tell us, declare ye to us the things that are coming on at the last time, and we shall know that ye are gods: do good, and do evil, and we shall wonder, and see at the same time (24) whence ye are, and whence is your works: they have chosen you an abomination out of the earth. (25) But I have raised up him that comes from the north, and him that comes from the rising of the sun: they shall be called by my name: let the princes come, and as potter’s clay, and as a potter treading clay, so shall ye be trodden down. (26) For who will declare the things from the beginning, that we may know also the former things, and we will say that they are true? there is no one that speaks beforehand, nor anyone that hears your words. (27) I will give dominion to Sion, and will comfort Jerusalem by the way. (28) For from among the nations, behold, there was no one; and of their idols there was none to declare anything: and if I should ask them, Whence are ye? they could not answer me. (29) For these are your makers, as ye think, and they that cause you to err in vain.

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(1) Jacob is my servant, I will help him: Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. (2) He shall not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor shall his voice be heard without. (3) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgment to truth. (4) He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgment on the earth: and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. (5) Thus saith the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it: (6) I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles: (7) to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house. (8) I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images. (9) Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and so will the new things which I tell you: yea, before I tell them they are made known to you. (10) Sing a new hymn to the Lord: ye who are his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: ye that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them. (11) Rejoice, thou wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains. (12) They shall give glory to God, and shall proclaim his praises in the islands. (13) The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies. (14) I have been silent: shall I also always be silent and forbear: I have endured like a travailing woman: I will now amaze and wither at once. (15) I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools. (16) And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them. (17) But they are turned back: be ye utterly ashamed that trust in graven images, who say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. (18) Hear, ye deaf, and look up, ye blind, to see. (19) And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yea, the servants of God have been made blind. (20) Ye have often seen, and have not taken heed; your ears have been opened, and ye have not heard. (21) The Lord God has taken counsel that he might be justified, and might magnify his praise. (22) And I beheld, and the people were spoiled and plundered: for there is a snare in the secret chambers everywhere, and in the houses also, where they have hidden them: they became a spoil, and there was no one that delivered the prey, and there was none who said, Restore. (23) Who is there among you that will give ear to these things? hearken ye to the things which are coming to pass. (24) For what did he give to Jacob up to spoil, and Israel to them that plundered him? Did not God do it against whom they sinned? and they would not walk in his ways, nor hearken to his law. (25) So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew it, neither did they lay it to heart.

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(1) And now thus saith the Lord God that made thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (2) And if thou pass through water, I am with thee; and the rivers shall not overflow thee: and if thou go through fire, thou shalt not be burned; the flame shall not burn thee. (3) For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, that saves thee: I have made Egypt and Ethiopia thy ransom, and given Soene for thee. (4) Since thou becamest precious in my sight, thou hast become glorious, and I have loved thee: and I will give men for thee, and princes for thy life. (5) Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and will gather thee from the west. (6) I will say to the north, Bring; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from the land afar off, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; (7) even all who are called by my name: for I have prepared him for my glory, and I have formed him, and have made him: (8) and I have brought forth the blind people; for their eyes are alike blind, and they that have ears are deaf. (9) All the nations are gathered together, and princes shall be gathered out of them: who will declare these things? or who will declare to you things from the beginning? let them bring forth their witnesses, and be justified; and let them hear, and declare the truth. (10) Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he: before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none. (11) I am God; and beside me there is no Saviour. (12) I have declared, and have saved; I have reproached, and there was no strange god among you: ye are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God, (13) even from the beginning; and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: I will work, and who shall turn it back? (14) Thus saith the Lord God that redeems you, the Holy One of Israel; for your sakes I will send to Babylon, and I will stir up all that flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships. (15) I am the Lord God, your Holy One, who have appointed for Israel your king. (16) Thus saith the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty water; (17) who brought forth chariots and horse, and a mighty multitude: but they have lain down, and shall not rise: they are extinct, as quenched flax. (18) Remember ye not the former things, and consider not the ancient things. (19) Behold, I will do new things, which shall presently spring forth, and ye shall know them: and I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land. (20) the beasts of the field shall bless me, the owls and young ostriches; for I have given water in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land, to give drink to my chosen race, (21) my people whom I have preserved to tell forth my praises. (22) I have not now called thee, O Jacob; neither have I made thee weary, O Israel. (23) Thou hast not brought me the sheep of thy whole-burnt-offering; neither hast thou glorified me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with sacrifices, neither have I wearied thee with frankincense. (24) Neither hast thou purchased for me victims for silver, neither have I desired the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou didst stand before me in thy sins, and in thine iniquities. (25) I, even I, am he that blots out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and thy sins; and I will not remember them. (26) But do thou remember, and let us plead together: do thou first confess thy transgressions, that thou mayest be justified. (27) Your fathers first, and your princes have transgressed against me. (28) And the princes have defiled my sanctuaries: so I gave Jacob to enemies to destroy, and Israel to reproach.

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(1) But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen. (2) Thus saith the Lord God that made thee, and he that formed thee from the womb; Thou shalt yet be helped: fear not, my servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen. (3) For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thy children: (4) and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on the banks of running water. (5) One shall say, I am God’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand, I am God’s, and shall call himself by the name of Israel. (6) Thus saith God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the first, and I am hereafter: beside me there is no God. (7) Who is like me? let him stand, and call, and declare, and prepare for me from the time that I made man for ever; and let them tell you the things that are coming before they arrive. (8) Hide not yourselves, nor go astray: have ye not heard from the beginning, and have not I told you? ye are witnesses if there is a God beside me. (9) But they that framed false gods did not then hearken; and they that graved images are all vain, performing their own desires, which shall not profit them, but they shall be ashamed (10) that form a god, and all that grave worthless things: (11) and all by whom they were made are withered: yea, let all the deaf be gathered from among men, and let them stand together; and let them be ashamed and confounded together: (12) For the artificer sharpens the iron; he fashions the idol with an axe, and fixes it with an awl, and fashions it with the strength of his arm: and he will be hungry and weak, and will drink no water. (13) The artificer having chosen a piece of wood, marks it out with a rule, and fits it with glue, and makes it as the form of a man, and as the beauty of a man, to set it up in the house. (14) He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, even a pine tree, and the rain made it grow, (15) that it might be for men to burn: and having taken part of it he warms himself; yea, they burn part of it, and bake loaves thereon; and of the rest they make for themselves gods, and they worship them. (16) Half thereof he burns in the fire, and with half of it he bakes loaves on the coals; and having roasted flesh on it he eats, and is satisfied, and having warmed himself he says, I am comfortable, for I have warmed myself, and have seen the fire. (17) And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for thou art my God. (18) They have no understanding to perceive; for they have been blinded so that they should not see with their eyes, nor perceive with their heart. (19) And one has not considered in his mind, nor known in his understanding, that he has burnt up half of it in the fire, and baked loaves on the coals thereof and has roasted and eaten flesh, and of the rest of it he has made an abomination, and they worship it. (20) Know thou that their heart is ashes, and they err, and no one is able to deliver his soul: see, ye will not say, There is a lie in my right hand. (21) Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant; I have formed thee to be my servant: and do thou, Israel, not forget me. (22) For behold, I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions, and thy sin as darkness: turn to me, and I will redeem thee. (23) Rejoice, ye heavens; for God has had mercy upon Israel: sound the trumpet, ye foundations of the earth: ye mountains, shout with joy, ye hills, and all the trees therein: for God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified. (24) Thus saith the Lord that redeems thee, and who formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth. (25) Who else will frustrate the tokens of those that have divining spirits, and prophecies from the heart of man? turning the wise back, and making their counsel foolishness; (26) and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, Ye shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth. (27) Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers. (28) Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.

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(1) Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed. (2) I will go before thee, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brazen doors, and burst iron bars. (3) And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, I will open to thee hidden, unseen treasures, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord thy God, that call thee by name, am the God of Israel. (4) For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect, I will call thee by thy name, and accept thee: but thou hast not known me. (5) For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me. (6) That they that come from the east and they that come from the west may know that there is no God but me. I am the Lord God, and there is none beside. (7) I am he that prepared light, and formed darkness; who make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord God, that does all these things. (8) Let the heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain righteousness: let the earth bring forth, and blossom with mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise: I am the Lord that created thee. (9) What excellent thing have I prepared as clay of the potter? Will the ploughman plough the earth all day? shall the clay say to the potter, What art thou doing that thou dost not work, nor hast hands? shall the thing formed answer him that formed it? (10) As though one should say to his father, What wilt thou beget me? and to his mother, What art thou bringing forth? (11) For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, who has formed the things that are to come, Enquire of me concerning my sons, and concerning the works of my hands command me. (12) I have made the earth, and man upon it: I with my hand have established the heaven; I have given commandment to all the stars. (13) I have raised him up to be a king with righteousness, and all his ways are right: he shall build my city, and shall turn the captivity of my people, not for ransoms, nor for rewards, saith the Lord of hosts. (14) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Egypt has laboured for thee; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall pass over to thee, and shall be thy servants; and they shall follow after thee bound in fetters, and shall pass over to thee, and shall do obeisance to thee, and make supplication to thee: because God is in thee; and there is no God beside thee, O Lord. (15) For thou art God, yet we knew it not, the God of Israel, the Saviour. (16) All that are opposed to him shall be ashamed and confounded, and shall walk in shame: ye isles, keep a feast to me. (17) Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation: they shall not be ashamed nor confounded for evermore. (18) Thus saith the Lord that made the heaven, this God that created the earth, and made it; he marked it out, he made it not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none beside. (19) I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth: I said not to the seed of Jacob, Seek vanity: I, even I, am the Lord, speaking righteousness, and proclaiming truth. (20) Assemble yourselves and come; take counsel together, ye that escape of the nations: they that set up wood, even their graven image, have no knowledge, nor they who pray to gods that do not save. (21) If they will declare, let them draw nigh, that they may know together, who has caused these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God, and there is not another beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none but me. (22) Turn ye to me, and ye shall be saved, ye that come from the end of the earth: I am God, and there is none other. (23) By myself I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God, (24) saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him: and all that remove them from their borders shall be ashamed. (25) By the Lord shall they be justified, and in God shall all the seed of the children of Israel be glorified.

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(1) Bel has fallen, Nabo is broken to pieces, their graven images are gone to the wild beasts and the cattle: ye take them packed up as a burden to the weary, exhausted, hungry, and at the same time helpless man; (2) who will not be able to save themselves from war, but they themselves are led away captive. (3) Hear me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of Israel, who are borne by me from the womb, and taught by me from infancy, even to old age: (4) I am he; and until ye shall have grown old, I am he: I bear you, I have made, and I will relieve, I will take up and save you. (5) To whom have ye compared me? see, consider, ye that go astray. (6) They that furnish gold out of a purse, and silver by weight, will weigh it in a scale, and they hire a goldsmith and make idols, and bow down, and worship them. (7) They bear it upon the shoulder, and go; and if they put it upon its place, it remains, it cannot move: and whosoever shall cry to it, it cannot hear; it cannot save him from trouble. (8) Remember ye these things, and groan: repent, ye that have gone astray, return in your heart; (9) and remember the former things that were of old: for I am God, and there is none other beside me, (10) telling beforehand the latter events before they come to pass, and they are accomplished together: and I said, all my counsel shall stand, and I will do all things that I have planned: (11) calling a bird from the east, and from a land afar off, for the things which I have planned: I have spoken, and brought him; I have created and made him; I have brought him, and prospered his way. (12) Hearken to me, ye senseless ones, that are far from righteousness: (13) I have brought near my righteousness, and I will not be slow with the salvation that is from me: I have given salvation in Sion to Israel for glory.

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(1) Come down, sit on the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon: sit on the ground, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and luxurious. (2) Take a millstone, grind meal: remove thy veil, uncover thy white hairs, make bare the leg, pass through the rivers. (3) Thy shame shall be uncovered, thy reproaches shall be brought to light: I will exact of thee due vengeance, I will no longer deliver thee to men. (4) Thy deliverer is the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel is his name. (5) Sit thou down pierced with woe, go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: thou shalt no more be called the strength of a kingdom. (6) I have been provoked with my people; thou hast defiled mine inheritance: I gave them into thy hand, but thou didst not extend mercy to them: thou madest the yoke of the aged man very heavy, (7) and saidst, I shall be a princess for ever: thou didst not perceive these things in thine heart, nor didst thou remember the latter end. (8) But now hear these words, thou luxurious one, who art the one that sits at ease, that is secure, that says in her heart, I am, and there is not another; I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know bereavement. (9) But now these two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day, the loss of children and widowhood shall come suddenly upon thee, for thy sorcery, for the strength of thine enchantments, (10) for thy trusting in wickedness: for thou saidst, I am, and there is not another: know thou, the understanding of these things and thy harlotry shall be thy shame; for thou saidst in thy heart, I am, and there is not another. (11) And destruction shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not be aware; there shall be a pit, and thou shalt fall into it: and grief shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not be able to be clear; and destruction shall come suddenly upon thee, and thou shalt not know. (12) Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the abundance of thy sorcery, which thou hast learned from thy youth; if thou canst be profited. (13) Thou art wearied in thy counsels. Let now the astrologers of the heaven stand and deliver thee, let them that see the stars tell thee what is about to come upon thee. (14) Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame. Because thou hast coals of fire, sit thou upon them; (15) these shall be thy help. Thou hast wearied thyself with traffic from thy youth: every man has wandered to his own home, but thou shalt have no deliverance.

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(1) Hear these words, ye house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of Juda, who swear by the name of the Lord God of Israel, making mention of it, but not with truth, nor with righteousness; (2) maintaining also the name of the holy city, and staying themselves on the God of Israel: the Lord of hosts is his name. The former things I have already declared; (3) and they that have proceeded out of my mouth, and it became well known; I wrought suddenly, and the events came to pass. (4) I know that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead brazen. (5) And I told thee of old what should be before it came upon thee; I made it known to thee, lest thou shouldest say, My idols have done it for me; and shouldest say, My graven and molten images have commanded me. (6) Ye have heard all this, but ye have not known: yet I have made known to thee the new things from henceforth, which are coming to pass, and thou saidst not, (7) Now they come to pass, and not formerly: and thou heardest not of them in former days: say not thou, Yea, I know them. (8) Thou hast neither known, nor understood, neither from the beginning have I opened thine ears: for I knew that thou wouldest surely deal treacherously, and wouldest be called a transgressor even from the womb. (9) For mine own sake will I shew thee my wrath, and will bring before thee my glorious acts, that I may not utterly destroy thee. (10) Behold, I have sold thee, but not for silver; but I have rescued thee from the furnace of affliction. (11) For mine own sake I will do this for thee, because my name is profaned; and I will not give my glory to another. (12) Hear me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever. (13) My hand also has founded the earth, and my right hand has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together. (14) And all shall be gathered, and shall hear: who has told them these things? Out of love to thee I have fulfilled thy desire on Babylon, to abolish the seed of the Chaldeans. (15) I have spoken, I have called, I have brought him, and made his way prosperous. (16) Draw nigh to me, and hear ye these words; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: when it took place, there was I, and now the Lord, even the Lord, and his Spirit, hath sent me. (17) Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the Holy One of Israel; I am thy God, I have shewn thee how thou shouldest find the way wherein thou shouldest walk. (18) And if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then would thy peace have been like a river, and thy righteousness as a wave of the sea. (19) Thy seed also would have been as the sand, and the offspring of thy belly as the dust of the ground: neither now shalt thou by any means be utterly destroyed, neither shall thy name perish before me. (20) Go forth of Babylon, thou that fleest from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath delivered his servant Jacob. (21) And if they shall thirst, he shall lead them through the desert; he shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and my people shall drink. (22) There is no joy, saith the Lord, to the ungodly.

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(1) Hearken to me, ye islands; and attend, ye Gentiles; after a long time it shall come to pass, saith the Lord: from my mother’s womb he has called my name: (2) and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver; (3) and said to me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, and in thee I will be glorified. (4) Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have given my strength for vanity and for nothing: therefore is my judgment with the Lord, and my labour before my God. (5) And now, thus saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his own servant, to gather Jacob to him and Israel. I shall be gathered and glorified before the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. (6) And he said to me, It is a great thing for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth. (7) Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord’s sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen thee. (8) Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I succored thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: (9) saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness shew themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. (10) They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort them, and by fountains of waters shall he lead them. (11) And I will make every mountain a way, and every path a pasture to them. (12) Behold, these shall come from far: and these from the north and the west, and others from the land of the Persians. (13) Rejoice, ye heavens; and let the earth be glad: let the mountains break forth with joy; for the Lard has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the lowly ones of his people. (14) But Sion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and, The Lord has forgotten me. (15) Will a woman forget her child, so as not to have compassion upon the offspring of her womb? but if a woman should even forget these, yet I will not forget thee, saith the Lord. (16) Behold, I have painted thy walls on my hands, and thou art continually before me. (17) And thou shalt soon be built by those by whom thou were destroyed, and they that made thee desolate shall go forth of thee. (18) Lift up thine eyes round about, and look on them all; behold, they are gathered together, and are come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt clothe thyself with them all as with an ornament, and put them on as a bride her attire. (19) For thy desert and marred and ruined places shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that devoured thee shall be removed far from thee. (20) For thy sons whom thou hast lost shall say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me that I may dwell. (21) And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who has begotten me these? whereas I was childless, and a widow; but who has brought up these for me? and I was left alone; but whence came these to me? (22) Thus saith the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lift up mine hand to the nations, and I will lift up my signal to the islands: and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and shall bear thy daughters on their shoulders. (23) And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their princesses thy nurses, they shall bow down to thee on the face of the earth, and shall lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and they that wait on me shall not be ashamed. (24) Will any one take spoils from a giant? and if one should take a man captive unjustly, shall he be delivered? (25) For thus saith the Lord, If one should take a giant captive, he shall take spoils, and he who takes them from a mighty man shall be delivered: for I will plead thy cause, and I will deliver thy children. (26) And they that afflicted thee shall eat their own flesh; and they shall drink their own blood as new wine, and shall be drunken: and all flesh shall perceive that I am the Lord that delivers thee, and that upholds the strength of Jacob.

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(1) Thus saith the Lord, Of what kind is your mother’s bill of divorcement, by which I put her away? or to which debtor have I sold you? Behold, ye are sold for your sins, and for your iniquities have I put your mother away. (2) Why did I come, and there was no man? why did I call, and there was none to hearken? Is not my hand strong to redeem? or can I not deliver? behold, by my rebuke I will dry up the sea, and make rivers a wilderness; and their fish shall be dried up because there is no water, and shall die for thirst. (3) I will clothe the sky with darkness, and will make its covering as sackcloth. (4) The Lord even God gives me the tongue of instruction, to know when it is fit to speak a word: he has appointed for me early, he has given me an ear to hear: (5) and the instruction of the Lord, even the Lord, opens mine ears, and I do not disobey, nor dispute. (6) I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows; and I turned not away my face from the shame of spitting: (7) but the Lord God became my helper; therefore I was not ashamed, but I set my face as a solid rock; and I know that I shall never be ashamed, (8) for he that has justified me draws near; who is he that pleads with me? let him stand up against me at the same time: yea, who is he that pleads with me? let him draw nigh to me. (9) Behold, the Lord, the Lord, will help me; who will hurt me? behold, all ye shall wax old as a garment, and a moth shall devour you. (10) Who is among you that fears the Lord? let him hearken to the voice of his servant: ye that walk in darkness, and have no light, trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon God. (11) Behold, ye all kindle a fire, and feed a flame: walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which ye have kindled. This has happened to you for my sake; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

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(1) Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, and seek the Lord: look to the solid rock, which ye have hewn, and to the hole of the pit which ye have dug. (2) Look to Abraam your father, and to Sarrha that bore you: for he was alone when I called him, and blessed him, and loved him, and multiplied him. (3) And now I will comfort thee, O Sion: and I have comforted all her desert places; and I will make her desert places as a garden, and her western places as the garden of the Lord; they shall find in her gladness and exultation, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. (4) Hear me, hear me, my people; and ye kings, hearken to me: for a law shall proceed from me, and my judgment shall be for a light of the nations. (5) My righteousness speedily draws nigh, and my salvation shall go forth as light, and on mine arm shall the Gentiles trust: the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust. (6) Lift up your eyes to the sky, and look on the earth beneath: for the sky was darkened like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and the inhabitants shall die in like manner: but my righteousness shall not fail. (7) Hear me, ye that know judgment, the people in whose heart is my law: fear not the reproach of men, and be not overcome by their contempt. (8) For as a garment will be devoured by time, and as wool will be devoured by a moth, so shall they be consumed; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation for all generations. (9) Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of thine arm; awake as in the early time, as the ancient generation. (10) Art thou not it that dried the sea, the water, even the abundance of the deep; that made the depths of the sea a way of passage for the delivered and redeemed? (11) for by the help of the Lord they shall return, and come to Sion with joy and everlasting exultation, for praise and joy shall come upon their head: pain, and grief, and groaning, have fled away. (12) I, even I, am he that comforts thee: consider who thou art, that thou wast afraid of mortal man, and of the son of man, who are withered as grass. (13) And thou hast forgotten God who made thee, who made the sky and founded the earth; and thou wert continually afraid because of the wrath of him that afflicted thee: for whereas he counselled to take thee away, yet now where is the wrath of him that afflicted thee? (14) For in thy deliverance he shall not halt, nor tarry; (15) for I am thy God, that troubles the sea, and causes the waves thereof to roar: the Lord of hosts is my name. (16) I will put my words into thy mouth, and I will shelter thee under the shadow of mine hand, with which I fixed the sky, and founded the earth: and the Lord shall say to Sion, Thou art my people. (17) Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury: for thou hast drunk out and drained the cup of calamity, the cup of wrath: (18) and there was none to comfort thee of all the children whom thou borest; and there was none to take hold of thine hand, not even of all the children whom thou has reared. (19) Wherefore these things are against thee; who shall sympathize with thee in thy grief? downfall, and destruction, famine, and sword: who shall comfort thee? (20) Thy sons are the perplexed ones, that sleep at the top of every street as a half-boiled beet; they that are full of the anger of the Lord, caused to faint by the Lord God. (21) Therefore hear, thou afflicted one, and drunken, but not with wine; (22) thus saith the Lord God that judges his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of calamity, the cup of my wrath; and thou shalt not drink it any more. (23) And I will give it into the hands of them that injured thee, and them that afflicted thee; who said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may pass over: and thou didst level thy body with the ground to them passing by without.

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(1) Awake, awake, Sion; put on thy strength, O Sion; and o thou put on thy glory, Jerusalem the holy city: there shall no more pass through thee, the uncircumcised and unclean. (2) Shake off the dust and arise; sit down, Jerusalem: put off the band of thy neck, captive daughter of Sion. (3) For thus saith the Lord, Ye have been sold for nought; and ye shall not be ransomed with silver. (4) Thus saith the Lord, My people went down before to Egypt to sojourn there; and were carried away forcibly to the Assyrians. (5) And now why are ye here? Thus saith the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder ye and howl. Thus saith the Lord, On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles. (6) Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he that speaks: I am present, (7) as a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching glad tidings of peace, as one preaching good news: for I will publish thy salvation, saying, O Sion, thy God shall reign. (8) For the voice of them that guard thee is exalted, and with the voice together they shall rejoice: for eyes shall look to eyes, when the Lord shall have mercy upon Sion. (9) Let the waste places of Jerusalem break forth in joy together, because the Lord has had mercy upon her, and has delivered Jerusalem. (10) And the Lord shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation that comes from our God. (11) Depart ye, depart, go out from thence, and touch not the unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her; separate yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord. (12) For ye shall not go forth with tumult, neither go by flight: for the Lord shall go first in advance of you; and the God of Israel shall be he that brings up your rear. (13) Behold, my servant shall understand, and be exalted, and glorified exceedingly. (14) As many shall be amazed at thee, so shall thy face be without glory from men, and thy glory shall not be honoured by the sons of men. (15) Thus shall many nations wonder at him; and kings shall keep their mouths shut: for they to whom no report was brought concerning him, shall see; and they who have not heard, shall consider.

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(1) O Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (2) We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor comeliness; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. (3) But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of the children of men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonoured, and not esteemed. (4) He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. (5) But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed. (6) All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins. (7) And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. (8) In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death. (9) And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; for he practised no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth. (10) The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed: (11) the Lord also is pleased to take away from the travail of his soul, to shew him light, and to form him with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins. (12) Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.

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(1) Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail: for more are the children of the desolate than of her that has a husband: for the Lord has said, (2) Enlarge the place of thy tent, and of thy curtains: fix the pins, spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy pins; (3) spread forth thy tent yet to the right and the left: for thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inhabited. (4) Fear not, because thou has been put to shame, neither be confounded, because thou was reproached: for thou shalt forget thy former shame, and shalt no more at all remember the reproach of thy widowhood. (5) For it is the Lord that made thee; the Lord of hosts is his name: and he that delivered thee, he is the God of Israel, and shall be called so by the whole earth. (6) The Lord has not called thee as a deserted and faint-hearted woman, nor as a woman hated from her youth, saith thy God. (7) For a little while I left thee: but with great mercy will I have compassion upon thee. (8) In a little wrath I turned away my face from thee; but with everlasting mercy will I have compassion upon thee, saith the Lord that delivers thee. (9) From the time of the water of Noe this is my purpose: as I sware to him at that time, saying of the earth, I will no more be wroth with thee, neither when thou art threatened, (10) shall the mountains depart, nor shall thy hills be removed: so neither shall my mercy fail thee, nor shall the covenant of thy peace be at all removed: for the Lord who is gracious to thee has spoken it. (11) Afflicted and outcast thou has not been comforted: behold, I will prepare carbuncle for thy stones, and sapphire for thy foundations; (12) and I will make thy buttresses jasper, and thy gates crystal, and thy border precious stones. (13) And I will cause all thy sons to be taught of God, and thy children to be in great peace. (14) And thou shalt be built in righteousness: abstain from injustice, and thou shalt not fear; and trembling shall not come nigh thee. (15) Behold, strangers shall come to thee by me, and shall sojourn with thee, and shall run to thee for refuge. (16) Behold, I have created thee, not as the coppersmith blowing coals, and bringing out a vessel fit for work; but I have created thee, not for ruin, that I should destroy thee. (17) I will not suffer any weapon formed against thee to prosper; and every voice that shall rise up against thee for judgment, thou shalt vanquish them all; and thine adversaries shall be condemned thereby. There is an inheritance to them that serve the Lord, and ye shall be righteous before me, saith the Lord.

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(1) Ye that thirst, go to the water, and all that have no money, go and buy; and eat and drink wine and fat without money or price. (2) Wherefore do ye value at the price of money, and give your labour for that which will not satisfy? hearken to me, and ye shall eat that which is good, and your soul shall feast itself on good things. (3) Give heed with your ears, and follow my ways: hearken to me, and your soul shall live in prosperity; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David. (4) Behold I have made him a testimony among the Gentiles, a prince and commander to the Gentiles. (5) Nations which know thee not, shall call upon thee, and peoples which are not acquainted with thee, shall flee to thee for refuge, for the sake of the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified thee. (6) Seek ye the Lord, and when ye find him, call upon him; and when he shall draw nigh to you, (7) let the ungodly leave his ways, and the transgressor his counsels: and let him return to the Lord, and he shall find mercy; for he shall abundantly pardon your sins. (8) For my counsels are not as your counsels, nor are my ways as your ways, saith the Lord. (9) But as the heaven is distant from the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my mind. (10) For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food: (11) so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways prosperous, and will effect my commands. (12) For ye shall go forth with joy, and shall be taught with gladness: for the mountains and the hills shall exult to welcome you with joy, and all the trees of the field shall applaud with their branches. (13) And instead of the bramble shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle: and the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and shall not fail.

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(1) Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my mercy to be revealed. (2) Blessed is the man that does these things, and the man that holds by them, and keeps the sabbaths from profaning them, and keeps his hands from doing unrighteousness. (3) Let not the stranger who attaches himself to the Lord, say, Surely the Lord will separate me from his people: and let not the eunuch say, I am a dry tree. (4) Thus saith the Lord to the eunuchs, as many as shall keep my sabbaths, and choose the things which I take pleasure in, and take hold of my covenant; (5) I will give to them in my house and within my walls an honourable place, better than sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail. (6) And I will give it to the strangers that attach themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be to him servants and handmaids; and as for all that keep my sabbaths from profaning them, and that take hold of my covenant; (7) I will bring them to my holy mountain, and gladden them in my house of prayer: their whole-burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, (8) saith the Lord that gathers the dispersed of Israel; for I will gather to him a congregation. (9) All ye beasts of the field, come, devour, all ye beasts of the forest. (10) See how they are all blinded: they have not known; they are dumb dogs that will not bark; dreaming of rest, loving to slumber. (11) Yea, they are insatiable dogs, that know not what it is to be filled, and they are wicked, having no understanding: all have followed their own ways, each according to his will.

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(1) See how the just man has perished, and no one lays it to heart: and righteous men are taken away, and no one considers: for the righteous has been removed out of the way of injustice. (2) His burial shall be in peace: he has been removed out of the way. (3) But draw ye near hither, ye lawless children, the seed of adulterers and the harlot. (4) Wherein have ye been rioting? and against whom have ye opened your mouth, and against whom have ye loosed your tongue? are ye not children of perdition? a lawless seed? (5) who call upon idols under the leafy trees, slaying your children in the valleys among the rocks? (6) That is thy portion, this is thy lot: and to them hast thou poured forth drink-offerings, and to these hast thou offered meat-offerings. Shall I not therefore be angry for these things? (7) On a lofty and high mountain, there is thy bed, and thither thou carriedst up thy meat-offerings: (8) and behind the posts of thy door thou didst place thy memorials. Didst thou think that if thou shouldest depart from me, thou wouldest gain? thou hast loved those that lay with thee; (9) and thou hast multiplied thy whoredom with them, and thou hast increased the number of them that are far from thee, and hast sent ambassadors beyond thy borders, and hast been debased even to hell. (10) Thou has wearied thyself with thy many ways; yet thou saidst not, I will cease to strengthen myself: for thou has done these things; therefore thou has not supplicated me. (11) Through dread of whom hast thou feared, and lied against me, and has not remembered, nor considered me, nor regarded me, yea, though when I see thee I pass thee by, yet thou has not feared me. (12) And I will declare thy righteousness, and thy sins, which shall not profit thee. (13) When thou criest out, let them deliver thee in thine affliction: for all these the wind shall take, and the tempest shall carry them away: but they that cleave to me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain. (14) And they shall say, Clear the ways before him, and take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people. (15) Thus saith the Most High, who dwells on high for ever, Holy in the holies, is his name, the Most High resting in the holies, and giving patience to the faint-hearted, and giving life to the broken-hearted: (16) I will not take vengeance on you for ever, neither will I be always angry with you: for my Spirit shall go forth from me, and I have created all breath. (17) On account of sin for a little while I grieved him, and smote him, and turned away my face from him; and he was grieved, and he went on sorrowful in his ways. (18) I have seen his ways, and healed him, and comforted him, and given him true comfort; (19) peace upon peace to them that are far off, and to them that are nigh: and the Lord has said, I will heal them. (20) But the unrighteous shall be tossed as troubled waves, and shall not be able to rest. (21) There is no joy to the ungodly, said God.

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(1) Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice as with a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities. (2) They seek me day by day, and desire to know my ways, as a people that had done righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of their God: they now ask of me righteous judgment, and desire to draw nigh to God, (3) saying, Why have we fasted, and thou regardest not? why have we afflicted our souls, and thou didst not know it? (4) If ye fast for quarrels and strifes, and smite the lowly with your fists, wherefore do ye fast to me as ye do this day, so that your voice may be heard in crying? (5) I have not chosen this fast, nor such a day for a man to afflict his soul; neither though thou shouldest bend down thy neck as a ring, and spread under thee sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall ye call a fast acceptable. (6) I have not chosen such a fast, saith the Lord; but do thou loose every burden of iniquity, do thou untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account. (7) Break thy bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to thy house: if thou seest one naked, clothe him, and thou shalt not disregard the relations of thine own seed. (8) Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily spring forth: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall compass thee. (9) Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech; (10) and if thou give bread to the hungry from thy heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light spring up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as noon-day: (11) and thy God shall be with thee continually, and thou shalt be satisfied according as thy soul desires; and thy bones shall be made fat, and shall be as a well-watered garden, and as a fountain from which the water has not failed. (12) And thy old waste desert places shall be built up, and thy foundations shall last through all generations; and thou shalt be called a repairer of breaches, and thou shalt cause thy paths between to be in peace. (13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, so as not to do thy pleasure on the holy days, and shalt call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; if thou shalt not lift up thy foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of thy mouth, (14) then shalt thou trust on the Lord; and he shall bring thee up to the good places of the land, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.

59

(1) Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear? (2) Nay, your iniquities separate between you and God, and because of your sins has he turned away his face from you, so as not to have mercy upon you. (3) For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness. (4) None speaks justly, neither is there true judgment: they trust in vanities, and speak empty words; for they conceive trouble, and bring forth iniquity. (5) They have hatched asps’ eggs, and weave a spider’s web: and he that is going to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled egg, has found also in it a basilisk. (6) Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they at all clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of iniquity. (7) And their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts also are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways; (8) and the way of peace they know not, neither is there judgment in their ways; for their paths by which they go are crooked, and they know not peace. (9) Therefore has judgment departed from them, and righteousness shall not overtake them: while they waited for light, darkness came upon them; while they waited for brightness, they walked in perplexity. (10) They shall feel for the wall as blind men, and shall feel for it as if they had no eyes: and they shall feel at noon-day as at midnight; they shall groan as dying men. (11) They shall proceed together as a bear and as a dove: we have waited for judgment, and there is no salvation, it is gone far from us. (12) For our iniquity is great before thee, and our sins have risen up against us: for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds. (13) We have sinned, and dealt falsely, and revolted from our God: we have spoken unrighteous words, and have been disobedient; we have conceived and uttered from our heart unrighteous words. (14) And we have turned judgment back, and righteousness has departed afar off: for truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight path. (15) And truth has been taken away, and they have turned aside their mind from understanding. (16) And he looked, and there was no man, and he observed, and there was none to help: so he defended them with his arm, and stablished them with his mercy. (17) And he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and placed the helmet of salvation on his head; and he clothed himself with the garment of vengeance, and with his cloak, (18) as one about to render a recompence, even reproach to his adversaries. (19) So shall they of the west fear the name of the Lord, and they that come from the rising of the sun his glorious name: for the wrath of the Lord shall come as a mighty river, it shall come with fury. (20) And the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (21) And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon thee, and the words which I have put in thy mouth, shall never fail from thy mouth, nor from the mouth of thy seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever.

60

(1) Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (2) Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and there shall be gross darkness on the nations: but the Lord shall appear upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (3) And kings shall walk in thy light, and nations in thy brightness. (4) Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold thy children gathered: all thy sons have come from far, and thy daughters shall be borne on men’s shoulders. (5) Then shalt thou see, and fear, and be amazed in thine heart; for the wealth of the sea shall come round to thee, and of nations and peoples; and herds of camels shall come to thee, (6) and the camels of Madiam and Gaepha shall cover thee: all from Saba shall come bearing gold, and shall bring frankincense, and they shall publish the salvation of the Lord. (7) And all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered, and the rams of Nabaeoth shall come; and acceptable sacrifices shall be offered on my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified. (8) Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with young ones to me? (9) The isles have waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis among the first, to bring thy children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, and that for the sake of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified. (10) And strangers shall build thy walls, and their kings shall wait upon thee: for by reason of my wrath I smote thee, and by reason of mercy I loved thee. (11) And thy gates shall be opened continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring in to thee the power of the Gentiles, and their kings as captives. (12) For the nations and the kings which will not serve thee shall perish; and those nations shall be made utterly desolate. (13) And the glory of Libanus shall come to thee, with the cypress, and pine, and cedar together, to glorify my holy place. (14) And the sons of them that afflicted thee, and of them that provoked thee, shall come to thee in fear; and thou shalt be called Sion, the city of the Holy One of Israel. (15) Because thou has become desolate and hated, and there was no helper, therefore I will make thee a perpetual gladness, a joy of many generations. (16) And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt eat the wealth of kings: and shalt know that I am the Lord that saves thee and delivers thee, the Holy One of Israel. (17) And for brass I will bring thee gold, and for iron I will bring thee silver, and instead of wood I will bring thee brass, and instead of stones, iron; and I will make thy princes peaceable, and thine overseers righteous. (18) And injustice shall no more be heard in thy land, nor destruction nor misery in thy coasts; but thy walls shall be called Salvation, and thy gates Sculptured Work. (19) And thou shalt no more have the sun for a light by day, nor shall the rising of the moon lighten thy night; but the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and God thy glory. (20) For the sun shall no more set, nor shall the moon be eclipsed; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be completed. (21) Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, preserving that which they have planted, even the works of their hands, for glory. (22) The little one shall become thousands, and the least a great nation; I the Lord will gather them in due time.

61

(1) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; (2) to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompence; to comfort all that mourn; (3) that there should be given to them that mourn in Sion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory. (4) And they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up those that were before made desolate, and shall renew the desert cities, even those that had been desolate for many generations. (5) And strangers shall come and feed thy flocks, and aliens shall be thy ploughmen and vine-dressers. (6) But ye shall be called priests of the Lord, the ministers of God: ye shall eat the strength of nations, and shall be admired because of their wealth. (7) Thus shall they inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head. (8) For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. (9) And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God; (10) and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord. (11) And as the earth putting forth her flowers, and as a garden its seed; so shall the Lord, even the Lord, cause righteousness to spring forth, and exultation before all nations.

62

(1) For Sion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as light, and my salvation burn as a torch. (2) And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and kings thy glory: and one shall call thee by a new name, which the Lord shall name. (3) And thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. (4) And thou shalt no more be called Forsaken; and thy land shall no more be called Desert: for thou shalt be called My Pleasure, and thy land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in thee, and thy land shall be inhabited. (5) And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall thy sons dwell in thee: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over thee. (6) And on thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I set watchmen all day and all night, who shall never cease making mention of the Lord. (7) For there is none like you, when he shall have established, and made Jerusalem a praise on the earth. (8) For the Lord has sworn by his glory, and by the might of his arm, I will no more give thy corn and thy provisions to thine enemies; nor shall strangers any more drink thy wine, for which thou has laboured. (9) But they that have gathered them shall eat them, and they shall praise the Lord; and they that have gathered the grapes shall drink thereof in my holy courts. (10) Go through my gates, and make a way for my people; and cast the stones out of the way; lift up a standard for the Gentiles. (11) For behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy Saviour has come to thee, having his reward and his work before his face. (12) And one shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called a city sought out, and not forsaken.

63

(1) Who is this that is come from Edom, with red garments from Bosor? thus fair in his apparel, with mighty strength? I speak of righteousness and saving judgment. (2) Wherefore are thy garments red, and thy raiment as if fresh from a trodden winepress? (3) I am full of trodden grape, and of the nations there is not a man with me; and I trampled them in my fury, and dashed them to pieces as earth, and brought down their blood to the earth. (4) For the day of recompence has come upon them, and the year of redemption is at hand. (5) And I looked, and there was no helper; and I observed, and none upheld: therefore my arm delivered them, and mine anger drew nigh. (6) And I trampled them in mine anger, and brought down their blood to the earth. (7) I remembered the mercy of the Lord, the praises of the Lord in all things wherein he recompenses us. The Lord is a good judge to the house of Israel; he deals with us according to his mercy, and according to the abundance of his righteousness. (8) And he said, Is it not my people? the children surely will not be rebellious: and he became to them deliverance (9) out of all their affliction: not an ambassador, nor a messenger, but himself saved them, because he loved them and spared them: he himself redeemed them, and took them up, and lifted them up all the days of old. (10) But they disobeyed, and provoked his Holy Spirit: so he turned to be an enemy, he himself contended against them. (11) Then he remembered the ancient days, saying, Where is he that brought up from the sea the shepherd of the sheep? where is he that put his Holy Spirit in them? (12) who led Moses with his right hand, the arm of his glory? he forced the water to separate from before him, to make himself an everlasting name. (13) He led them through the deep, as a horse through the wilderness, and they fainted not, (14) and as cattle through a plain: the Spirit came down from the Lord, and guided them: thus thou leddest thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. (15) Turn from heaven, and look from thy holy habitation and from thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength? where is the abundance of thy mercy and of thy compassions, that thou hast withholden thyself from us? (16) For thou art our Father; for though Abraham knew us not, and Israel did not acknowledge us, yet do thou, O Lord, our Father, deliver us: thy name has been upon us from the beginning. (17) Why hast thou caused us to err, O Lord, from thy way? and has hardened our hearts, that we should not fear thee? Return for thy servants’ sake, for the sake of the tribes of thine inheritance, (18) that we may inherit a small part of thy holy mountain. (19) We are become as at the beginning, when thou didst not rule over us, and thy name was not called upon us.

64

(1) If thou wouldest open the heaven, trembling will take hold upon the mountains from thee, and they shall melt, (2) as wax melts before the fire; and fire shall burn up the enemies, and thy name shall be manifest among the adversaries: at thy presence the nations shall be troubled, (3) whenever thou shalt work gloriously; trembling from thee shall take hold upon the mountains. (4) From of old we have not heard, neither have our eyes seen a God beside thee, and thy works which thou wilt perform to them that wait for mercy. (5) For these blessings shall happen to them that work righteousness, and they shall remember thy ways: behold, thou wast angry and we have sinned; therefore we have erred, (6) and we are all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as a filthy rag: and we have fallen as leaves because of our iniquities; thus the wind shall carry us away. (7) And there is none that calls upon thy name, or that remembers to take hold on thee: for thou hast turned thy face away from us, and hast delivered us up because of our sins. (8) And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all of us the work of thine hands. (9) Be not very wroth with us, and remember not our sins for ever; but now look on us, for we are all thy people. (10) The city of thy holiness has become desolate, Sion has become as a wilderness, Jerusalem a curse. (11) The house, our sanctuary, and the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burnt with fire: and all our glorious things have gone to ruin. (12) And for all these things thou, O Lord, has withholden, thyself, and been silent, and hast brought us very low.

65

(1) I became manifest to them that asked not for me; I was found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold, I am here, to a nation, who called not on my name. (2) I have stretched forth my hands all day to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to them that walked in a way that was not good, but after their sins. (3) This is the people that provokes me continually in my presence; they offer sacrifices in gardens, and burn incense on bricks to devils, which exist not. (4) They lie down to sleep in the tombs and in the caves for the sake of dreams, even they that eat swine’s flesh, and the broth of their sacrifices: all their vessels are defiled: (5) who say, Depart from me, draw not nigh to me, for I am pure. (6) Behold, it is written before me: I will not be silent until I have recompensed into their bosom, (7) their sins and the sins of their fathers, saith the Lord, who have burnt incense on the mountains, and reproached me on the hills: I will recompense their works into their bosom. (8) Thus saith the Lord, As a grape-stone shall be found in the cluster, and they shall say, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for the sake of him that serves me, for his sake I will not destroy them all. (9) And I will lead forth the seed that came of Jacob and of Juda, and they shall inherit my holy mountain: and mine elect and my servants shall inherit it, and shall dwell there. (10) And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor shall be for a resting-place of herds for my people, who have sought me. (11) But ye are they that have left me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table for the devil, and fill up the drink-offering to Fortune. (12) I will deliver you up to the sword, ye shall all fall by slaughter: for I called you, and ye hearkened not; I spoke, and ye refused to hear; and ye did evil in my sight, and chose the things wherein I delighted not. (13) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall hunger: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall thirst: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: (14) behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but ye shall cry for the sorrow of your heart, and shall howl for the vexation of your spirit. (15) For ye shall leave your name for a loathing to my chosen, and the Lord shall destroy you: but my servants shall be called by a new name, (16) which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God: and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget the former affliction, it shall not come into their mind. (17) For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth: and they shall not at all remember the former, neither shall they at all come into their mind. (18) But they shall find in her joy and exultation; for, behold, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and my people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and will be glad in my people: and there shall no more be heard in her the voice of weeping, or the voice of crying. (20) Neither shall there be there any more a child that dies untimely, or an old man who shall not complete his time: for the youth shall be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at a hundred years shall also be accursed: (21) and they shall build houses, and themselves shall dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, and themselves shall eat the fruit thereof. (22) They shall by no means build, and others inhabit; and they shall by no means plant, and others eat: for as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people, they shall long enjoy the fruits of their labours. (23) My chosen shall not toil in vain, neither shall they beget children to be cursed; for they are a seed blessed of God, and their offspring with them. (24) And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hearken to them; while they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it? (25) Then wolves and lambs shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like the ox, and the serpent earth as bread. They shall not injure nor destroy in my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

66

(1) Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of a house will ye build me? and of what kind is to be the place of my rest? (2) For all these things are mine, saith the Lord: and to whom will I have respect, but to the humble and meek, and the man that trembles at my words? (3) But the transgressor that sacrifices a calf to me, is as he that kills a dog; and he that offers fine flour, as one that offers swine’s blood; he that gives frankincense for a memorial, is as a blasphemer. (4) I also will choose their mockeries, and will recompense their sins upon them; because I called them, and they did not hearken to me; I spoke, and they heard not: and they did evil before me, and chose the things wherein I delighted not. (5) Hear the words of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; speak ye, our brethren, to them that hate you and abominate you, that the name of the Lord may be glorified, and may appear their joy; but they shall be ashamed. (6) A voice of a cry from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord rendering recompence to his adversaries. (7) Before she that travailed brought forth, before the travail-pain came on, she escaped it and brought forth a male. (8) Who has heard such a thing? and who has seen after this manner? Has the earth travailed in one day? or has even a nation been born at once, that Sion has travailed, and brought forth her children? (9) But I have raised this expectation, yet thou hast not remembered me, saith the Lord: behold, have not I made the bearing and barren woman? saith thy God. (10) Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and all ye that love her hold in her a general assembly: rejoice greatly with her, all that now mourn over her: (11) that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation; that ye may milk out, and delight yourselves with the influx of her glory. (12) For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I turn toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent bringing upon them in a flood the glory of the Gentiles: their children shall be borne upon the shoulders, and comforted on the knees. (13) As if his mother should comfort one, so will I also comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. (14) And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear him, and he shall threaten the disobedient. (15) For, behold, the Lord will come as fire, and his chariots as a storm, to render his vengeance with wrath, and his rebuke with a flame of fire. (16) For with the fire of the Lord all the earth shall be judged, and all flesh with his sword: many shall be slain by the Lord. (17) They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens, and eat swine’s flesh in the porches, and the abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. (18) And I know their works and their imagination. I am going to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (19) And I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth them that have escaped of them to the nations, to Tharsis, and Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and to Thobel, and to Greece, and to the isles afar off, to those who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. (20) And they shall bring your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord with horses, and chariots, in litters drawn by mules with awnings, to the holy city Jerusalem, said the Lord, as though the children of Israel should bring their sacrifices to me with psalms into the house of the Lord. (21) And I will take of them priests and Levites, saith the Lord. (22) For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name continue. (23) And it shall come to pass from month to month, and from sabbath to sabbath, that all flesh shall come to worship before me in Jerusalem, saith the Lord. (24) And they shall go forth, and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh.

Jeremiah

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51a 51b 52

1

(1) The word of God which came to Jeremias the son of Chelcias, of the priests, who dwelt in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: (2) accordingly as the word of God came to him in the days of Josias son of Amos king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign. (3) And it was in the days of Joakim, son of Josias king of Juda, until the eleventh year of Sedekias king of Juda, even until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. (4) And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, (5) Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; I appointed thee a prophet to the nations. (6) And I said, O Lord, thou that art supreme Lord, behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child. (7) And the Lord said to me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all to whomsoever I shall send thee, and according to all the words that I shall command thee, thou shalt speak. (8) Be not afraid before them: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. (9) And the Lord stretched forth his hand to me, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words into thy mouth. (10) Behold, I have appointed thee this day over nations and over kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to rebuild, and to plant. (11) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A rod of an almond tree. (12) And the Lord said to me, Thou hast well seen: for I have watched over my words to perform them. (13) And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A caldron on the fire; and the face of it is toward the north. (14) And the Lord said to me, From the north shall flame forth evils upon all the inhabitants of the land. (15) For, behold, I call together all the kingdoms of the earth from the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and shall set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls round about her, and against all the cities of Juda. (16) And I will speak to them in judgment, concerning all their iniquity, forasmuch as they have forsaken me, and sacrificed to strange gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. (17) And do thou gird up thy loins, and stand up, and speak all the words that I shall command thee: be not afraid of their face, neither be thou alarmed before them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. (18) Behold, I have made thee this day as a strong city, and as a brazen wall, strong against all the kings of Juda, and the princes thereof, and the people of the land. (19) And they shall fight against thee; but they shall by no means prevail against thee; because I am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

2

(1) And he said, Thus saith the Lord, (2) I remember the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thine espousals, (3) in following the Holy One of Israel, saith the Lord, Israel was the holy people to the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase: all that devoured him shall offend; evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord. (4) Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and every family of the house of Israel. (5) Thus saith the Lord, What trespass have your fathers found in me, that they have revolted far from me, and gone after vanities, and become vain? (6) And they said not, Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in an untried and trackless land, in a land which no man at all went through, and no man dwelt there? (7) And I brought you to Carmel, that ye should eat the fruits thereof, and the good thereof; and ye went in, and defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. (8) The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that held by the law knew me not: the shepherds also sinned against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after that which profited not. (9) Therefore I will yet plead with you, and will plead with your children’s children. (10) For go to the isles of the Chettians, and se; and send to Kedar, and observe accurately, and see if such things have been done; (11) if the nations will change their gods, though they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory, for that from which they shall not be profited. (12) The heaven is amazed at this, and is very exceedingly horror-struck, saith the Lord. (13) For my people has committed two faults, and evil ones: they have forsaken me, the fountain of water of life, and hewn out for themselves broken cisterns, which will not be able to hold water. (14) Is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave? why has he become a spoil? (15) The lions roared upon him, and uttered their voice, which have made his land a wilderness: and his cities are broken down, that they should not be inhabited. (16) Also the children of Memphis and Taphnas have known thee, and mocked thee. (17) Has not thy forsaking me brought these things upon thee? saith the Lord thy God. (18) And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Geon? and what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of rivers? (19) Thine apostasy shall correct thee, and thy wickedness shall reprove thee: know then, and see, that thy forsaking me has been bitter to thee, saith the Lord thy God; and I have taken no pleasure in thee, saith the Lord thy God. (20) For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and plucked asunder thy bands; and thou has said, I will not serve thee, but will go upon every high hill, and under every shady tree, there will I indulge in my fornication. (21) Yet I planted thee a fruitful vine, entirely of the right sort: how art thou a strange vine turned to bitterness! (22) Though thou shouldest wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself soap, still thou art stained by thine iniquities before me, saith the Lord. (23) How wilt thou say, I am not polluted, and have not gone after Baal? behold thy ways in the burial-ground, and know what thou hast done: her voice has howled in the evening: (24) she has extended her ways over the waters of the desert; she was hurried along by the lusts of her soul; she is given up to them, who will turn her back? none that seek her shall be weary; at the time of her humiliation they shall find her. (25) Withdraw thy foot from a rough way, and thy throat from thirst: but she said I will strengthen myself: for she loved strangers, and went after them. (26) As is the shame of a thief when he is caught, so shall the children of Israel be ashamed; they, and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. (27) They said to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou has begotten me: and they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces: yet in the time of their afflictions they will say, Arise, and save us. (28) And where are thy gods, which thou madest for thyself? will they arise and save in the time of thine affliction? for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal. (29) Wherefore do ye speak unto me? ye all have been ungodly, and ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. (30) In vain have I smitten your children; ye have not received correction: a sword has devoured your prophets as a destroying lion; yet ye feared not. (31) Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, Have I been a wilderness or a dry land to Israel? wherefore has my people said, We will not be ruled over, and will not come to thee any more? (32) Will a bride forget her ornaments, or a virgin her girdle? but my people has forgotten me days without number. (33) What fair device wilt thou yet employ in thy ways, so as to seek love? it shall not be so; moreover thou has done wickedly in corrupting thy ways; (34) and in thine hands has been found the blood of innocent souls; I have not found them in holes, but on every oak. (35) Yet thou saidst, I am innocent: only let his wrath be turned away from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, whereas thou sayest, I have not sinned. (36) For thou has been so exceedingly contemptuous as to repeat thy ways; but thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assur. (37) For thou shalt go forth thence also with thine hands upon thine head; for the Lord has rejected thine hope, and thou shalt not prosper in it.

3

(1) If a man put away his wife, and she depart from him, and become another man’s, shall she return to him any more at all? shall not that woman be utterly defiled? ye thou hast gone a-whoring with many shepherds, and hast returned to me, saith the Lord. (2) Lift up thine eyes to look straight forward, and see where thou hast not been utterly defiled. Thou hast sat for them by the wayside as a deserted crow, and hast defiled the land with thy fornications and thy wickedness. (3) And thou didst retain many shepherds for a stumbling-block to thyself: thou hadst a whore’s face, thou didst become shameless toward all. (4) Hast thou not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of thy virgin-time? (5) Will God’s anger continue for ever, or be preserved to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done these bad things, and hadst power to do them. (6) And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast thou seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there. (7) And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness. (8) And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement,) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication. (9) And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone. (10) And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely. (11) And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda. (12) Go and read these words toward the north, and thou shalt say, Return to me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not set my face against you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not be angry with you for ever. (13) Nevertheless, know thine iniquity, that thou hast sinned against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to strangers under every shady tree, but thou didst not hearken to my voice, saith the Lord. (14) Turn, ye children that have revolted, saith the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you in to Sion: (15) and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge. (16) And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall this be done any more. (17) In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart. (18) In those days the house of Juda, shall come together to the house of Israel, and they shall come, together, from the land of the north, and from all the countries, to the land, which I caused their fathers to inherit. (19) And I said, So be it, Lord, for thou saidst I will set thee among children, and will give thee a choice land, the inheritance of the Almighty God of the Gentiles: and I said, Ye shall call me Father; and ye shall not turn away from me. (20) But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord. (21) A voice from the lips was heard, even of weeping and supplication of the children of Israel: for they have dealt unrighteously in their ways, they have forgotten God their Holy One. (22) Turn, ye children that are given to turning, and I will heal your bruises. Behold, we will be thy servants; for thou art the Lord our God. (23) Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge: but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. (24) But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters. (25) We have lain down in our shame, and our disgrace has covered us: because we and our fathers have sinned before our God, from our youth until this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.

4

(1) If Israel will return to me, saith the Lord, he shall return: and if he will remove his abominations out of his mouth, and fear before me, and swear, (2) The Lord lives, with truth, in judgment and righteousness, then shall nations bless by him, and by him they shall praise God in Jerusalem. (3) For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Break up fresh ground for yourselves, and sow not among thorns. (4) Circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise your hardness of heart, ye men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my wrath go forth as fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your devices. (5) Declare ye in Juda, and let it be heard in Jerusalem: say ye, Sound the trumpet in the land; cry ye aloud: say ye, Gather yourselves together, and let us enter into the fortified cities. (6) Gather up your wares and flee to Sion: hasten, stay not: for I will bring evils from the north, and great destruction. (7) The lion is gone up from his lair, he has roused himself to the destruction of the nations, and has gone forth out of his place, to make the land desolate; and the cities shall be destroyed, so as to be without inhabitant. (8) For these things gird yourselves with sackclothes, and lament, and howl: for the anger of the Lord is not turned away from you. (9) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be amazed, and the prophets shall wonder. (10) And I said, O sovereign Lord, verily thou hast deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace; whereas behold, the sword has reached even to their soul. (11) At that time they shall say to this people and to Jerusalem, There is a spirit of error in the wilderness: the way of the daughter of my people is not to purity, nor to holiness. (12) But a spirit of full vengeance shall come upon me; and now I declare my judgments against them. (13) Behold, he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are in misery. (14) Cleanse thine heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved: how long will thy grievous thoughts be within thee? (15) For a voice of one publishing from Dan shall come, and trouble out of mount Ephraim shall be heard of. (16) Remind ye the nations; behold, they are come: proclaim it in Jerusalem, that bands are approaching from a land afar off, and have uttered their voice against the cities of Juda. (17) As keepers of a field, they have surrounded her; because thou, saith the Lord, has neglected me. (18) Thy ways and thy devices have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, for it is bitter, for it has reached to thy heart. (19) I am pained in my bowels, my bowels, and the sensitive powers of my heart; my soul is in great commotion, my heart is torn: I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of a trumpet, the cry of war, and of distress: it calls on destruction; (20) for all the land is distressed: suddenly my tabernacle is distressed, my curtains have been rent asunder. (21) How long shall I see fugitives, and hear the sound of the trumpet? (22) For the princes of my people have not known me, they are foolish and unwise children: they are wise to do evil, but how to do good they have not known. (23) I looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was not; and to the sky, an there was no light in it. (24) I beheld the mountains, and they trembled, and I saw all the hills in commotion. (25) I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared. (26) I saw, and, behold, Carmel was desert, and all the cities were burnt with fire at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his fierce anger they were utterly destroyed. (27) Thus saith the Lord, The whole land shall be desolate; but I will not make a full end. (28) For these things let the earth mourn, and let the sky be dark above: for I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not turn back from it. (29) The whole land has recoiled from the noise of the horseman and the bent bow; they have gone into the caves, and have hidden themselves in the groves, and have gone up upon the rocks: every city was abandoned, no man dwelt in them. (30) And what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, and adorn thyself with golden ornaments; though thou adorn thine eyes with stibium, thy beauty will be in vain: thy lovers have rejected thee, they seek thy life. (31) For I have heard thy groaning as the voice of a woman in travail, as of her that brings forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion shall fail through weakness, and she shall lose the strength of her hands, saying, Woe is me! for my soul faints because of the slain.

5

(1) Run ye about in the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in her broad places, if ye can find one, if there is any one that does judgment, and seeks faithfulness; and I will pardon them, saith the Lord. (2) The Lord lives, they say; do they not therefore swear falsely? (3) O Lord, thine eyes are upon faithfulness: thou hast scourged them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them; but they would not receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; and they would not return. (4) Then I said, It may be they are poor; for they are weak, for they know not the way of the Lord, or the judgment of God. (5) I will go to the rich men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of God: but, behold, with one consent they have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds. (6) Therefore has a lion out of the forest smitten them, and a wolf has destroyed them even to their houses, and a leopard has watched against their cities: all that go forth from them shall be hunted: for they have multiplied their ungodliness, they have strengthened themselves in their revoltings. (7) In what way shall I forgive thee for these things? Thy sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: and I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and lodged in harlots’ houses. (8) They became as wanton horses: they neighed each one after his neighbour’s wife. (9) Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this. (10) Go up upon her battlements, and break them down; but make not a full end: leave her buttresses: for they are the Lord’s. (11) For the house of Israel have indeed dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord: the house of Juda also (12) have lied to their Lord, and they have said, These things are not so; no evils shall come upon us; and we shall not see sword or famine. (13) Our prophets became wind, and the word of the Lord was not in them. (14) Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty, Because ye have spoken this word, behold, I have made my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. (15) Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; a nation the sound of whose language one shall not understand. (16) They are all mighty men: (17) and they shall devour your harvest, and your bread; and shall devour your sons, and your daughters; and they shall devour your sheep, and your calves, and devour your vineyards, and your fig-plantations, and your olive yards: and they shall utterly destroy your strong cities, wherein ye trusted, with the sword. (18) And it shall come to pass in those days, saith the Lord thy God, that I will not utterly destroy you. (19) And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that thou shalt say to them, Because ye served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. (20) Proclaim these things to the house of Jacob, and let them be heard in the house of Juda. (21) Hear ye now these things, O foolish and senseless people; who have eyes, and see not; and have ears, and hear not: (22) will ye not be afraid of me? saith the Lord; and will ye not fear before me, who have set the sand for a bound to the sea, as a perpetual ordinance, and it shall not pass it: yea, it shall rage, but not prevail; and its waves shall roar, but not pass over it. (23) But this people has a disobedient and rebellious heart; and they have turned aside and gone back: (24) and they have not said in their heart, Let us fear now the Lord our God, who gives us the early and latter rain, according to the season of the fulfillment of the ordinance of harvest, and has preserved it for us. (25) Your transgressions have turned away these things, and your sins have removed good things from you. (26) For among my people were found ungodly men; and they have set snares to destroy men, and have caught them. (27) As a snare which has been set is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore have they grown great, and become rich: (28) and they have transgressed the rule of judgment; they have not judged the cause of the orphan, nor have they judged the cause of the widow. (29) Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? (30) Shocking and horrible deeds have been done on the land; (31) the prophets utter unrighteous prophecies, and the priests have clapped their hands: and my people has loved to have it thus: and what will ye do for the future.

6

(1) Strengthen yourselves, ye children of Benjamin, to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sound an alarm with the trumpet in Thecue, and set up a signal over Baethacharma: for evil threatens from the north, and a great destruction is coming. (2) And thy pride, O daughter of Sion, shall be taken away. (3) The shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; and they shall pitch their tents against her round about, and shall feed their flocks each with his hand. (4) Prepare yourselves for war against her; rise up, and let us go up against her at noon. Woe to us! for the day has gone down, for the shadows of the day fail. (5) Rise, and let us go up against her by night, and destroy her foundations. (6) For thus saith the Lord, Hew down her trees, array a numerous force against Jerusalem. O false city; there is all oppression in her. (7) As a cistern cools water, so her wickedness cools her, ungodliness and misery shall be heard in her, as continually before her. (8) Thou shalt be chastened, O Jerusalem, with pain and the scourge, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee a desert land, which shall not be inhabited. (9) For thus saith the Lord, Glean, glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back your hands as a grape-gatherer to his basket. (10) To whom shall I speak, and testify, that he may hearken? behold, thine ears are uncircumcised, and they shall not be able to hear: behold, the word of the Lord is become to them a reproach, they will not at all desire it. (11) And I allowed my wrath to come to full, yet I kept it in, and did not utterly destroy them: I will pour it out on the children without, and on the assembly of young men together: for man and woman shall be taken together, the old man with him that is full of days. (12) And their houses shall be turned to others, with their fields and their wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of this land, saith the Lord. (13) For from the least of them even to the greatest they have all committed iniquity; from the priest even to the false prophet they have all wrought falsely. (14) And they healed the breach of my people imperfectly, making light of it, and saying, Peace, peace, and where is peace? (15) They were ashamed because they failed; yet they were not ashamed as those who are truly ashamed, and they knew not their own disgrace: therefore shall they utterly fall when they do fall, and in the time of visitation shall they perish, said the Lord. (16) Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths of the Lord; and see what is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find purification for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in them. (17) I have set watchmen over you, saying, Hear ye the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hear it. (18) Therefore have the nations heard, and they that feed their flocks. (19) Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evils upon this people, even the fruit of their rebellions; for they have not heeded my words, and they have rejected my law. (20) Wherefore do ye bring me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a land afar off? your whole-burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not been pleasant to me. (21) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring weakness upon this people, and the fathers and sons shall be weak together; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. (22) Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people comes from the north, and nations shall be stirred up from the end of the earth. (23) They shall lay hold on bow and spear; the people is fierce, and will have no mercy; their voice is as the roaring sea; they shall array themselves for war against thee as fire on horses and chariots, O daughter of Sion. (24) We have heard the report of them: our hands are weakened: anguish has seized us, the pangs as of a woman in travail. (25) Go not forth into the field, and walk not in the ways; for the sword of the enemy lingers round about. (26) O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth: sprinkle thyself with ashes; make for thyself pitiable lamentation, as the mourning for a beloved son: for misery will come suddenly upon you. (27) I have caused thee to be tried among tried nations, and thou shalt know me when I have tried their way. (28) They are all disobedient, walking perversely: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupted. (29) The bellows have failed from the fire, the lead has failed: the silversmith works at his trade in vain; their wickedness is not consumed. (30) Call ye them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them.

7

(1) (2) Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judea. (3) Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Correct your ways and your devices, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. (4) Trust not in yourselves with lying words, for they shall not profit you at all, saying, It is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. (5) For if ye thoroughly correct your ways and your practices, and do indeed execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; (6) and oppress not the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and go not after strange gods to your hurt: (7) then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers of old and for ever. (8) But whereas ye have trusted in lying words, whereby ye shall not be profited; (9) and ye murder, and commit adultery, and steal, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and are gone after strange gods whom ye know not, (10) so that it is evil with you; yet have ye come, and stood before me in the house, whereon my name is called, and ye have said, We have refrained from doing all these abominations. (11) Is my house, whereon my name is called, a den of robbers in your eyes? And, behold, I have seen it, saith the Lord. (12) For go ye to my place with is in Selo, where I caused my name to dwell before, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. (13) And now, because ye have done all these deeds, and I spoke to you, but ye hearkened not to me; and I called you, but ye answered not; (14) therefore I also will do to the house whereon my name is called, wherein ye trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Selo. (15) And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast away your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim. (16) Therefore pray not thou for this people, and intercede not for them to be pitied, yea, pray not, and approach me not for them: for I will not hearken unto thee. (17) Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? (18) Their children gather wood, and their fathers kindle a fire, and their women knead dough, to make cakes to the host of heaven; and they have poured out drink-offerings to strange gods, that they might provoke me to anger. (19) Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves, that their faces may be ashamed? (20) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, my anger and wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and upon the men, and upon the cattle, and upon every tree of their field, and upon the fruits of the land; and it shall burn, and not be quenched. (21) Thus saith the Lord, Gather your whole-burnt-offerings with your meat-offerings, and eat flesh. (22) For I spoke not to your fathers, and commanded them not in the day wherein I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, concerning whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifice: (23) but I commanded them this thing, saying, Hear ye my voice, and I will be to you a God, and ye shall be to me a people: and walk ye in all my ways which I shall command you, that it may be well with you. (24) But they hearkened not to me, and their ear gave no heed, but they walked in the imaginations of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward; (25) from the day that their fathers went forth out of the land of Egypt, even until this day. And I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, by day and early in the morning: yea, I sent them, (26) but they hearkened not to me, and their ear gave no heed; and they made their neck harder than their fathers. (27) Therefore thou shalt speak this word to them; (28) This is the nation which has not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, nor received correction: truth has failed from their mouth. (29) Cut off thine hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on thy lips; for the Lord has reprobated and rejected the generation that does these things. (30) For the children of Juda have wrought evil before me, saith the Lord; they have set their abominations in the house on which my name is called, to defile it. (31) And they have built the altar of Tapheth, which is in the valley of the son of Ennom, to burn their sons and their daughters with fire; which I did not command them to do, neither did I design it in my heart. (32) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The altar of Tapheth, and the valley of the son of Ennom, but, The valley of the slain; and they shall bury in Tapheth, for want of room. (33) And the dead bodies of this people shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to drive them away. (34) And I will destroy out of the cities of Juda, and the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of them that make merry, and the voice of them that rejoice, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for the whole land shall become a desolation.

8

(1) At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Juda, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves; (2) and they shall spread them out to the sun, and the moon, and to all the stars, and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and to which they have held, and which they have worshipped; they shall not be mourned for, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be for an example on the face of the earth, (3) because they chose death rather than life, even to all the remnant that are left of that family, in every place whither I shall drive them out. (4) For thus saith the Lord, Shall not he that falls arise? or he that turns away, shall he not turn back again? (5) Wherefore has this my people turned away with a shameless revolting, and strengthened themselves in their willfulness, and refused to return? (6) Hearken, I pray you, and hear: will they not speak thus, There is no man that repents of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? the runner has failed from his course, as a tired horse in his neighing. (7) Yea, the stork in the heaven knows her time, also the turtle-dove and wild swallow; the sparrows observe the times of their coming in; but this my people knows not the judgments of the Lord. (8) How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen. (9) The wise men are ashamed, and alarmed, and taken; because they have rejected the word of the Lord; what wisdom is there in them? (10) Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to new inheritors; and they shall gather their fruits, saith the Lord. (11) (12) (13) There are no grapes on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig-trees, and the leaves have fallen off. (14) Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the strong cities, and let us be cast out there: for God has cast us out, and made us drink water of gall, because we have sinned before him. (15) We assembled for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, but behold anxiety. (16) We shall hear the neighing of his swift horses out of Dan: the whole land quaked at the sound of the neighing of his horses; and he shall come, and devour the land and the fullness of it; the city, and them that dwell in it. (17) For, behold, I send forth against you deadly serpents, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you (18) mortally with the pain of your distressed heart. (19) Behold, there is a sound of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off: Is not the Lord in Sion? is there not a king there? because they have provoked me with their graven images, and with strange vanities. (20) The summer is gone, the harvest is past, and we are not saved. (21) For the breach of the daughter of my people I have been saddened: in my perplexity pangs have seized upon me as of a woman in travail. (22) And is there no balm in Galaad, or is there no physician there? why has not the healing of the daughter of my people taken place?

9

(1) Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? then would I weep for this my people day and night, even for the slain of the daughter of my people. (2) Who would give me a most distant lodge in the wilderness, that I might leave my people, and depart from them? for they all commit adultery, an assembly of treacherous men. (3) And they have bent their tongue like a bow: falsehood and not faithfulness has prevailed upon the earth; for they have gone on from evil to evil, and have not known me, saith the Lord. (4) Beware ye each of his neighbour, and trust ye not in your brethren: for every one will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily. (5) Every one will mock his friend; they will not speak truth: their tongue has learned to speak falsehoods; they have committed iniquity, they ceased not, so as to return. (6) There is usury upon usury, and deceit upon deceit: they would not know me, saith the Lord. (7) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will try them with fire, and prove them; for I will do thus because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people. (8) Their tongue is a wounding arrow; the words of their mouth are deceitful: one speaks peaceably to his neighbour, but in himself retains enmity. (9) Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this? (10) Take up a lamentation for the mountains, and a mournful dirge for the paths of the wilderness, for they are desolate for want of men; they heard not the sound of life from the birds of the sky, nor the cattle: they were amazed, they are gone. (11) And I will remove the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and make it a dwelling-place of dragons; and I will utterly waste the cities of Juda, so that they shall not be inhabited. (12) Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? and he that has the word of the mouth of the Lord addressed to him, let him tell you wherefore the land has been destroyed, has been ravaged by fire like a desert, so that no one passes through it. (13) And the Lord said to me, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not hearkened to my voice; (14) but went after the lusts of their evil heart, and after the idols which their fathers taught them to worship: (15) therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them with trouble and will cause them to drink water of gall: (16) and I will scatter them among the nations, to them whom neither they nor their fathers knew; and I will send a sword upon them, until I have consumed them with it. (17) Thus saith the Lord, Call ye the mourning women, and let them come; and send to the wise women, and let them utter their voice; (18) and let them take up a lamentation for you, and let your eyes pour down tears, and your eyelids drop water. (19) For a voice of lamentation has been heard in Sion, How are we become wretched! we are greatly ashamed, for we have forsaken the land, and have abandoned our tabernacles! (20) Hear now, ye women, the word of God, and let your ears receive the words of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentation, and every woman her neighbour a dirge. (21) For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets. (22) And the carcases of the men shall be for an example on the face of the field of your land, like grass after the mower, and there shall be none to gather them. (23) Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth; (24) but let him that boasts boast in this, the understanding and knowing that I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment, and righteousness, upon the earth; for in these things is my pleasure, saith the Lord. (25) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will visit upon all the circumcised their uncircumcision; (26) on Egypt, and on Idumea, and on Edom, and on the children of Ammon, and on the children of Moab, and on every one that shaves his face round about, even them that dwell in the wilderness; for all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in flesh, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.

10

(1) Hear ye the word of the Lord, which he has spoken to you, O house of Israel. (2) Thus saith the Lord, Learn ye not the ways of the heathen, and be not alarmed at the signs of the sky; for they are alarmed at them, falling on their faces. (3) For the customs of the nations are vain; it is a tree cut out of the forest, the work of the carpenter, or a molten image. (4) They are beautified with silver and gold, they fix them with hammers and nails; (5) they will set them up that they may not move; it is wrought silver, they will not walk, it is forged silver They must certainly be borne, for they cannot ride of themselves. Fear them not; for they cannot do any evil, and there is no good in them. (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) Thus shall ye say to them, Let the gods which have not made heaven and earth perish from off the earth, and from under this sky. (12) It is the Lord that made the earth by his strength, who set up the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the sky, (13) and set abundance of waters in the sky, and brought up clouds from the ends of the earth; he made lightnings for the rain, and brought forth light out of his treasures. (14) Every man is deprived of knowledge, every goldsmith is confounded because of his graven images; for he has cast false gods, there is no breath in them. (15) They are vain works, wrought in mockery; in the time of their visitation they shall perish. (16) Such is not the portion of Jacob; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name. (17) He has gathered thy substance from without the lodged in choice vessels. (18) For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will overthrow the inhabitants of this land with affliction, that thy plague may be discovered. (19) Alas for thy ruin! thy plague is grievous: and I said, Surely this is thy wound, and it has overtaken thee. (20) Thy tabernacle is in a ruinous state, it has perished; and all thy curtains have been torn asunder: my children and my cattle are no more: there is no more any place for my tabernacle, nor place for my curtains. (21) For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore the whole pasture has failed, and the sheep have been scattered. (22) Behold, there comes a sound of a noise, and a great earthquake from the land of the north, to make the cities of Juda a desolation, and a resting-place for ostriches. (23) I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his own; neither shall a man go, and direct his going. (24) Chasten us, O Lord, but with judgment; and not in wrath, lest thou make us few. (25) Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee, and upon the families that have not called upon thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, and consumed him, and have made his pasture desolate.

11

(1) The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying, (2) Hear ye the words of this covenant, and thou shalt speak to the men of Juda, and to the dwellers in Jerusalem; (3) and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Cursed is the man, who shall not hearken to the words of this covenant, (4) which I commanded your fathers, in the day wherein I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice, and do all things that I shall command you; so shall ye be to me a people, and I will be to you a God; (5) that I may confirm mine oath, which I sware to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then I answered and said, So be it, O Lord. (6) And the Lord said to me, Read these words in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. (8) But they did them not. (9) And the Lord said to me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Juda, and among the dwellers in Jerusalem. (10) They are turned aside to the iniquities of their fathers that were of old, who would not hearken to my words: and, behold, they go after strange gods, to serve them: and the house of Israel and the house of Juda have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers. (11) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I bring evils upon this people, out of which they shall not be able to come forth; and they shall presently cry to me, but I will not hearken to them. (12) And the cities of Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem shall go, and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense; which shall not deliver them in the time of their troubles. (13) For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to burn incense to Baal. (14) And thou, pray not for this people, and intercede not for them in supplication and prayer: for I will not hear in the day in which they call upon me, in the day of their affliction. (15) Why has my beloved wrought abomination in my house? will prayers and holy offerings take away thy wickedness from thee, or shalt thou escape by these things? (16) The Lord called thy name a fair olive tree, of a goodly shade in appearance, at the noise of its being lopped, fire was kindled against it; great is the affliction coming upon thee: her branches are become good for nothing. (17) And the Lord that planted thee has pronounced evils against thee, because of the iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Juda, whatsoever they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger by burning incense to Baal. (18) O Lord, teach me, and I shall know: then I saw their practices. (19) But I as an innocent lamb led to the slaughter, knew not: against me they devised an evil device, saying, Come and let us put wood into his bread, and let us utterly destroy him from off the land of the living, and let his name not be remembered any more. (20) O Lord, that judgest righteously, trying the reins and hearts, let me see thy vengeance taken upon them, for to thee I have declared my cause. (21) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek my life, that say, Thou shalt not prophesy at all in the name of the Lord, but if thou dost, thou shalt die by our hands: (22) behold, I will visit them: their young men shall die by the sword; and their sons and their daughters shall die of famine: (23) and there shall be no remnant left of them; for I will bring evil upon the dwellers in Anathoth, in the year of their visitation.

12

(1) Righteous art thou, O Lord, that I may make my defence to thee, yea, I will speak to thee of judgments. Why is it that the way of ungodly men prospers? that all that deal very treacherously are flourishing? (2) Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root; they have begotten children, and become fruitful; thou art near to their mouth, and far from their reins. (3) But thou, Lord, knowest me; thou hast proved my heart before thee; purify them for the day of their slaughter. (4) How long shall the land mourn, and the grass of the field wither, for the wickedness of them, that dwell in it? the beasts and birds are utterly destroyed; because the people said, God shall not see our ways. (5) Thy feet run, and they cause thee to faint; how wilt thou prepare to ride upon horses? and thou hast been confident in the land of thy peace? how wilt thou do in the roaring of Jordan? (6) For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even these have dealt treacherously with thee; and they have cried out, they are gathered together in pursuit of thee; trust not thou in them, though they shall speak fair words to thee. (7) I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given my beloved one into the hands of her enemies. (8) My inheritance has become to me as a lion in a forest; she has uttered her voice against me; therefore have I hated her. (9) Is not my inheritance to me a hyaena’s cave, or a cave round about her? Go ye, gather together all the wild beasts of the field, and let them come to devour her. (10) Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have defiled my portion, they have made my desirable portion a trackless wilderness; (11) it is made a complete ruin: for my sake the whole land has been utterly ruined, because there is none that lays the matter to heart. (12) The ravagers are come to every passage in the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other: no flesh has any peace. (13) Sow wheat, and reap thorns; their portions shall not profit them: be ashamed of your boasting, because of reproach before the Lord. (14) For thus saith the Lord, concerning all the evil neighbours that touch mine inheritance, which I have divided to my people Israel; Behold, I will draw them away from their land, and I will cast out Juda from the midst of them. (15) And it shall come to pass, after I have cast them out, that I will return, and have mercy upon them, and will cause them to dwell every one in his inheritance, and every one in his land. (16) And it shall be, if they will indeed learn the way of my people, to swear by my name, saying, The Lord lives; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall that nation be built in the midst of my people. (17) But if they will not return, then will I cut off that nation with utter ruin and destruction.

13

(1) Thus saith the Lord, Go and procure for thyself a linen girdle, and put it about thy loins, and let it not be put in water. (2) So I procured the girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it about my loins. (3) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (4) Take the girdle that is upon thy loins, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. (5) So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. (6) And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there. (7) So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle out of the place where I had buried it: and, behold, it was rotten, utterly good for nothing. (8) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, (9) Thus will I mar the pride of Juda, and the pride of Jerusalem; (10) even this great pride of the men that will not hearken to my words, and have gone after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them: and they shall be as this girdle, which can be used for nothing. (11) For as a girdle cleaves about the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to myself the house of Israel, and the whole house of Juda; that they might be to me a famous people, and a praise, and a glory: but they did not hearken to me. (12) And thou shalt say to this people, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Shall we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? that thou shalt say to them, (13) Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill the inhabitants of this land, and their kings the sons of David that sit upon their throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and Juda and all the dwellers in Jerusalem, with strong drink. (14) And I will scatter them a man and his brother, and their fathers and their sons together: I will not have compassion, saith the Lord, and I will not spare, neither will I pity to save them from destruction. (15) Hear ye, and give ear, and be not proud: for the Lord has spoken. (16) Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and ye shall wait for light, and behold the shadow of death, and they shall be brought into darkness. (17) But if ye will not hearken, your soul shall weep in secret because of pride, and your eyes shall pour down tears, because the Lord’s flock is sorely bruised. (18) Say ye to the king and the princes, Humble yourselves, and sit down; for your crown of glory is removed from your head. (19) The cities toward the south were shut, and there was none to open them: Juda is removed into captivity,they have suffered a complete removal. (20) Lift up thine eyes, O Jerusalem, and behold them that come from the north; where is the flock that was given thee, the sheep of thy glory? (21) What wilt thou say when they shall visit thee, for thou didst teach them lessons for rule against thyself; shall not pangs seize thee as a woman in travail? (22) And if thou shouldest say in thine heart, Wherefore have these things happened to me? Because of the abundance of thine iniquity have thy skirts been discovered, that thine heels might be exposed. (23) If the Ethiopian shall change his skin, or the leopardess her spots, then shall ye be able to do good, having learnt evil. (24) So I scattered them as sticks carried by the wind into the wilderness. (25) Thus is thy lot, and the reward of your disobedience to me, saith the Lord; as thou didst forget me, and trust in lies, (26) I also will expose thy skirts upon thy face, and thy shame shall be seen; (27) thine adultery also, and thy neighing, and the looseness of thy fornication: on the hills and in the fields I have seen thine abominations. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, for thou hast not been purified so as to follow me; how long yet shall it be?

14

(1) AND THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO JEREMIAS CONCERNING THE DROUGHT. (2) Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. (3) And her nobles have sent their little ones to the water: they came to the wells, and found no water: and brought back their vessels empty. (4) And the labours of the land failed, because there was no rain: the husbandmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. (5) And hinds calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. (6) The wild asses stood by the forests, and snuffed up the wind; their eyes failed, because there was no grass. (7) Our sins have risen up against us: O Lord, do thou for us for thine own sake; for our sins are many before thee; for we have sinned against thee. (8) O Lord, thou art the hope of Israel, and deliverest us in time of troubles; why art thou become as a sojourner upon the land, or as one born in the land, yet turning aside for a resting-place? (9) Wilt thou be as a man asleep, or as a strong man that cannot save? yet thou art among us, O Lord, and thy name is called upon us; forget us not. (10) Thus saith the Lord to this people, They have loved to wander, and they have not spared, therefore God has not prospered them; now will he remember their iniquity. (11) And the Lord said to me, Pray not for this people for their good: (12) for though they fast, I will not hear their supplication; and though they offer whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, I will take no pleasure in them: for I will consume them with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence. (13) And I said, O ever living Lord! behold, their prophets prophesy, and say, Ye shall not see a sword, nor shall famine be among you; for I will give truth and peace on the land, and in this place. (14) Then the Lord said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, and I commanded them not, and I spoke not to them: for they prophesy to you false visions, and divinations, and auguries, and devices of their own heart. (15) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy lies in my name, and I sent them not, who say, Sword and famine shall not be upon this land; they shall die by a grievous death, and the prophets shall be consumed by famine. (16) And the people to whom they prophesy, they also shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the sword and famine; and there shall be none to bury them: their wives also, and their sons, and their daughters shall die thus; and I will pour out their wickedness upon them. (17) And thou shalt speak this word to them; Let your eyes shed tears day and night, and let them not cease: for the daughter of my people has been sorely bruised, and her plague is very grievous. (18) If I go forth into the plain, then behold the slain by the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold the distress of famine! for priest and prophet have gone to a land which they knew not. (19) Hast thou utterly rejected Juda? and has thy soul departed from Sion? wherefore has thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we waited for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, and behold trouble! (20) We know, O Lord, our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned before thee. (21) Refrain for thy name’s sake, destroy not the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. (22) Is there any one among the idols of the Gentiles that can give rain? and will the sky yield his fulness at their bidding? Art not thou he? we will even wait on thee, O Lord: for thou hast made all these things.

15

(1) And the Lord said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before my face, my soul could not be toward them: dismiss this people, and let them go forth. (2) And it shall be, if they say to thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; As many as are for death, to death; and as many as are for famine, to famine; and as many as are for the sword, to the sword; and as many as are for captivity, to captivity. (3) And I will punish them with four kinds of death, saith the Lord, the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the wild beasts of the earth, and the birds of the sky to devour and destroy. (4) And I will deliver them up for distress to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasses son of Ezekias king of Juda, for all that he did in Jerusalem. (5) Who will spare thee, O Jerusalem? and who will fear for thee? or who will turn back to ask for thy welfare? (6) Thou hast turned away from me, saith the Lord, thou wilt go back: therefore I will stretch out my hand, and will destroy thee, and will no more spare them. (7) And I will completely scatter them; in the gates of my people they are bereaved of children: they have destroyed my people because of their iniquities. (8) Their widows have been multiplied more than the sand of the sea: I have brought young men against the mother, even distress at noon-day: I have suddenly cast upon her trembling and anxiety. (9) She that bore seven is spent; her soul has fainted under trouble; her sun is gone down while it is yet noon; she is ashamed and disgraced: I will give the remnant of them to the sword before their enemies. (10) Woe is me, my mother! thou hast born me as some man of strife, and at variance with the whole earth; I have not helped others, nor has any one helped me; my strength has failed among them that curse me. (11) Be it so, Lord, in their prosperity; surely I stood before thee in the time of their calamities, and in the time of their affliction, for their good against the enemy. (12) Will iron be known? whereas thy strength is a brazen covering. (13) Yea, I will give thy treasures for a spoil as a recompence, because of all thy sins and that in all thy borders. (14) And I will enslave thee to thine enemies round about, in a land which thou hast not known; for a fire has been kindled out of my wrath; it shall burn upon you. (15) O Lord, remember me, and visit me, and vindicate me before them that persecute me; do not bear long with them; know how I have met with reproach for thy sake, from those who set at nought thy words; (16) consume them; and thy word shall be to me for the joy and gladness of my heart: for thy name has been called upon me, O Lord Almighty. (17) I have not sat in the assembly of them as they mocked, but I feared because of thy power: I sat alone, for I was filled with bitterness. (18) Why do they that grieve me prevail against me? my wound is severe; whence shall I be healed? it is indeed become to me as deceitful water, that has no faithfulness. (19) Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou wilt return, then will I restore thee, and thou shalt stand before my face: and if thou wilt bring forth the precious from the worthless, thou shalt be as my mouth: and they shall return to thee; but thou shalt not return to them. (20) And I will make thee to this people as a strong brazen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall by no means prevail against thee; (21) for I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver thee out of the hand of wicked men; and I will ransom thee out of the hand of pestilent men.

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(1) And thou shalt not take a wife, saith the Lord God of Israel: (2) and there shall be no son born to thee, nor daughter in this place. (3) For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that have born them, and concerning their fathers that have begotten them in this land; (4) They shall die of grievous death; they shall not be lamented, nor buried; they shall be for an example on the face of the earth; and they shall be for the wild beasts of the land, and for the birds of the sky: they shall fall by the sword, and shall be consumed with famine. (5) Thus saith the Lord, Enter not into their mourning feast, and go not to lament, and mourn not for them: for I have removed my peace from this people. (6) They shall not bewail them, nor make cuttings for them, and they shall not shave themselves for them: (7) and there shall be no bread broken in mourning for them for consolation over the dead: they shall not give one to drink a cup for consolation over his father or his mother. (8) Thou shalt not enter into the banquet-house, to sit with them to eat and to drink. (9) For thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will make to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. (10) And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt report to this people all these words, and they shall say to thee, Wherefore has the Lord pronounced against us all these evils? what is our unrighteousness? and what is our sin which we have sinned before the Lord our God? (11) Then thou shalt say to them, Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord, and went after strange gods and served them, and worshipped them, and forsook me, and kept not my law; (12) (and ye sinned worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the lusts of your own evil heart, so as not to hearken to me); (13) therefore I will cast you off from this good land into a land which neither ye nor your fathers have known; and ye shall serve their other gods, who shall have no mercy upon you. (14) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; (15) but, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel from the land of the north, and from all countries whither they were thrust out: and I will restore them to their own land, which I gave to their fathers. (16) Behold, I will send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt them upon every mountain, and upon every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. (17) For mine eyes are upon all their ways; and their iniquities have not been hidden from mine eyes. (18) And I will recompense their mischiefs doubly, and their sins, whereby they have profaned my land with the carcases of their abominations, and with their iniquities, whereby they have trespassed against mine inheritance. (19) O Lord, thou art my strength, and mine help, and my refuge in days of evil: to thee the Gentiles shall come from the end of the earth, and shall say, How vain were the idols which our fathers procured to themselves, and there is no help in them. (20) Will a man make gods for himself, whereas these are no gods? (21) Therefore, behold, I will at this time manifest my hand to them, and will make known to them my power; and they shall know that my name is the Lord.

17

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and will lean his arm of flesh upon him, while his heart departs from the Lord. (6) And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in barren places, and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. (7) But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord shall be. (8) And he shall be as a thriving tree by the waters, and he shall cast forth his root toward a moist place: he shall not fear when heat comes, and there shall be upon him shady branches: he shall not fear in a year of drought, and he shall not fail to bear fruit. (9) The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man, and who can know him? (10) I the Lord try the hearts, and prove the reins, to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his devices. (11) The partridge utters her voice, she gathers eggs which she did not lay; so is a man gaining his wealth unjustly; in the midst of his days his riches shall leave him, and at his latter end he will be a fool. (12) An exalted throne of glory is our sanctuary. (13) O Lord, the hope of Israel, let all that have left thee be ashamed, let them that have revolted be written on the earth, because they have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord. (14) Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my boast. (15) Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come. (16) But I have not been weary of following thee, nor have I desired the day of man; thou knowest; the words that proceed out of my lips are before thy face. (17) Be not to me a stranger, but spare me in the evil day. (18) Let them that persecute me be ashamed, but let me not be ashamed: let them be alarmed, but let me not be alarmed: bring upon them the evil day, crush them with double destruction. (19) Thus saith the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of thy people, by which the kings of Juda enter, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem: (20) and thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, all who go in at these gates: (21) thus saith the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth through the gates of Jerusalem; (22) and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and ye shall do no work: sanctify the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers. (23) But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but stiffened their neck more than their fathers did, so as not to hear me, and not to receive correction. (24) And it shall come to pass, if ye will hearken to me, saith the Lord, to carry in no burdens through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to sanctify the sabbath-day, so as to do no work upon it, (25) that there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, and riding on their chariots and horses, they, and their princes, the men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever. (26) And men shall come out of the cities of Juda, and from round about Jerusalem, and out of the land of Benjamin, and out of the plain country, and from the hill country, and from the south country, bringing whole-burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and incense, and manna, and frankincense, bringing praise to the house of the Lord. (27) But it shall come to pass, if ye will not hearken to me to sanctify the sabbath-day, to bear no burdens, nor go in with them by the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the streets of Jerusalem, and shall not be quenched.

18

(1) The word that came from the Lord to (2) Jeremias, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there thou shalt hear my words. (3) So I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making a vessel on the stones. (4) And the vessel which he was making with his hands fell: so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to him to make it. (5) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (6) Shall I not be able, O house of Israel, to do to you as this potter? behold, as the clay of the potter are ye in my hands. (7) If I shall pronounce a decree upon a nation, or upon a kingdom, to cut them off, and to destroy them; (8) and that nation turn from all their sins, then will I repent of the evils which I purposed to do to them. (9) And if I shall pronounce a decree upon a nation and kingdom, to rebuild and to plant it; (10) and they do evil before me, so as not to hearken to my voice, then will I repent of the good which I spoke of, to do it to them. (11) And now say to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Behold, I prepare evils against you, and devise a device against you: let every one turn now from his evil way, and amend your practices. (12) And they said, We will quit ourselves like men, for we will pursue our perverse ways, and we will perform each the lusts of his evil heart. (13) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Enquire now among the nations, who has heard such very horrible things as the virgin of Israel has done? (14) Will fertilising streams fail to flow from a rock, or snow fail from Libanus? will water violently impelled by the wind turn aside? (15) For my people have forgotten me, they have offered incense in vain, and they fail in their ways, leaving the ancient tracks, to enter upon impassable paths; (16) to make their land a desolation, and a perpetual hissing; all that go through it shall be amazed, and shall shake their heads. (17) I will scatter them before their enemies like an east wind; I will shew them the day of their destruction. (18) Then they said, Come, and let us devise a device against Jeremias; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and we will hear all his words. (19) Hear me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my pleading. (20) Forasmuch as evil is rewarded for good; for they have spoken words against my soul, and they have hidden the punishment they meant for me; remember that I stood before thy face, to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them. (21) Therefore do thou deliver their sons to famine, and gather them to the power of the sword: let their women be childless and widows; and let their men be cut off by death, and their young men fall by the sword in war. (22) Let there be a cry in their houses: thou shalt bring upon them robbers suddenly: for they have formed a plan to take me, and have hidden snares for me. (23) And thou, Lord, knowest all their deadly counsel against me: account not their iniquities guiltless, and blot not out their sins from before thee: let their weakness come before thee; deal with them in the time of thy wrath.

19

(1) Then said the Lord to me, Go and get an earthen bottle, the work of the potter, and thou shalt bring some of the elders of the people, and of the priests; (2) and thou shalt go forth to the burial-place of the sons of their children, which is at the entrance of the gate of Charsith; and do thou read there all these words which I shall speak to thee: (3) and thou shalt say to them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and they that enter in by these gates; thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, so that the ears of every one that hears it shall tingle. (4) Because they forsook me, and profaned this place, and burnt incense in it to strange gods, which they and their fathers knew not; and the kings of Juda have filled this place with innocent blood, (5) and built high places for Baal, to burn their children in the fire, which things I commanded not, neither did I design them in my heart: (6) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when this place shall no more be called, The fall and burial-place of the son of Ennom, but, The burial-place of slaughter. (7) And I will destroy the counsel of Juda and the counsel of Jerusalem in this place; and I will cast them down with the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the sky and to the wild beasts of the earth. (8) And I will bring this city to desolation and make it a hissing; every one that passes by it shall scowl, and hiss because of all her plague. (9) And they shall eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his neighbour in the blockade, and in the siege wherewith their enemies shall besiege them. (10) And thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that go forth with thee, (11) and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Thus will I break in pieces this people, and this city, even as an earthen vessel is broken in pieces which cannot be mended again. (12) Thus will I do, saith the Lord, to this place, and to the inhabitants of it, that this city may be given up, as one that is falling to ruin. (13) And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Juda shall be as a ruinous place, because of their uncleannesses in all the houses, wherein they burnt incense upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and poured drink-offerings to strange gods. (14) And Jeremias came from the place of the Fall, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house: and said to all the people, Thus saith the Lord; (15) Behold I bring upon this city, and upon all the cities belonging to it, and upon the villages of it, all the evils which I have spoken against it, because they have hardened their neck, that they might not hearken to my commands.

20

(1) Now Paschor the son of Emmer, the priest, who also had been appointed chief of the house of the Lord, heard Jeremias prophesying these words. (2) And he smote him, and cast him into the dungeon which was by the gate of the upper house that was set apart, which was by the house of the Lord. (3) And Paschor brought Jeremias out of the dungeon: and Jeremias said to him, The Lord has not called thy name Paschor, but Exile. (4) For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give thee up to captivity with all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall see it: and I will give thee and all Juda into the hands of the king of Babylon, and they shall carry them captives, and cut them in pieces with swords. (5) And I will give all the strength of this city, and all the labours of it, and all the treasures of the king of Juda, into the hands of his enemies, and they shall bring them to Babylon. (6) And thou and all the dwellers in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt die in Babylon, and there thou and all thy friends shall be buried, to whom thou hast prophesied lies. (7) Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I have been deceived: thou hast been strong, and has prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock, I am continually mocked every day. (8) For I will laugh with my bitter speech, I will call upon rebellion and misery: for the word of the Lord is become a reproach to me and a mockery all my days. (9) Then I said, I will by no means name the name of the Lord, and I will no more at all speak in his name. But it was a burning fire flaming in my bones, and I am utterly weakened on all sides, and cannot bear up. (10) For I have heard the reproach of many gathering round, saying, Conspire ye, and let us conspire together against him, even all his friends: watch his intentions, if perhaps he shall be deceived, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall be avenged on him. (11) But the Lord was with me as a mighty man of war: therefore they persecuted me, but could not perceive anything against me; they were greatly confounded, for they perceived not their disgrace, which shall never be forgotten. (12) O Lord, that provest just deeds, understanding the reins and hearts, let me see thy vengeance upon them: for to thee I have revealed my cause. (13) Sing ye to the Lord, sing praise to him: for he has rescued the soul of the poor from the hand of evil-doers. (14) Cursed be the day wherein I was born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed. (15) Cursed be the man who brought the glad tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born to thee. (16) Let that man rejoice as the cities which the Lord overthrew in wrath, and repented not: let him hear crying in the morning, and loud lamentation at noon; (17) because he slew me not in the womb, and my mother became not my tomb, and her womb always great with me. (18) Why is it that I came forth of the womb to see troubles and distresses, and my days are spent in shame?

21

(1) THE WORD THAT CAME FROM THE LORD TO JEREMIAS, WHEN KING SEDEKIAS SENT TO HIM PASCHOR THE SON OF MELCHIAS, AND SOPHONIAS SON OF BASAEAS, THE PRIEST, SAYING, (2) Enquire of the Lord for us; for the king of Babylon has risen up against us; if the Lord will do according to all his wonderful works, and the king shall depart from us. (3) And Jeremias said to them, Thus shall ye say to Sedekias king of Juda, (4) Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war wherewith ye fight against the Chaldeans that have besieged you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the midst of this city. (5) And I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, with wrath and great anger. (6) And I will smite all the dwellers in this city, both men and cattle, with grievous pestilence: and they shall die. (7) And after this, thus saith the Lord; I will give Sedekias king of Juda, and his servants, and the people that is left in this city from the pestilence, and from the famine, and from the sword, into the hands of their enemies, that seek their lives: and they shall cut them in pieces with the edge of the sword: I will not spare them, and I will not have compassion upon them. (8) And thou shalt say to this people, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I have set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (9) He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by famine: but he that goes forth to advance to the Chaldeans that have besieged you, shall live, and his life shall be to him for a spoil, and he shall live. (10) For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good: it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall consume it with fire. (11) O house of the king of Juda, hear ye the word of the Lord. (12) O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Judge judgment in the morning, and act rightly, and rescue the spoiled one from the hand of him that wrongs him, lest mine anger be kindled like fire, and it burn, and there be none to quench it. (13) Behold, I am against thee that dwellest in the valley of Sor; in the plain country, even against them that say, Who shall alarm us? or who shall enter into our habitation? (14) And I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

22

(1) Thus saith the Lord; Go thou, and go down to the house of the king of Juda, and thou shalt speak there this word, (2) and thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Juda, that sittest on the throne of David, thou, and thy house, and thy people, and they that go in at these gates: (3) thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and justice, and rescue the spoiled out of the hand of him that wrongs him: and oppress not the stranger, and orphan, and widow, and sin not, and shed no innocent blood in this place. (4) For if ye will indeed perform this word, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, and riding on chariots and horses, they, and their servants, and their people. (5) But if ye will not perform these words, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that this house shall be brought to desolation. (6) For thus saith the Lord concerning the house of the king of Juda; Thou art Galaad to me, and the head of Libanus: yet surely I will make thee a desert, even cities that shall not be inhabited: (7) and I will bring upon thee a destroying man, and his axe: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. (8) And nations shall pass through this city, and each shall say to his neighbour, Why has the Lord done thus to this great city? (9) And they shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped strange gods, and served them. (10) Weep not for the dead, nor lament for him: weep bitterly for him that goes away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native land. (11) For thus saith the Lord concerning Sellem the son of Josias, who reigns in the place of Josias his father, who has gone forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: (12) but in that place whither I have carried him captive, there shall he die, and shall see this land no more. (13) He that builds his house not with justice, and his upper chambers not with judgment, who works by means of his neighbour for nothing, and will by no means give him his reward. (14) Thou hast built for thyself a well-proportioned house, airy chambers, fitted with windows, and wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion. (15) Shalt thou reign, because thou art provoked with thy father Achaz? they shall not eat, and they shall not drink: it is better for thee to execute judgment and justice. (16) They understood not, they judged not the cause of the afflicted, nor the cause of the poor: is not this thy not knowing me? saith the Lord. (17) Behold, thine eyes are not good, nor thine heart, but they go after thy covetousness, and after the innocent blood to shed it, and after acts of injustice and slaughter, to commit them. (18) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim son of Josias, king of Juda, even concerning this man; they shall not bewail him, saying, Ah brother! neither shall they at all weep for him, saying, Alas Lord. (19) He shall be buried with the burial of an ass; he shall be dragged roughly along and cast outside the gate of Jerusalem. (20) Go up to Libanus, and cry; and utter thy voice to Basan, and cry aloud to the extremity of the sea: for all thy lovers are destroyed. (21) I spoke to thee on occasion of thy trespass, but thou saidst, I will not hearken. This has been thy way from thy youth, thou hast not hearkened to my voice. (22) The wind shall tend all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; for then shalt thou be ashamed and disgraced because of all thy lovers. (23) O thou that dwellest in Libanus, making thy nest in the cedars, thou shalt groan heavily, when pangs as of a travailing woman are come upon thee. (24) As I live, saith the Lord, though Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda were indeed the seal upon my right hand, thence would I pluck thee; (25) and I will deliver thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, before whom thou art afraid, into the hands of the Chaldeans. (26) And I will cast forth thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a land where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die. (27) But they shall by no means return to the land which they long for in their souls. (28) Jechonias is dishonoured as a good-for-nothing vessel; for he is thrown out and cast forth into a land which he knew not. (29) Land, land, hear the word of the Lord. (30) Write ye this man an outcast: for there shall none of his seed at all grow up to sit on the throne of David, or as a prince yet in Juda.

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(1) Woe to the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of their pasture! (2) Therefore thus saith the Lord against them that tend my people; Ye have scattered my sheep, and driven them out, and ye have not visited them: behold, I will take vengeance upon you according to your evil practices. (3) And I will gather in the remnant of my people in every land, whither I have driven them out, and will set them in their pasture; and they shall increase and be multiplied. (4) And I will raise up shepherds to them, who shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be alarmed, saith the Lord. (5) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and understand, and shall execute judgment and righteousness on the earth. (6) In his days both Juda shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely: and this is his name, which the Lord shall call him, Josedec among the prophets. (7) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel out of the land of Egypt; (8) but The Lord lives, who has gathered the whole seed of Israel from the north land, and from all the countries whither he had driven them out, and has restored them into their own land. (9) My heart is broken within me; all my bones are shaken: I am become as a broken-down man, and as a man overcome with wine, because of the Lord, and because of the excellence of his glory. (10) For because of these things the land mourns; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up; and their course is become evil, and so also their strength. (11) For priest and prophet are defiled; and I have seen their iniquities in my house. (12) Therefore let their way be to them slippery and dark: and they shall be tripped up and fall in it: for I will bring evils upon them, in the year of their visitation. (13) And in the prophets of Samaria I have seen lawless deeds; they prophesied by Baal, and led my people Israel astray. (14) Also in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen horrible things: as they committed adultery, and walked in lies, and strengthened the hands of many, that they should not return each from his evil way: they are all become to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrha. (15) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will feed them with pain, and give them bitter water to drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem has defilement gone forth into all the land. (16) Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Hearken not to the words of the prophets: for they frame a vain vision for themselves; they speak from their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord. (17) They say to them that reject the word of the Lord, There shall be peace to you; and to all that walk after their own lusts, and to everyone that walks in the error of his heart, they have said, No evil shall come upon thee. (18) For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and seen his word? who has hearkened, and heard? (19) Behold, there is an earthquake from the Lord, and anger proceeds to a convulsion, it shall come violently upon the ungodly. (20) And the Lord’s wrath shall return no more, until he have accomplished it, and until he have established it, according to the purpose of his heart: at the end of the days they shall understand it. (21) I sent not the prophets, yet they ran: neither spoke I to them, yet they prophesied. (22) But if they had stood in my counsel, and if they had hearkened to my words, then would they have turned my people from their evil practices. (23) I am a God nigh at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off. (24) Shall any one hide himself in secret places, and I not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. (25) I have heard what the prophets say, what they prophesy in my name, saying falsely, I have seen a night vision. (26) How long shall these things be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, when they prophesy the purposes of their own heart? (27) who devise that men may forget my law by their dreams, which they have told every one to his neighbour, as their fathers forgot my name in the worship of Baal. (28) The prophet who has a dream, let him tell his dream; and he in whom is my word spoken to him, let him tell my word truly: what is the chaff to the corn? so are my words, saith the Lord. (29) Behold, are not my words as fire? saith the Lord; and as an axe cutting the rock? (30) Behold, I am therefore against the prophets, saith the Lord God, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. (31) Behold, I am against the prophets that put forth prophecies of mere words, and slumber their sleep. (32) Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets that prophesy false dreams, and have not told them truly, and have caused my people to err by their lies, and by their errors; yet I sent them not, and commanded them not; therefore, they shall not profit this people at all. (33) And if this people, or the priest, or the prophet, should ask, What is the burden of the Lord? then thou shalt say to them, Ye are the burden, and I will dash you down, saith the Lord. (34) As for the prophet, and the priests, and the people, who shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even take vengeance on that man, and on his house. (35) Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What has the Lord answered? and, what has the Lord said? (36) And do ye name no more the burden of the Lord; for his own word shall be a man’s burden. (37) But wherefore, say ye, has the Lord our God spoken? (38) Therefore thus saith the Lord our God; Because ye have spoken this word, The burden of the Lord, and I sent to you, saying, ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; (39) therefore, behold, I will seize, and dash down you and the city which I gave to you and your fathers. (40) And I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach, and everlasting disgrace, which shall not be forgotten.

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(1) The Lord shewed me two baskets of figs, lying in front of the temple of the Lord, after Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried captive Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda, and the princes, and the artificers, and the prisoners, and the rich men out of Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. (2) The one basket was full of very good figs, as the early figs; and the other basket was full of very bad figs, which could not be eaten, for their badness. (3) And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Jeremias? and I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for their badness. (4) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (5) Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; As these good figs, so will I acknowledge the Jews that have been carried away captive, whom I have sent forth out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for good. (6) And I will fix mine eyes upon them for good, and I will restore them into this land for good: and I will build them up, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. (7) And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God: for they shall turn to me with all their heart. (8) And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, for their badness; thus saith the Lord, So will I deliver Sedekias king of Juda, and his nobles, and the remnant of Jerusalem, them that are left in this land, and the dwellers in Egypt. (9) And I will cause them to be dispersed into all the kingdoms of the earth, and they shall be for a reproach, and a proverb, and an object of hatred, and a curse, in every place whither I have driven them out. (10) And I will send against them famine, and pestilence, and the sword, until they are consumed from off the land which I gave them.

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(1) THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS concerning all the people of Juda in the fourth year of Joakim, son of Josias, king of Juda; (2) which he spoke to all the people of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, (3) In the thirteenth year of Josias, son of Amos, king of Juda, even until this day for three and twenty years, I have both spoken to you, rising early and speaking, (4) and I sent to you my servants the prophets, sending them early; (but ye hearkened not, and listened not with your ears;) saying, (5) Turn ye every one from his evil way, and from your evil practices, and ye shall dwell in the land which I gave to you and your fathers, of old and for ever. (6) Go ye not after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them, that ye provoke me not by the works of your hands, to do you hurt. (7) But ye hearkened not to me. (8) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since ye believed not my words, (9) behold I will send and take a family from the north, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants of it, and against all the nations round about it, and I will make them utterly waste, and make them a desolation, and a hissing, and an everlasting reproach. (10) And I will destroy from among them the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the scent of ointment, and the light of a candle. (11) And all the land shall be a desolation; and they shall serve among the Gentiles seventy years. (12) And when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will take vengeance on that nation, and will make them a perpetual desolation. (13) And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have spoken against it, even all things that are written in this book. (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) THE PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAS AGAINST THE NATIONS OF ÆLAM. (35) Thus saith the Lord, The bow of Ælam is broken, even the chief of their power. (36) And I will bring upon Ælam the four winds from the four corners of heaven, and I will disperse them toward all these winds; and there shall be no nation to which they shall not come—even the outcasts of Ælam. (37) And I will put them in fear before their enemies that seek their life; and I will bring evils upon them according to my great anger; and I will send forth my sword after them, until I have utterly destroyed them. (38) And I will set my throne in Ælam, and will send forth thence king and rulers. (39) But it shall come to pass at the end of days, that I will turn the captivity of Ælam, saith the Lord.

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(1) In the beginning of the reign of king Sedekias, there came this word concerning Ælam. (2) FOR EGYPT, AGAINST THE POWER OF PHARAO NECHAO KING OF EGYPT, who was by the river Euphrates in Charmis, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Joakim king of Juda. (3) Take up arms and spears, and draw nigh to battle; (4) and harness the horses: mount, ye horsemen, and stand ready in your helmets; advance the spears, and put on your breast-plates. (5) Why do they fear, and turn back? even because their mighty men shall be slain: they have utterly fled, and being hemmed in they have not rallied, saith the Lord. (6) Let not the swift flee, and let not the mighty man escape to the north: the forces at Euphrates are become feeble, and they have fallen. (7) Who is this that shall come up as a river, and as rivers roll their waves? (8) The waters of Egypt shall come up like a river: and he said, I will go up, and will cover the earth, and will destroy the dwellers in it. (9) Mount ye the horses, prepare the chariots; go forth, ye warriors of the Ethiopians, and Libyans armed with shields; and mount, ye Lydians, bend the bow. (10) And that day shall be to the Lord our God a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his enemies: and the sword of the Lord shall devour, and be glutted, and be drunken with their blood: for the Lord has a sacrifice from the land of the north at the river Euphrates. (11) Go up to Galaad, and take balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain hast thou multiplied thy medicines; there is no help in thee. (12) The nations have heard thy voice, and the land has been filled with thy cry: for the warriors have fainted fighting one against another, and both are fallen together. (13) THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE by Jeremias, concerning the coming of the king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt. (14) Proclaim it at Magdol, and declare it at Memphis: say ye, Stand up, and prepare; for the sword has devoured thy yew-tree. (15) Wherefore has Apis fled from thee? thy choice calf has not remained; for the Lord has utterly weakened him. (16) And thy multitude has fainted and fallen; and each one said to his neighbour, Let us arise, and return into our country to our people, from the Grecian sword. (17) Call ye the name of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt, Saon esbeie moed. (18) As I live, saith the Lord God, he shall come as Itabyrion among the mountains, and as Carmel that is on the sea. (19) O daughter of Egypt dwelling at home, prepare thee stuff for removing: for Memphis shall be utterly desolate, and shall be called Woe, because there are no inhabitants in it. (20) Egypt is a fair heifer, but destruction from the north is come upon her. (21) Also her hired soldiers in the midst of her are as fatted calves fed in her; for they also have turned, and fled with one accord: they stood not, for the day of destruction was come upon them, and the time of their retribution. (22) Their voice is as that of a hissing serpent, for they go upon the sand; they shall come upon Egypt with axes, as men that cut wood. (23) They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, for their number cannot at all be conjectured, for it exceeds the locust in multitude, and they are innumerable. (24) The daughter of Egypt is confounded; she is delivered into the hands of a people from the north. (25) Behold, I will avenge Ammon her son upon Pharao, and upon them that trust in him. (26) (27) But fear not thou, my servant Jacob, neither be thou alarmed, Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at ease, and sleep, and there shall be no one to trouble him. (28) Fear not thou, my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; for I am with thee: she that was without fear and in luxury, has been delivered up: for I will make a full end of every nation among whom I have thrust thee forth; but I will not cause thee to fail: yet will I chastise thee in the way of judgment, and will not hold thee entirely guiltless.

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(1) THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH HE SPOKE AGAINST BABYLON. (2) Proclaim ye among the Gentiles, and cause the tidings to be heard, and suppress them not: say ye, Babylon is taken, Belus is confounded; the fearless, the luxurious Maerodach is delivered up. (3) For a nation has come up against her from the north, he shall utterly ravage her land, and there shall be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast. (4) In those days, and at that time, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Juda together; they shall proceed, weeping as they go, seeking the Lord their God. (5) They shall ask the way till they come to Sion, for that way shall they set their face; and they shall come and flee for refuge to the Lord their God; for the everlasting covenant shall not be forgotten. (6) My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds thrust them out, they caused them to wander on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place. (7) All that found them consumed them: their enemies said, Let us not leave them alone, because they have sinned against the Lord: he that gathered their fathers had a pasture of righteousness. (8) Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans, and go forth, and be as serpents before sleep. (9) For, behold, I stir up against Babylon the gatherings of nations out of the land of the north; and they shall set themselves in array against her: thence shall she be taken, as the dart of an expert warrior shall not return empty. (10) And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied. (11) Because ye rejoiced, and boasted, while plundering mine heritage; because ye exulted as calves in the grass, and pushed with the horn as bulls. (12) Your mother is greatly ashamed; your mother that bore you for prosperity is confounded: she is the last of the nations, desolate, (13) by reason of the Lord’s anger: it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be all a desolation; and every one that passes through Babylon shall scowl, and they shall hiss at all her plague. (14) Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare not your arrows, (15) and prevail against her: her hands are weakened, her bulwarks are fallen, and her wall is broken down: for it is vengeance from God: take vengeance upon her; as she has done, do to her. (16) Utterly destroy seed out of Babylon, and him that holds a sickle in time of harvest: for fear of the Grecian sword, they shall return every one to his people, and every one shall flee to his own land. (17) Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have driven him out: the king of Assyria first devoured him, and afterward this king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. (18) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will take vengeance on the king of Babylon, and upon his land, as I took vengeance on the king of Assyria. (19) And I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and on mount Ephraim and in Galaad, and his soul shall be satisfied. (20) In those days, and at that time, they shall seek for the iniquity of Israel, and there shall be none; and for the sins of Juda, and they shall not be found: for I will be merciful to them that are left (21) on the land, saith the Lord. Go up against it roughly, and against them that dwell on it: avenge, O sword, and destroy utterly, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I command thee. (22) A sound of war, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans! (23) How is the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! (24) They shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know it, Babylon, that thou wilt even be taken captive: thou art found and taken, because thou didst resist the Lord. (25) The Lord has opened his treasury, and brought forth the weapons of his anger: for the Lord God has a work in the land of the Chaldeans. (26) For her times are come: open ye her storehouses: search her as a cave, and utterly destroy her: let there be no remnant of her. (27) Dry ye up all her fruits, and let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, and the time of their retribution. (28) A voice of men fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, to declare to Sion the vengeance that comes from the Lord our God. (29) Summon many against Babylon, even every one that bends the bow: camp against her round about; let no one of her people escape: render to her according to her works; according to all that she has done, do to her: for she has resisted the Lord, the Holy God of Israel. (30) Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her warriors shall be cast down, saith the Lord. (31) Behold, I am against thee the haughty one, saith the Lord: for thy day is come, and the time of thy retribution. (32) And thy pride shall fail, and fall, and there shall be no one to set it up again: and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all things round about her. (33) Thus saith the Lord; The children of Israel and the children of Juda have been oppressed: all they that have taken them captive have oppressed them together; for they would not let them go. (34) But their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name: he will enter into judgment with his adversaries, that he may destroy the earth; (35) and he will sharpen a sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her nobles and upon her wise men; (36) a sword upon her warriors, and they shall be weakened: a sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots: (37) a sword upon their warriors and upon the mixed people in the midst of her; and they shall be as women: a sword upon the treasures, and they shall be scattered upon her water, (38) and they shall be ashamed: for it is a land of graven images; and in the islands, where they boasted. (39) Therefore shall idols dwell in the islands, and the young of monsters shall dwell in it: it shall not be inhabited any more for ever. (40) As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities bordering upon them, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn there. (41) Behold, a people comes from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the end of the earth; holding bow and dagger: (42) the people is fierce, and will have no mercy: their voices shall sound as the sea, they shall ride upon horses, prepared for war, like fire, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. (43) The king of Babylon heard the sound of them, and his hands were enfeebled: anguish overcame him, pangs as of a woman in travail. (44) Behold, he shall come up as a lion from Jordan to Gaethan; for I will speedily drive them from her, and I will set all the youths against her: for who is like me? and who will resist me? and who is this shepherd who will stand before me? (45) Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has taken against Babylon; and his devices, which he has devised upon the Chaldeans inhabiting it: surely lambs of their flock shall be destroyed: surely pasture shall be cut off from them. (46) For at the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth shall quake, and a cry shall be heard among the nations.

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(1) Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I stir up against Babylon, and against the Chaldeans dwelling therein, a deadly burning wind. (2) And I will send forth against Babylon spoilers, and they shall spoil her, and shall ravage her land. Woe to Babylon round about her in the day of her affliction. (3) Let the archer bend his bow, and him that has armour put it on: and spare ye not her young men, but destroy ye all her host. (4) And slain men shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and men pierced through shall fall without it. (5) For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken of their God, of the Lord Almighty; whereas their land was filled with iniquity against the holy things of Israel. (6) Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every one his soul: and be not overthrown in her iniquity; for it is the time of her retribution from the Lord; he is rendering to her a recompence. (7) Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, causing all the earth to be drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore they were shaken. (8) And Babylon is fallen suddenly, and is broken to pieces: lament for her; take balm for her deadly wound, if by any means she may be healed. (9) We tried to heal Babylon, but she was not healed: let us forsake her, and depart every one to his own country: for her judgment has reached to the heaven, it has mounted up to the stars. (10) The Lord has brought forth his judgment: come, and let us declare in Sion the works of the Lord our God. (11) Prepare the arrows; fill the quivers: the Lord has stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes: for his wrath is against Babylon, to destroy it utterly; for it is the Lord’s vengeance, it is the vengeance of his people. (12) Lift up a standard on the walls of Babylon, prepare the quivers, rouse the guards, prepare the weapons: for the Lord has taken the work in hand, and will execute what he has spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon, (13) dwelling on many waters, and amidst the abundance of her treasures; thine end is come verily into thy bowels. (14) For the Lord has sworn by his arm, saying, I will fill thee with men as with locusts; and they that come down shall cry against thee. (15) The Lord made the earth by his power, preparing the world by his wisdom, by his understanding he stretched out the heaven. (16) At his voice he makes a sound of water in the heaven, and brings up clouds from the extremity of the earth; he makes lightnings for rain, and brings light out of his treasures. (17) Every man has completely lost understanding; every goldsmith is confounded because of his graven images: for they have cast false gods, there is no breath in them. (18) They are vain works, objects of scorn; in the time of their visitation they shall perish. (19) Not such is Jacob’s portion; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name. (20) Thou scatterest for me the weapons of war: and I will scatter nations by thee, and will destroy kings by means of thee. (21) And by thee I will scatter the horse and his rider; and by thee I will scatter chariots and them that ride in them. (22) And by thee I will scatter youth and maid; and by thee I will scatter man and woman. (23) And by thee I will scatter the shepherd and his flock; and by thee I will scatter the husbandman and his husbandry; and by thee I will scatter leaders and the captains. (24) And I will recompense to Babylon and to all the Chaldeans that dwell there all their mischiefs that they have done to Sion before your eyes, saith the Lord. (25) Behold, I am against thee, the ruined mountain, that destroys the whole earth; and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will roll thee down upon the rocks, and will make thee as a burnt mountain. (26) And they shall not take from thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for a foundation: for thou shalt be a desolation for ever, saith the Lord. (27) Lift up a standard in the land, sound the trumpet among the nations, consecrate the nations against her, raise up kings against her by me, and that for the people of Achanaz; set against her engines of war; bring up against her horses as a multitude of locusts. (28) Bring up nations against her, even the king of the Medes and of the whole earth, his rulers, and all his captains. (29) The earth has quaked and been troubled, because the purpose of the Lord has risen up against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, and uninhabitable. (30) The warrior of Babylon has failed to fight; they shall sit there in the siege; their power is broken; they are become like women; her tabernacles have been set on fire; her bars are broken. (31) One shall rush, running to meet another runner, and one shall go with tidings to meet another with tidings, to bring tidings to the king of Babylon, that his city is taken. (32) At the end of his passages they were taken, and his cisterns they have burnt with fire, and his warriors are going forth. (33) For thus saith the Lord, The houses of the king of Babylon shall be threshed as a floor in the season; yet a little while, and her harvest shall come. (34) He has devoured me, he has torn me asunder, airy darkness has come upon me; Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon has swallowed me up, as a dragon has he filled his belly with my delicacies. (35) My troubles and my distresses have driven me out into Babylon, shall she that dwells in Sion say; and my blood shall be upon the Chaldeans dwelling there, shall Jerusalem say. (36) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will judge thine adversary, and I will execute vengeance for thee; and I will waste her sea, and dry up her fountain. (37) And Babylon shall be a desolation, and shall not be inhabited. (38) For they rose up together as lions, and as lions’ whelps. (39) In their heat I will give them a draught, and make them drunk, that they may be stupified, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and not awake, saith the Lord. (40) And bring thou them down as lambs to the slaughter, and rams with kids. (41) How has the boast of all the earth been taken and caught in a snare! how has Babylon become a desolation among the nations! (42) The sea has come up upon Babylon with the sound of its waves, and she is covered. (43) Her cities are become like a dry and trackless land; not so much as one man shall dwell in it, neither shall a son of man lodge in it. (44) And I will take vengeance on Babylon, and bring forth out of her mouth what she has swallowed down, and the nations shall no more be gathered to her: (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) and in Babylon the slain men of all the earth shall fall. (50) Go forth of the land, ye that escape, and stay not; ye that are afar off, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. (51) We are ashamed, because we have heard our reproach; disgrace has covered our face; aliens are come into our sanctuary, even into the house of the Lord. (52) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will take vengeance upon her graven images: and slain men shall fall in all her land. (53) For though Babylon should go up as the heaven, and though she should strengthen her walls with her power, from me shall come they that shall destroy her, saith the Lord. (54) A sound of a cry in Babylon, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans: (55) for the Lord has utterly destroyed Babylon, and cut off from her the great voice sounding as many waters: he has consigned her voice to destruction. (56) For distress has come upon Babylon, her warriors are taken, their bows are useless: for God recompenses them. (57) The Lord recompenses, and will make her leaders and her wise men and her captains completely drunk, saith the King, the Lord Almighty is his name. (58) Thus saith the Lord, The wall of Babylon was made broad, but it shall be completely broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire; and the peoples shall not labour in vain, nor the nations fail in their rule. (59) THE WORD WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED THE PROPHET JEREMIAS to say to Saraeas son of Nerias, son of Maasaeas, when he went from Sedekias king of Juda to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. And Saraeas was over the bounties. (60) And Jeremias wrote in a book all the evils which should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. (61) And Jeremias said to Saraeas, When thou art come to Babylon, and shalt see and read all these words; (62) then thou shalt say, O Lord God, thou hast spoken against this place, to destroy it, and that there should be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast; for it shall be a desolation for ever. (63) And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt cease from reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone upon it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; (64) and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and not rise, because of the evils which I bring upon it.

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(1) THUS SAITH THE LORD AGAINST THE PHILISTINES; (2) Behold, waters come up from the north, and shall become a sweeping torrent, and it shall sweep away the land, and its fulness; the city, and them that dwell in it: and men shall cry and all that dwell in the land shall howl, (3) at the sound of his rushing, at the sound of his hoofs, and at the rattling of his chariots, at the noise of his wheels: the fathers turned not to their children because of the weakness of their hands, (4) in the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines: and I will utterly destroy Tyre and Sidon and all the rest of their allies: for the Lord will destroy the remaining inhabitants of the islands. (5) Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ascalon is cast away, and the remnant of the Enakim. (6) How long wilt thou smite, O sword of the Lord? how long will it be ere thou art quiet? return into thy sheath, rest, and be removed. (7) How shall it be quiet, whereas the Lord has given it a commission against Ascalon, and against the regions on the sea-coast, to awake against the remaining countries! (7) CONCERNING IDUMEA, thus saith the Lord; There is no longer wisdom in Thaeman, counsel has perished from the wise ones, their wisdom is gone, (8) their place has been deceived. Dig deep for a dwelling, ye that inhabit Daedam, for he has wrought grievously: I brought trouble upon him in the time at which I visited him. (9) For grape-gatherers are come, who shall not leave thee a remnant; as thieves by night, they shall lay their hand upon thy possessions. (10) For I have stripped Esau, I have uncovered their secret places; they shall have no power to hide themselves, they have perished each by the hand of his brother, my neighbour, and it is impossible (11) for thy fatherless one to be left to live, but I shall live, and the widows trust in me. (12) For thus saith the Lord; They who were not appointed to drink the cup have drunk it; and thou shalt by no means be cleared: (13) for by myself I have sworn, saith the Lord, that thou shalt be in the midst of her an impassable land, and a reproach, and a curse; and all her cities shall be desert for ever. (14) I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent messengers to the nations, saying, Assemble yourselves, and come against her; rise ye up to war. (15) I have made thee small among the nations, utterly contemptible among men. (16) Thine insolence has risen up against thee, the fierceness of thine heart has burst the holes of the rocks, it has seized upon the strength of a lofty hill; for as an eagle he set his nest on high: thence will I bring thee down. (17) And Idumea shall be a desert: every one that passes by shall hiss at it. (18) As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha and they that sojourned in her, saith the Lord Almighty, no man shall dwell there, nor shall any son of man inhabit there. (19) Behold, he shall come up as a lion out of the midst of Jordan to the place of Ætham: for I will speedily drive them from it, and do ye set the young men against her: for who is like me? and who will withstand me? and who is this shepherd, who shall confront me? (20) Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has framed against Idumea; and his device, which he has devised against the inhabitants of Thaeman: surely the least of the sheep shall be swept off; surely their dwelling shall be made desolate for them. (21) For at the sound of their fall the earth was scared, and the cry of the sea was not heard. (22) Behold, he shall look upon her as an eagle, and spread forth his wings over her strongholds; and the heart of the mighty men of Idumea shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

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(1) CONCERNING THE SONS OF AMMON thus saith the Lord, Are there no sons in Israel? or have they no one to succeed them? wherefore has Melchol inherited Galaad, and why shall their people dwell in their cities? (2) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will cause to be heard in Rabbath a tumult of wars; and they shall become a waste and ruined place, and her altars shall be burned with fire; then shall Israel succeed to his dominion. (3) Howl, O Esebon, for Gai has perished; cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with sack-clothes, and lament; for Melchol shall go into banishment, his priests and his princes together. (4) Why do ye exult in the plains of the Enakim, thou haughty daughter, that trustest in thy treasures, that sayest, Who shall come in to me? (5) Behold, I will bring terror upon thee, saith the Lord, from all the country round about thee; and ye shall be scattered every one right before him, and there is none to gather you. (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) CONCERNING DAMASCUS. Emath is brought to shame, and Arphath: for they have heard an evil report: they are amazed, they are angry, they shall be utterly unable to rest. (24) Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her. (25) How has she not left my city, they have loved the village? (26) Therefore shall the young men fall in thy streets, and all thy warriors shall fall, saith the Lord. (27) And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the streets of the son of Ader. (28) CONCERNING KEDAR THE QUEEN OF THE PALACE, WHOM NABUCHODONOSOR KING OF BABYLON SMOTE, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, and go up to Kedar, and fill the sons of Kedem. (29) They shall take their tents and their sheep, they shall take for themselves their garments, and all their baggage and their camels; and summon ye destruction against them from every side. (30) Flee ye, dig very deep for a dwelling-place, ye that dwell in the palace; for the king of Babylon has framed a counsel, and devised a device against you. (31) Rise up, and go up against a nation settled and dwelling at ease, who have no doors, nor bolts, nor bars, who dwell alone. (32) And their camels shall be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle shall be destroyed: and I will scatter them as chaff with every wind, having their hair cut about their foreheads, I will bring on their overthrow from all sides, saith the Lord. (33) And the palace shall be a resting-place for ostriches, and desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, and no son of man shall dwell there.

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(1) Thus has the Lord said concerning MOAB, Woe to Nabau! for it has perished: Cariathaim is taken: Amath and Agath are put to shame. (2) There is no longer any healing for Moab, nor glorying in Esebon: he has devised evils against her: we have cut her off from being a nation, and she shall be completely still: after thee shall go a sword; (3) for there is a voice of men crying out of Oronaim, destruction and great ruin. (4) Moab is ruined, proclaim it to Zogora: (5) for Aloth is filled with weeping: one shall go up weeping by the way of Oronaim; ye have heard a cry of destruction. (6) Flee ye, and save your lives, and ye shall be as a wild ass in the desert. (7) Since thou hast trusted in thy strong-hold, therefore thou shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go forth into captivity, and his priests, and his princes together. (8) And destruction shall come upon every city, it shall by no means escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain country shall be completely destroyed, as the Lord has said. (9) Set marks upon Moab, for she shall be touched with a plague-spot, and all her cities shall become desolate; whence shall there be an inhabitant for her? (10) Cursed is the man that does the works of the Lord carelessly, keeping back his sword from blood. (11) Moab has been at ease from a child, and trusted in his glory; he has not poured out his liquor from vessel to vessel, and has not gone into banishment, therefore his taste remained in him, and his smell departed not. (12) Therefore, behold, his days come, saith the Lord, when I shall send upon him bad leaders, and they shall lead him astray, and they shall utterly break in pieces his possessions, and shall cut his horns asunder. (13) And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Baethel their hope, having trusted in them. (14) How will ye say, We are strong, and men strong for war? (15) Moab is ruined, even his city, and his choice young men have gone down to slaughter. (16) The day of Moab is near at hand, and his iniquity moves swiftly to vengeance. (17) Shake the head at him, all ye that are round about him; all of you utter his name; say ye, How is the glorious staff broken to pieces, the rod of magnificence! (18) Come down from thy glory, and sit down in a damp place: Daebon shall be broken, because Moab is destroyed: there has gone up against thee one to ravage thy strong-hold. (19) Stand by the way, and look, thou that dwellest in Arer; and ask him that is fleeing, and him that escapes, and say, What has happened? (20) Moab is put to shame, because he is broken: howl and cry; proclaim in Arnon, that Moab has perished. (21) And judgment is coming against the land of Misor, upon Chelon, and Rephas, and Mophas, (22) and upon Daebon, and upon Nabau, and upon the house of Daethlathaim, (23) and upon Cariathaim, and upon the house of Gaemol, and upon the house of Maon, (24) and upon Carioth, and upon Bosor, and upon all the cities of Moab, far and near. (25) The horn of Moab is broken, and his arm is crushed. (26) Make ye him drunk; for he has magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall clap with his hand, and shall be also himself a laughing-stock. (27) For surely Israel was to thee a laughing-stock, and was found among thy thefts, because thou didst fight against him. (28) The inhabitants of Moab have left the cities, and dwelt in rocks; they have become as doves nestling in rocks, at the mouth of a cave. (29) And I have heard of the pride of Moab, he has greatly heightened his pride and his haughtiness, and his heart has been lifted up. (30) But I know his works: is it not enough for him? has he not done thus? (31) Therefore howl ye for Moab on all sides; cry out against the shorn men in a gloomy place. I will weep for thee, (32) O vine of Aserema, as with the weeping of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they reached the cities of Jazer: destruction has come upon thy fruits, and upon thy grape-gatherers. (33) Joy and gladness have been utterly swept off the land of Moab: and though there was wine in thy presses, in the morning they trod it not, neither in the evening did they raise the cry of joy. (34) From the cry of Esebon even to Ætam their cities uttered their voice, from Zogor to Oronaim, and their tidings as a heifer of three years old, for the water also of Nebrin shall be dried up. (35) And I will destroy Moab, saith the Lord, as he comes up to the altar, and burns incense to his gods. (36) Therefore the heart of Moab shall sound as pipes, my heart shall sound as a pipe for the shorn men; forasmuch as what every man has gained has perished from him. (37) They shall all have their heads shaved in every place, and every beard shall be shaved; and all hands shall beat the breasts, and on all loins shall be sackcloth. (38) And on all the housetops of Moab, and in his streets shall be mourning: for I have broken him, saith the Lord, as a vessel, which is useless. (39) How has he changed! how has Moab turned his back! Moab is put to shame, and become a laughing-stock, and an object of anger to all that are round about him. (40) For thus said the Lord; (41) Carioth is taken, and the strong-holds have been taken together. (42) And Moab shall perish from being a multitude, because he has magnified himself against the Lord. (43) A snare, and fear, and the pit, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab. (44) He that flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he that comes up out of the pit shall even be taken in the snare: for I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their visitation.

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(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) Thus said the Lord God of Israel; Take the cup of this unmixed wine from mine hand, and thou shalt cause all the nations to drink, to whom I send thee. (16) And they shall drink, and vomit, and be mad, because of the sword which I send among them. (17) So I took the cup out of the Lord’s hand, and caused the nations to whom the Lord sent me to drink: (18) Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, and the kings of Juda, and his princes, to make them a desert place, a desolation, and a hissing; (19) and Pharao king of Egypt, and his servants, and his nobles, and all his people; (20) and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Accaron, and the remnant of Azotus, (21) and Idumea, and the land of Moab, and the children of Ammon, (22) and the kings of Tyre, and the kings of Sidon, and the kings in the country beyond the sea, (23) and Daedan, and Thaeman, and Ros, and every one that is shaved round about the face, (24) and all the mingled people lodging in the wilderness, (25) and all the kings of Ælam, and all the kings of the Persians, (26) and all the kings from the north, the far and the near, each one with his brother, and all the kingdom s which are on the face of the earth. (27) And thou shalt say to them, Thus said the Lord Almighty; Drink ye, be ye drunken; and ye shall vomit, and shall fall, and shall in nowise rise, because of the sword which I send among you. (28) And it shall come to pass, when they refuse to take the cup out of thine hand, to drink it, that thou shalt say, Thus said the Lord; Ye shall surely drink. (29) For I am beginning to afflict the city whereon my name is called, and ye shall by no means be held guiltless: for I am calling a sword upon all that dwell upon the earth. (30) And thou shalt prophesy against them these words, and shalt say, The Lord shall speak from on high, from his sanctuary he will utter his voice; he will pronounce a declaration on his place; and these shall answer like men gathering grapes: and destruction is coming on them that dwell on the earth, (31) even upon the extreme part of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with the nations, he is pleading with all flesh, and the ungodly are given to the sword, saith the Lord. (32) Thus said the Lord; Behold, evils are proceeding from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind goes forth from the end of the earth. (33) And the slain of the Lord shall be in the day of the Lord from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be buried; they shall be as dung on the face of the earth. (34) Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and lament, ye rams of the flock: for your days have been completed for slaughter, and ye shall fall as the choice rams. (35) And flight shall perish from the shepherds, and safety from the rams of the flock. (36) A voice of the crying of the shepherds, and a moaning of the sheep and the rams: for the Lord has destroyed their pastures. (37) And the peaceable abodes that remain shall be destroyed before the fierceness of my anger. (38) He has forsaken his lair, as a lion: for their land is become desolate before the great sword.

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(1) IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD. (2) Thus said the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and thou shalt declare to all the Jews, and to all that come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words which I commanded thee to speak to them; abate not one word. (3) Peradventure they will hear, and turn every one from his evil way: then I will cease from the evils which I purpose to do to them, because of their evil practices. (4) And thou shalt say, Thus said the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my statutes which I set before you, (5) to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you early in the morning; yea, I sent them, but ye hearkened not to me; (6) then will I make this house as Selo, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of all the earth. (7) And the priests, and the false prophets, and all the people heard Jeremias speaking these words in the house of the Lord. (8) And it came to pass, when Jeremias had ceased speaking all that the Lord had ordered him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the false prophets and all the people took him, saying, (9) Thou shalt surely die, because thou hast prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be as Selo, and this city shall be made quite destitute of inhabitants. And all the people assembled against Jeremias in the house of the Lord. (10) And the princes of Juda heard this word, and they went up out of the house of the king to the house of the Lord, and sat in the entrance of the new gate. (11) Then the priests and the false prophets said to the princes and to all the people, The judgment of death is due to this man; because he has prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. (12) Then Jeremias spoke to the princes, and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words which ye have heard. (13) And now amend your ways and your works, and hearken to the voice of the Lord; and the Lord shall cease from the evils which he has pronounced against you. (14) And behold, I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient, and as it is best for you. (15) But know for a certainty, that if ye slay me, ye bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon them that dwell in it; for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak in your ears all these words. (16) Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the false prophets; Judgment of death is not due to this man; for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. (17) And there rose up men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people, (18) Michaeas the Morathite lived in the days of Ezekias king of Juda, and said to all the people of Juda, Thus saith the Lord; Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a desolation, and the mountain of the house shall be a thicket of trees. (19) Did Ezekias and all Juda in any way slay him? Was it not that they feared the Lord, and they made supplication before the Lord, and the Lord ceased from the evils which he had pronounced against them? whereas we have wrought great evil against our own souls. (20) And there was another man prophesying in the name of the Lord, Urias the son of Samaeas of Cariathiarim; and he prophesied concerning this land according to all the words of Jeremias. (21) And king Joakim and all the princes heard all his words, and sought to slay him; and Urias heard it and went into Egypt. (22) And the king sent men into Egypt; (23) and they brought him thence, and brought him into the king; and he smote him with the sword, and cast him into the sepulchre of the children of his people. (24) Nevertheless the hand of Achicam son of Saphan was with Jeremias, to prevent his being delivered into the hands of the people, or being killed.

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(2) (1) Thus said the Lord; Make to thyself bonds and yokes, and put them about thy neck, (3) and thou shalt send them to the king of Idumea, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hands of their messengers that come to meet them at Jerusalem to Sedekias king of Juda. (4) And thou shalt commission them to say to their lords, Thus said the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to your lords; (5) I have made the earth by my great power, and with my high arm, and I will give it to whomsoever it shall seem good in mine eyes. (6) I gave the earth to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to serve him, and the wild beasts of the field to labour for him. (7) (8) And the nation and kingdom, all that shall not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword and famine will I visit them, saith the Lord, until they are consumed by his hand. (9) And hearken ye not to your false prophets, nor to them that divine to you, nor to them that foretell events by dreams to you, nor to your auguries, nor your sorcerers, that say, Ye shall by no means work for the king of Babylon: (10) for they prophesy lies to you, to remove you far from your land. (11) But the nation which shall put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, I will even leave it upon its land, and it shall serve him, and dwell in it. (12) I spoke also to Sedekias king of Juda according to all these words, saying, Put your neck into the yoke, and serve the king of Babylon. (13) (14) For they prophesy unrighteous words to you, (15) for I sent them not, saith the Lord; and they prophesy in my name unjustly, that I might destroy you, and ye should perish, and your prophets, who unrighteously prophesy lies to you. (16) I spoke to you, and to all this people, and to the priests, saying, Thus said the Lord; Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house shall return from Babylon: for they prophesy to you unrighteous words. (17) I sent them not. (18) If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is in them, let them meet me, for thus has the Lord said. (19) And as for the remaining vessels, (20) which the king of Babylon took not, when he carried Jechonias prisoner out of Jerusalem, (21) (22) they shall go into Babylon, saith the Lord.

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(1) And it came to pass in the fourth year of Sedekias king of Juda, in the fifth month, that Ananias the false prophet, the son of Azor, from Gabaon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord; I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. (3) Yet two full years, and I will return into this place the vessels of the house of the Lord, (4) and Jechonias, and the captivity of Juda: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. (5) Then Jeremias spoke to Ananias in the sight of all the people, and in the sight of the priests that stood in the house of the Lord, (6) and Jeremias said, May the Lord indeed do thus; may he confirm thy word which thou dost prophesy, to return the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the captivity, out of Babylon to this place. (7) Nevertheless hear ye the word of the Lord which I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people. (8) The prophets that were before me and before you of old, also prophesied over much country, and against great kingdoms, concerning war. (9) As for the prophet that has prophesied for peace, when the word has come to pass, they shall know the prophet whom the Lord has sent them in truth. (10) Then Ananias took the yokes from the neck of Jeremias in the sight of all the people, and broke them to pieces. (11) And Ananias spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus said the Lord; Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon from the necks of all the nations. And Jeremias went his way. (12) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after that Ananias had broken the yokes off his neck, saying, (13) Go and speak to Ananias, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but I will make instead of them yokes of iron. (14) For thus said the Lord, I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations, that they may serve the king of Babylon. (15) And Jeremias said to Ananias, The Lord has not sent thee; and thou hast caused this people to trust in unrighteousness. (16) Therefore thus said the Lord: Behold, I will cast thee off from the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die. (17) So he died in the seventh month.

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(1) And these are the words of the book which Jeremias sent from Jerusalem to the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the false prophets, even an epistle to Babylon for the captivity, and to all the people; (2) (after the departure of Jechonias the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem;) (3) by the hand of Eleasan son of Saphan, and Gamarias son of Chelcias, (whom Sedekias king of Juda sent to the king of Babylon to Babylon) saying, (4) Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem; (5) Build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof; (6) and take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and be multiplied, and be not diminished. (7) And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and ye shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace ye shall have peace. (8) For thus saith the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and hearken not to your dreams which ye dream. (9) For they prophesy to you unrighteous words in my name; and I sent them not. (10) For thus said the Lord; When seventy years shall be on the point of being accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and will confirm my words to you, to bring back your people to this place. (11) And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these good things. (12) And do ye pray to me, and I will hearken to you: and do ye earnestly seek me, and ye shall find me; (13) for ye shall seek me with your whole heart. (14) And I will appear to you: (15) whereas ye said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon: (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) Thus saith the Lord concerning Achiab, and concerning Sedekias; Behold, I will deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall smite them in your sight. (22) And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Juda in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to thee as he did to Sedekias, and as he did to Achiab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire; (23) because of the iniquity which they wrought in Israel, and because they committed adultery with the wives of their fellow-citizens; and spoke a word in my name, which I did not command them to speak, and I am witness, saith the Lord. (24) And to Samaeas the Ælamite thou shalt say, (25) I sent thee not in my name: and to Sophonias the priest the son of Maasaeas say thou, (26) The Lord has made thee priest in the place of Jodae the priest, to be ruler in the house of the Lord over every prophet, and to every madman, and thou shalt put them in prison, and into the dungeon. (27) And now wherefore have ye reviled together Jeremias of Anathoth, who prophesied to you? (28) Did he not send for this purpose? for in the course of this month he sent to you to Babylon, saying, It is far off: build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. (29) And Sophonias read the book in the ears of Jeremias. (30) Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying, (31) Send to the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Samaeas the Ælamite, Since Samaeas has prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he has made you to trust in iniquity, (32) therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will visit Samaeas, and his family: and there shall not be a man of them in the midst of you to see the good which I will do to you: they shall not see it.

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(1) THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING, (2) Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to thee in a book. (3) For, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel and Juda, said the Lord: and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall be lords of it. (4) AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA; (5) Thus said the Lord: Ye shall hear a sound of fear, there is fear, and there is not peace. (6) Enquire, and see if a male has born a child? and ask concerning the fear, wherein they shall hold their loins, and look for safety: for I have seen every man, and his hands are on his loins; their faces are turned to paleness. (7) For that day is great, and there is not such another; and it is a time of straitness to Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it. (8) In that day, said the Lord, I will break the yoke off their neck, and will burst their bonds, and they shall no longer serve strangers: (9) but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king. (10) (11) (12) Thus saith the Lord; I have brought on thee destruction; thy stroke is painful. (13) There is none to judge thy cause: thou hast been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for thee. (14) All thy friends have forgotten thee; they shall not ask about thee at all, for I have smitten thee with he stroke of an enemy, even severe correction: thy sins have abounded above all thine iniquity. (15b) Therefore all that devour thee shall be eaten, and all thine enemies shall eat all their own flesh. (15a) Thy sins have abounded beyond the multitude of thine iniquities, therefore they have done these things to thee. (16) And they that spoil thee shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered thee. (17) For I will bring about thy healing, I will heal thee of thy grievous wound, saith the Lord; for thou art called Dispersed: she is your prey, for no one seeks after her. (18) Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob, and will have pity upon his prisoners; and the city shall be built upon her hill, and the people shall settle after their manner. (19) And there shall go forth from them singers, even the sound of men making merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not at all be diminished. (20) And their sons shall go in as before, and their testimonies shall be established before me, and I will visit them that afflict them. (21) And their mighty ones shall be over them, and their prince shall proceed of themselves; and I will gather them, and they shall return to me: for who is this that has set his heart to return to me? saith the Lord. (22) (23) For the wrathful anger of the lord has gone forth, even a whirlwind of anger has gone forth: it shall come upon the ungodly. (24) The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he shall execute it, and until he shall establish the purpose of his heart: in the latter days ye shall know these things.

38

(1) At that time, saith the Lord, I will be a God to the family of Israel, and they shall be to me a people. (2) Thus saith the Lord, I found him warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword: go ye and destroy not Israel. (3) The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore have I drawn thee in compassion. (4) For I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt yet take thy timbrel, and go forth with the party of them that make merry. (5) For ye have planted vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant ye, and praise. (6) For it is a day when those that plead on the mountains of Ephraim shall call, saying, Arise ye, and go up to Sion to the Lord your God. (7) For thus saith the Lord to Jacob; Rejoice ye, and exult over the head of the nations: make proclamation, and praise ye: say, The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. (8) Behold, I bring them from the north, and will gather them from the end of the earth to the feast of the passover: and the people shall beget a great multitude, and they shall return hither. (9) They went forth with weeping, and I will bring them back with consolation, causing them to lodge by the channels of waters in a straight way, and they shall not err in it: for I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. (10) Hear the words of the Lord, ye nations, and proclaim them to the islands afar off; say, He that scattered Israel will also gather him, and keep him as one that feeds his flock. (11) For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, he has rescued him out of the hand of them that were stronger than he. (12) And they shall come, and shall rejoice in the mount of Sion, and shall come to the good things of the Lord, even to a land of corn, and wine, and fruits, and cattle, and sheep: and their soul shall be as a fruitful tree; and they shall hunger no more. (13) Then shall the virgins rejoice in the assembly of youth, and the old men shall rejoice; and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will make them merry. (14) I will expand and cheer with wine the soul of the priests the sons of Levi, and my people shall be satisfied with my good things: thus saith the Lord. (15) A voice was heard in Rama, of lamentation, and of weeping, and wailing; Rachel would not cease weeping for her children, because they are not. (16) Thus saith the Lord; Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thine eyes from thy tears: for their is a reward for thy works; and they shall return from the land of thine enemies. (17) There shall be an abiding home for thy children. (18) I have heard the sound of Ephraim lamenting, and saying, Thou hast chastened me, and I was chastened; I as a calf was not willingly taught: turn thou me, and I shall turn; for thou art the Lord my God. (19) For after my captivity I repented; and after I knew, I groaned for the day of shame, and shewed thee that I bore reproach from my youth. (20) Ephraim is a beloved son, a pleasing child to me: for because my words are in him, I will surely remember him: therefore I made haste to help him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. (21) Prepare thyself, O Sion; execute vengeance; look to thy ways: return, O virgin of Israel, by the way by which thou wentest, return mourning to thy cities. (22) How long, O disgraced daughter, wilt thou turn away? for the Lord has created safety for a new plantation: men shall go about in safety. (23) For thus saith the Lord; They shall yet speak this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when I shall turn his captivity; blessed be the Lord on his righteous holy mountain! (24) And there shall be dwellers in the cities of Juda, and in all his land, together with the husbandman, and the shepherd shall go forth with the flock. (25) For I have saturated every thirsting soul, and filled every hungry soul. (26) Therefore I awake, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet to me. (27) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Juda with the seed of man, and the seed of beast. (28) And it shall come to pass, that as I watched over them, to pull down, and to afflict, so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. (29) In those days they shall certainly not say, The fathers ate a sour grape, and the children’s teeth were set on edge. (30) But every one shall die in his own sin; and the teeth of him that eats the sour grape shall be set on edge. (31) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda: (32) not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord. (33) For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. (34) And they shall not at all teach every one his fellow citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more. (35) Thus saith the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day, the moon and the stars for a light by night, and makes a roaring in the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; the Lord Almighty is his name: (36) if these ordinances cease from before me, saith the Lord, then shall the family of Israel cease to be a nation before me forever. (37) Though the sky should be raised to a greater height, saith the Lord, and though the ground of the earth should be sunk lower beneath, yet I will not cast off the family of Israel, saith the Lord, for all that they have done. (38) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Anameel to the gate of the corner. (39) And the measurement of it shall proceed in front of them as far as the hills of Gareb, and it shall be compassed with a circular wall of choice stones. (40) And all the Asaremoth even to Nachal Kedron, as far as the corner of the horse-gate eastward, shall be holiness to the Lord; and it shall not fail any more, and shall not be destroyed for ever.

39

(1) The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias in the tenth year of king Sedekias, this is the eighteenth year of king Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon. (2) And the host of the king of Babylon had made a rampart against Jerusalem: and Jeremias was kept in the court of the prison, which is in the king’s house; (3) in which king Sedekias had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; (4) and Sedekias shall by no means be delivered out of the hand of the Chaldeans, for he shall certainly be given up into the hands of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak to his mouth, and his eyes shall look upon his eyes; (5) and Sedekias shall go into Babylon, and dwell there? (6) AND THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO JEREMIAS, SAYING, (7) Behold, Anameel the son of Salom thy father’s brother is coming to thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for thou hast the right to take it as a purchase. (8) So Anameel the son of Salom my father’s brother came to me into the court of the prison, and said, Buy thee my field that is in the land of Benjamin, in Anathoth: for thou hast a right to buy it, and thou art the elder. So I knew that it was the word of the Lord. (9) And I bought the field of Anameel the son of my father’s brother, and I weighed him seventeen shekels of silver. (10) And I wrote it in a book, and sealed it, and took the testimony of witnesses, and weighed the money in the balance. (11) And I took the book of the purchase that was sealed; (12) and I gave it to Baruch son of Nerias, son of Maasaeas, in the sight of Anameel my father’s brother’s son, and in the sight of the men that stood by and wrote in the book of the purchase, and in the sight of the Jews that were in the court of the prison. (13) And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, Thus saith the Lord Almighty; (14) Take this book of the purchase, and the book that has been read; and thou shalt put it into an earthen vessel, that it may remain many days. (15) For thus saith the Lord; There shall yet be bought fields and houses and vineyards in this land. (16) And I prayed to the Lord after I had given the book of the purchase to Baruch the son of Nerias, saying, (17) O ever living Lord! thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, and with thy high and lofty arm: nothing can be hidden from thee. (18) Granting mercy to thousands, and recompensing the sins of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them: the great, the strong God; (19) the Lord of great counsel, and mighty in deeds, the great Almighty God, and Lord of great name: thine eyes are upon the ways of the children of men, to give to every one according to his way: (20) who hast wrought signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even to this day, and in Israel, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and thou didst make for thyself a name, as at this day; (21) and thou didst bring out thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, with a mighty hand, and with a high arm, and with great sights; (22) and thou gavest them this land, which thou didst swear to give to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey; (23) and they went in, and took it; but they hearkened not to thy voice, and walked not in thine ordinances; they did none of the things which thou didst command them, and they caused all these calamities to happen to them. (24) Behold, a multitude is come against the city to take it; and the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans that fight against it, by the power of the sword, and the famine: as thou hast spoken, so has it happened. (25) And thou sayest to me, Buy thee the field for money; and I wrote a book, and sealed it, and took the testimony of witnesses: and the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans. (26) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (27) I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: shall anything be hidden from me! (28) Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel; This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it: (29) and the Chaldeans shall come to war against this city, and they shall burn this city with fire, and shall burn down the houses wherein they burnt incense on the roofs thereof to Baal, and poured drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke me. (30) For the children of Israel and the children of Juda alone did evil in my sight from their youth. (31) For this city was obnoxious to my anger and my wrath, from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from my presence, (32) because of all the wickedness of the children of Israel and Juda, which they wrought to provoke me, they and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, the men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem. (33) And they turned the back to me, and not the face: whereas I taught them early in the morning, but they hearkened no more to receive instructions. (34) And they set their pollutions in the house, on which my name was called, by their uncleannesses. (35) And they built to Baal the altars that are in the valley of the son of Ennom, to offer their sons and their daughters to king Moloch; which things I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Juda to sin. (36) And now thus has the Lord God of Israel said concerning this city, of which thou sayest, it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by famine, and banishment. (37) Behold, I will gather them out of every land, where I have scattered them in my anger, and my wrath, and great fury; and I will bring them back into this place, and will cause them to dwell safely: (38) and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a god. (39) And I will give them another way, and another heart, to fear me continually, and that for good to them and their children after them. (40) And I will make with them an everlasting covenant, which I will by no means turn away from them, and I will put my fear into their heart, that they may not depart from me. (41) And I will visit them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, and with all my heart, and with all my soul. (42) For thus saith the Lord; As I have brought upon this people all these great evils, so will I bring upon them all the good things which I pronounced upon them. (43) And there shall yet be fields bought in the land, of which thou sayest, it shall be destitute of man and beast; and they are delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. (44) And they shall buy fields for money, and thou shalt write a book, and seal it, and shalt take the testimony of witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the plain, and in the cities of the south: for I will turn their captivity.

40

(1) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the second time, when he was yet bound in the court of the prison, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord, who made the earth and formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; (3) Cry to me, and I will answer thee, and I will declare to thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (4) For thus saith the Lord concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the king of Juda, which have been pulled down for mounds and fortifications, (5) to fight against the Chaldeans, and to fill it with the corpses of men, whom I smote in mine anger and my wrath, and turned away my face from them, for all their wickedness: (6) Behold, I bring upon her healing and cure, and I will show myself to them, and will heal her, and make both peace and security. (7) And I will turn the captivity of Juda, and the captivity of Israel, and will build them, even as before. (8) And I will cleanse them from all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and will not remember their sins, whereby they have sinned against me, and revolted from me. (9) And it shall be for joy and praise, and for glory to all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I will do: and they shall fear and be provoked for all the good things and for all the peace which I will bring upon them. (10) Thus saith the Lord; There shall yet be heard in this place, of which ye say, it is destitute of men and cattle, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, the places that have been made desolate for want of men and cattle, (11) the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of men saying, Give thanks to the Lord Almighty: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures fore ever: and they shall bring gifts into the house of the Lord; for I will turn all the captivity of that land as before, said the Lord. (12) Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet be in this place, that is desert for want of man and beast, in all the cities thereof, resting-places for shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. (13) In the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the cities round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda, flocks shall yet pass under the hand of him that numbers them, saith the Lord.

41

(1) The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord (now Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the country of his dominion, were warring against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Juda,) saying, (2) Thus has the Lord said; Go to Sedekias king of Juda, and thou shalt say to him, Thus has the Lord said, This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it, and shall burn it with fire: (3) and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt certainly be taken, and shalt be given into his hands; and thine eyes shall see his eyes, and thou shalt enter into Babylon. (4) But hear the word of the Lord, O Sedekias king of Juda; Thus saith the Lord, (5) Thou shalt die in peace: and as they wept for thy fathers that reigned before thee, they shall weep also for thee, saying, Ah lord! and they shall lament for thee down to the grave: for I have spoken the word, said the Lord. (6) And Jeremias spoke to king Sedekias all these words in Jerusalem. (7) And the host of the king of Babylon warred against Jerusalem, and against the cities of Juda, and against Lachis, and against Azeca: for these strong cities were left among the cities of Juda. (8) The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias, after king Sedekias had concluded a covenant with the people, to proclaim a release; (9) That every one should set at liberty his servant, and every one has handmaid, the Hebrew man and Hebrew woman, that no man of Juda should be a bondman. (10) Then all the nobles, and all the people who had entered into the covenant, engaging to set free every one his man-servant, and every one his maid, turned, (11) and gave them over to be men-servants and maid-servants. (12) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying, (13) Thus saith the Lord; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day wherein I took them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, (14) When six years are accomplished, thou shalt set free thy brother the Hebrew, who shall be sold to thee: for he shall serve thee six years, and then thou shalt let him go free: but they hearkened not to me, and inclined not their ear. (15) And this day they turned to do that which was right in my sight, to proclaim every one the release of his neighbour; and they had concluded a covenant before me, in the house whereon my name is called. (16) But ye turned and profaned my name, to bring back every one his servant, and every one his handmaid, whom ye had sent forth free and at their own disposal, to be to you men-servants and maid-servants. (17) Therefore thus said the Lord; Ye have not hearkened to me, to proclaim a release every one to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a release to you, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you up to dispersion among all the kingdoms of the earth. (18) And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not kept my covenant, which they made before me, the calf which they prepared to sacrifice with it, (19) the princes of Juda, and the men in power, and the priests, and the people; (20) I will even give them to their enemies, and their carcases shall be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild beasts of the earth. (21) And I will give Sedekias king of Judea, and their princes, into the hands of their enemies, and the host of the king of Babylon shall come upon them that run away from them. (22) Behold, I will give command, saith the Lord, and will bring them back to this land; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire, and the cities of Juda; and I will make them desolate without inhabitants.

42

(1) THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS from the Lord in the days of Joakim, king of Juda, saying, (2) Go to the house of the Archabin, and thou shalt bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the courts, and give them wine to drink. (3) So I brought forth Jechonias the son of Jeremin the son of Chabasin, and his brethren, and his sons, and all the family of the Archabin; (4) and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Joanan, the son of Ananias, the son of Godolias, a man of God, who dwells near the house of the princes that are over the house of Maasaeas the son of Selom, who kept the court. (5) And I set before them a jar of wine, and cups, and I said, Drink ye wine. (6) But they said, We will on no account drink wine, for our father Jonadab the son of Rechab commanded us, saying, Ye shall on no account drink wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: (7) nor shall ye at all build houses, nor sow any seed, nor shall ye have a vineyard: for ye shall dwell in tents all your days; that ye may live many days upon the land, in which ye sojourn. (8) And we hearkened to the voice of Jonadab our father, so as to drink no wine all our days, we, and our wives, and our sons, and our daughters; (9) and so as to build no houses to dwell in: and we have had no vineyard, nor field, nor seed: (10) but we have dwelt in tents, and have hearkened, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. (11) And it came to pass, when Nabuchodonosor came up against the land, that we said we would come in; and we entered into Jerusalem, for fear of the host of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the host of the Assyrians: and we dwelt there. (12) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (13) Thus saith the Lord, Go, and say to the men of Juda, and to them that dwell in Jerusalem, Will ye not receive correction to hearken to my words? (14) The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the word which he commanded his children, that they should drink no wine; and they have not drunk it: but I spoke to you early, and ye hearkened not. (15) And I sent to you my servants the prophets, saying, Turn ye every one from his evil way, and amend your practices, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell upon the land which I gave to you and to your fathers: but ye inclined not your ears, and hearkened not. (16) But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command of their father; but this people has not hearkened to me. (17) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring upon Juda and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evils which I pronounced against them. (18) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have hearkened to the command of their father, to do as their father commanded them: (19) there shall never be wanting a man of the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand before my face while the earth remains.

43

(1) IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF JOAKIM son of Josias king of Juda, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Take thee a roll of a book, and write upon it all the words which I spoke to thee against Jerusalem, and against Juda, and against all the nations, from the day when I spoke to thee, from the days of Josias king of Juda, even to this day. (3) Perhaps the house of Juda will hear all the evils which I purpose to do to them; that they may turn from their evil way; and so I will be merciful to their iniquities and their sins. (4) So Jeremias called Baruch the son of Nerias: and he wrote from the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken to him, on a roll of a book. (5) And Jeremias commanded Baruch, saying, I am in prison; I cannot enter into the house of the Lord: (6) so thou shalt read in this roll in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord, on the fast day; and in the ears of all Juda that come out of their cities, thou shalt read to them. (7) Peradventure their supplication will come before the Lord, and they will turn from their evil way: for great is the wrath and the anger of the Lord, which he has pronounced against this people. (8) And Baruch did according to all that Jeremias commanded him—reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. (9) And it came to pass in the eighth year of king Joakim, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and the house of Juda, proclaimed a fast before the Lord. (10) And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremias in the house of the Lord, in the house of Gamarias son of Saphan the scribe, in the upper court, in the entrance of the new gate of the house of the Lord, and in the ears of all the people. (11) And Michaeas the son of Gamarias the son of Saphan heard all the words of the Lord, out of the book. (12) And he went down to the king’s house, into the house of the scribe: and, behold, there were sitting there all the princes, Elisama the scribe, and Dalaeas the son of Selemias, and Jonathan the son of Acchobor, and Gamarias the son of Saphan, and Sedekias the son of Ananias, and all the princes. (13) And Michaeas reported to them all the words which he had heard Baruch reading in the ears of the people. (14) And all the princes sent to Baruch son of Nerias Judin the son of Nathanias, the son of Selemias, the son of Chusi, saying, Take in thine hand the roll in which thou readest in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch took the roll, and went down to them. (15) And they said to him, Read it again in our ears. And Baruch read it. (16) And it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, that they took counsel each with his neighbour, and said, Let us by all means tell the king all these words. (17) And they asked Baruch, saying, Where didst thou write all these words? (18) And Baruch said, Jeremias told me from his own mouth all these words, and I wrote them in a book. (19) And they said to Baruch, Go, and hide, thou and Jeremias; let no man know where ye are. (20) And they went in to the king into the court, and gave the roll to one to keep in the house of Elisama; and they told the king all these words. (21) And the king sent Judin to fetch the roll: and he took it out of the house of Elisama: and Judin read in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood round the king. (22) Now the king was sitting in the winter house: and there was a fire on the hearth before him. (23) And it came to pass when Judin had read three or four leaves, he cut them off with a penknife, and cast them into the fire that was on the hearth, until the whole roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. (24) And the king and his servants that heard all these words sought not the Lord, and rent not their garments. (25) But Elnathan and Godolias suggested to the king that he should burn the roll. (26) And the king commanded Jeremeel the king’s son, and Saraeas the son of Esriel, to take Baruch and Jeremias: but they were hidden. (27) Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after the king had burnt the roll, even all the words which Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremias, saying, (28) Again take thou another roll, and write all the words that were on the roll, which king Joakim has burnt. (29) And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come in, and destroy this land, and man and cattle shall fail from off it? (30) Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim king of Juda; He shall not have a man to sit on the throne of David: and his carcass shall be cast forth in the heat by day, and in the frost by night. (31) And I will visit him, and his family, and his servants: and I will bring upon him, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the land of Juda, all the evils which I spoke of to them; and they hearkened not. (32) And Baruch took another roll, and wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the book which Joakim had burnt: and there were yet more words added to it like the former.

44

(1) And Sedekias the son of Josias reigned instead of Joakim, whom Nabuchodonosor appointed to reign over Juda. (2) And he and his servants and the people of the land hearkened not to the words of the Lord, which he spoke by Jeremias. (3) And king Sedekias sent Joachal son of Selemias and Sophonias the priest son of Maasaeas to Jeremias, saying, Pray now for us to the Lord. (4) Now Jeremias came and went through the midst of the city: for they had not put him into the house of the prison. (5) And the host of Pharao was come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldeans heard the report of them, and they went up from Jerusalem. (6) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying, (7) Thus said the Lord; Thus shalt thou say to the king of Juda who sent to thee, to seek me; Behold, the army of Pharao which is come forth to help you: they shall return to the land of Egypt: (8) and the Chaldeans themselves shall turn again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. (9) For thus saith the Lord; Suppose not in your hearts, saying, The Chaldeans will certainly depart from us: for they shall not depart. (10) And though ye should smite the whole host of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there should be left a few wounded men, these should rise up each in his place, and burn this city with fire. (11) And it came to pass, when the host of the Chaldeans had gone up from Jerusalem for fear of the host of Pharao, (12) that Jeremias went forth from Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to buy thence a property in the midst of the people. (13) And he was in the gate of Benjamin, and there was there a man with whom he lodged, Saruia the son of Selemias, the son of Ananias; and he caught Jeremias, saying, Thou art fleeing to the Chaldeans. (14) And he said, It is false; I do not flee to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; and Saruia caught Jeremias, and brought him to the princes. (15) And the princes were very angry with Jeremias, and smote him, and sent him into the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made this a prison. (16) So Jeremias came into the dungeon, and into the cells, and he remained there many days. (17) Then Sedekias sent, and called him; and the king asked him secretly, saying, Is there a word from the Lord? and he said, There is: thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon. (18) And Jeremias said to the king, Wherein have I wronged thee, or thy servants, or this people, that thou puttest me in prison? (19) And where are your prophets who prophesied to you saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against this land? (20) Now therefore, my lord the king, let my supplication come before thy face: and why dost thou send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe? and let me not on any account die there. (21) Then the king commanded, and they cast him into the prison, and gave him a loaf a day out of the place where they bake, until the bread failed out of the city. So Jeremias continued in the court of the prison.

45

(1) And Saphanias the son of Nathan, and Godolias the son of Paschor, and Joachal the son of Semelias, heard the words which Jeremias spoke to the people, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord; He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine: but he that goes out to the Chaldeans shall live; and his soul shall be given him for a found treasure, and he shall live. (3) For thus saith the Lord; This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the host of the king of Babylon, and they shall take it. (4) And they said to the king, Let that man, we pray thee, be slain, for he weakens the hands of the fighting men that are left in the city, and the hands of all the people, speaking to them according to these words: for this man does not prophesy peace to this people, but evil. (5) Then the king said, Behold, he is in your hands. For the king could not resist them. (6) And they cast him into the dungeon of Melchias the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison; and they let him down into the pit: and there was no water in the pit, but mire: and he was in the mire. (7) And Abdemelech the Ethiopian heard, (now he was in the king’s household,) that they had put Jeremias into the dungeon; and the king was in the gate of Benjamin: (8) and he went forth to him, and spoke to the king and said, (9) Thou hast done evil in what thou hast done to slay this man with hunger: for there is no more bread in the city. (10) And the king commanded Abdemelech, saying, Take with thee hence thirty men, and bring him up out of the dungeon, that he die not. (11) So Abdemelech took the men and went into the underground part of the king’s house, and took thence old rags and old ropes, and threw them to Jeremias into the dungeon. (12) And he said, Put these under the ropes. And Jeremias did so. (13) And they drew him with the ropes, and lifted him out of the dungeon: and Jeremias remained in the court of the prison. (14) Then the king sent, and called him to himself into the house of Aselisel, which was in the house of the Lord: and the king said to him, I will ask thee a question, and I pray thee hide nothing from me. (15) And Jeremias said to the king, If I tell thee, wilt thou not certainly put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not at all hearken to me. (16) And the king swore to him, saying, As the Lord lives who gave us this soul, I will not slay thee, neither will I give thee into the hands of these men. (17) And Jeremias said to him, Thus saith the Lord; If thou wilt indeed go forth to the captains of the king of Babylon, thy soul shall live, and this city shall certainly not be burnt with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house. (18) But if thou wilt not go forth this city shall be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt by no means escape. (19) And the king said to Jeremias, I consider the Jews that have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands, and they mock me. (20) And Jeremias said, They shall in no wise deliver thee up. Hear the word of the Lord which I speak to thee; and it shall be better for thee, and thy soul shall live. (21) But if thou wilt not go forth, this is the word which the Lord has shewn me. (22) And, behold, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Juda were brought forth to the princes of the king of Babylon; and they said, The men who were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and will prevail against thee; and they shall cause thy foot to slide and fail, they have turned back from thee. (23) And they shall bring forth thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt by no means escape, for thou shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burnt. (24) Then the king said to him, Let no man know any of these words, and certainly thou shalt not die. (25) And if the princes shall hear that I have spoken to thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Tell us, what said the king to thee? hide it not from us, and we will in no wise slay thee, and what said the king to thee? (26) Then thou shalt say to them, I brought my supplication before the presence of the king, that he would not send me back into the house of Jonathan, that I should die there. (27) And all the princes came to Jeremias, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words, which the king had commanded him. And they were silent, because the word of the Lord was not heard. (28) And Jeremias remained in the court of the prison, until the time when Jerusalem was taken.

46

(1) And it came to pass in the ninth month of Sedekias king of Juda, that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. (2) And in the eleventh year of Sedekiass, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. (3) And all the leaders of the king of Babylon went in, and sat in the middle gate, Marganasar, and Samagoth, and Nabusachar, and Nabusaris, Nagargas, Naserrabamath, and the rest of the leaders of the king of Babylon, (14) and they sent, and took Jeremias out of the court of the prison, and gave him in charge to Godolias the son of Achicam, the son of Saphan: and they brought him out, and he sat in the midst of the people. (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (15) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in the court of the prison, saying, (16) Go and say to Abdemelech the Ethiopian, Thus said the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good. (17) But I will save thee in that day, and I will by no means deliver thee into the hands of the men before whom thou art afraid. (18) For I will surely save thee, and thou shalt by no means fall by the sword; and thou shalt find thy life, because thou didst trust in me, saith the Lord.

47

(1) The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias, after that Nabuzardan the captain of the guard had let him go out of Rama, when he had taken him in manacles in the midst of the captivity of Juda, even those who were carried to Babylon. (2) And the chief captain of the guard took him, and said to him, The Lord thy God has pronounced all these evils upon this place: (3) and the Lord has done it; because ye sinned against him, and hearkened not to his voice. (4) Behold, I have loosed thee from the manacles that were upon thine hands. If it seem good to thee to go with me to Babylon, then will I set mine eyes upon thee. (5) But if not, depart; return to Godolias the son of Achicam, the son of Saphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor in the land of Juda, and dwell with him in the midst of the people in the land of Juda: to whatsoever places it seems good in thine eyes to go, do thou even go. And the captain of the guard made him presents, and let him go. (6) And he came to Godolias to Massepha, and dwelt in the midst of his people that was left in the land. (7) And all the leaders of the host that was in the country, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Godolias governor in the land, and they committed to him the men and their wives, whom Nabuchodonosor had not removed to Babylon. (8) And there came to Godolias to Massepha Ismael the son of Nathanias, and Joanan son of Caree, and Saraeas the son of Thanaemeth, and the sons of Jophe the Netophathite, and Ezonias son of the Mochathite, they and their men. (9) And Godolias swore to them and to their men, saying, Be not afraid before the children of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be better for you. (10) And, behold, I dwell in your presence at Massepha, to stand before the Chaldeans who shall come against you: and do ye gather grapes, and fruits, and oil, and put them into your vessels, and dwell in the cities which ye have obtained possession of. (11) And all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and those that were in Idumea, and those that were in all the rest of the country, heard that the king of Babylon had granted a remnant to Juda, and that he had appointed over them Godolias the son of Achicam. (12) And they came to Godolias into the land of Juda, to Massepha, and gathered grapes, and very much summer fruit, and oil. (13) And Joanan the son of Caree, and all the leaders of the host, who were in the fields, came to Godolias to Massepha, (14) and said to him, Dost thou indeed know that king Beleissa son of Ammon has sent Ismael to thee to slay thee? But Godolias believed them not. (15) And Joanan said to Godolias secretly in Massepha, I will go now and smite Ismael, and let no man know it; lest he slay thee, and all the Jews that are gathered to thee be dispersed, and the remnant of Juda perish. (16) But Godolias said to Joanan, Do not the thing, for thou speakest lies concerning Ismael.

48

(1) Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ismael the son of Nathanias the son of Eleasa of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, to Godolias to Massepha: and they ate bread there together. (2) And Ismael rose up, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Godolias, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land, (3) and all the Jews that were with him in Massepha, and all the Chaldeans that were found there. (4) And it came to pass on the second day after he had smitten Godolias, and no man knew of it, (5) that there came men from Sychem, and from Salem, and from Samaria, even eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and beating their breasts, and they had manna and frankincense in their hands, to bring them into the house of the Lord. (6) And Ismael went out to meet them; and they went on and wept: and he said to them, Come in to Godolias. (7) And it came to pass, when they had entered into the midst of the city, that he slew them and cast them into a pit. (8) But ten men were found there, and they said to Ismael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, wheat and barley, honey and oil. So he passed by, and slew them not in the midst of their brethren. (9) Now the pit into which Ismael cast all whom he smote, is the great pit, which king Asa had made for fear of Baasa king of Israel: even this Ismael filled with slain men. (10) And Ismael brought back all the people that were left in Massepha, and the king’s daughter, whom the captain of the guard had committed in charge to Godolias the son of Achicam: and he went away beyond the children of Ammon. (11) And Joanan the son of Caree, and all the leaders of the host that were with him, heard of all the evil deeds which Ismael had done. (12) And they brought all their army, and went to fight against him, and found him near much water in Gabaon. (13) And it came to pass, when all the people that was with Ismael saw Joanan, and the leaders of the host that was with him, (14) that they returned to Joanan. (15) But Ismael escaped with eight men and went to the children of Ammon. (16) And Joanan, and all the leaders of the host that were with him, took all the remnant of the people, whom he had brought back from Ismael, mighty men in war, and the women, and the other property, and the eunuchs, whom they had brought back from Gabaon: (17) and they departed, and dwelt in Gaberoch-amaa, that is by Bethleem, to go into Egypt, for fear of the Chaldeans: (18) for they were afraid of them, because Ismael had smitten Godolias, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

49

(1) Then came all the leaders of the host, and Joanan, and Azarias the son of Maasaeas, and all the people great and small, (2) to Jeremias the prophet, and said to him, Let now our supplication come before thy face, and pray thou to the Lord thy God for this remnant; for we are left few out of many, as thine eyes see. (3) And let the Lord thy God declare to us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing which we should do. (4) And Jeremias said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray for you to the Lord our God, according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever word the Lord God shall answer, I will declare it to you; I will not hide anything from you. (5) And they said to Jeremias, Let the Lord be between us for a just and faithful witness, if we do not according to every word which the Lord shall send to us. (6) And whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, because we shall hearken to the voice of the Lord our God. (7) And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came to Jeremias. (8) And he called Joanan, and the leaders of the host, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, (9) and he said to them, Thus saith the Lord; (10) If ye will indeed dwell in this land, I will build you, and will not pull you down, but will plant you, and in no wise pluck you up: for I have ceased from the calamities which I brought upon you. (11) Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you, to deliver you, and save you out of their hand. (12) And I will grant you mercy, and pity you, and will restore you to your land. (13) But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, that we may not hearken to the voice of the Lord; (14) for we will go into the land of Egypt, and we shall see no war, and shall not hear the sound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger for bread; and there we will dwell: (15) then hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord; (16) If ye set your face toward Egypt, and go in there to dwell; then it shall be, that the sword which ye fear shall find you in the land of Egypt, and the famine to which ye have regard, shall overtake you, coming after you in Egypt; and there ye shall die. (17) And all the men, and all the strangers who have set their face toward the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall be consumed by the sword, and by the famine: and there shall not one of them escape from the evils which I bring upon them. (18) For thus saith the Lord; As my wrath has dropped upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath drop upon you, when ye have entered into Egypt: and ye shall be a desolation, and under the power of others, and a curse and a reproach: and ye shall no more see this place. (19) These are the words which the Lord has spoken concerning you the remnant of Juda; Enter ye not into Egypt: and now know ye for a certainty, (20) that ye have wrought wickedness in your hearts, when ye sent me, saying, Pray thou for us to the Lord; and according to all that the Lord shall speak to thee we will do. (21) And ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, with which he sent me to you. (22) Now therefore ye shall perish by sword and by famine, in the place which ye desire to go into to dwell there.

50

(1) And it came to pass, when Jeremias ceased speaking to the people all the words of the Lord, for which the Lord had sent him to them, even all these words, (2) that Azarias son of Maasaeas spoke, and Joanan, the son of Caree, and all the men who had spoken to Jeremias, saying, It is false: the Lord has not sent thee to us, saying, Enter not into Egypt to dwell there: (3) but Baruch the son of Nerias sets thee against us, that thou mayest deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and that we should be carried away captives to Babylon. (4) So Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, and all the people, refused to hearken to the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Juda. (5) And Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, took all the remnant of Juda, who had returned to dwell in the land; (6) the mighty men, and the women, and the children that were left, and the daughters of the king, and the souls which Nabuzardan had left with Godolias the son of Achicam and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerias. (7) And they came into Egypt: for they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord: and they entered into Taphnas. (8) And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in Taphnas, saying, (9) Take thee great stones, and hide them in the entrance, at the gate of the house of Pharao in Taphnas, in the sight of the men of Juda: (10) and thou shalt say, Thus has the Lord said; Behold, I will send, and will bring Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and he shall place his throne upon these stones which thou hast hidden, and he shall lift up weapons against them. (11) And he shall enter in, and smite the land of Egypt, delivering some for death to death; and some for captivity to captivity; and some for the sword to the sword. (12) And he shall kindle a fire in the houses of their gods, and shall burn them, and shall carry them away captives: and shall search the land of Egypt, as a shepherd searches his garment; and he shall go forth in peace. (13) And he shall break to pieces the pillars of Heliopolis that are in On, and shall burn their houses with fire.

51a

(1) THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS for all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt, and for those settled in Magdolo and in Taphnas, and in the land of Pathura, saying, (2) Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye have seen all the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon the cities of Juda; and, behold, they are desolate without inhabitants, (3) because of their wickedness, which they have wrought to provoke me, by going to burn incense to other gods, whom ye knew not. (4) yet I sent to you my servants the prophets early in the morning, and I sent, saying, Do not ye this abominable thing which I hate. (5) But they hearkened not to me, and inclined not their ear to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense to strange gods. (6) So mine anger and my wrath dropped upon them, and was kindled in the gates of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a desolation and a waste, as at this day. (7) And now thus has the Lord Almighty said, Wherefore do ye commit these great evils against your souls? to cut off man and woman of you, infant and suckling from the midst of Juda, to the end that not one of you should be left; (8) by provoking me with the works of your hands, to burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which ye entered to dwell there, that ye might be cut off, and that ye might become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? (9) Have ye forgotten the sins of your fathers, and the sins of the kings of Juda, and the sins of your princes, and the sins of your wives, which they wrought in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? (10) And have not ceased even to this day, and they have not kept to my ordinances, which I set before their fathers. (11) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold I do set my face against you (12) to destroy all the remnant that are in Egypt; and they shall fall by the sword, and by famine, and shall be consumed small and great: and they shall be for reproach, and for destruction, and for a curse. (13) And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, with sword and with famine: (14) and there shall not one be preserved of the remnant of Juda that sojourn in the land of Egypt, to return to the land of Juda, to which they hope in their hearts to return: they shall not return, but only they that escape. (15) Then all the men that knew that their wives burned incense, and all the women, a great multitude, and all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathura, answered Jeremias, saying, (16) As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee. (17) For we will surely perform every word that shall proceed out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, and our kings and princes, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and so we were filled with bread, and were well, and saw no evils. (18) But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, we have all been brought low, and have been consumed by sword and by famine. (19) And whereas we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured drink-offerings to her, did we make cakes to her, and pour drink-offerings to her, without our husbands? (20) Then Jeremias answered all the people, the mighty men, and the women, and all the people that returned him these words for answer, saying, (21) Did not the Lord remember the incense which ye burned in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, and your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land? and came it not into his heart? (22) And the Lord could no longer bear you, because of the wickedness of your doings, and because of your abominations which ye wrought; and so your land became a desolation and a waste, and a curse, as at this day; (23) because of your burning incense, and because of the things wherein ye sinned against the Lord: and ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his ordinances, and in his law, and in his testimonies; and so these evils have come upon you. (24) And Jeremias said to the people, and to the women, Hear ye the word of the Lord. (25) Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye women have spoken with your mouth, and ye fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her: full well did ye keep to your vows, and ye have indeed performed them. (26) Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, my name shall no longer be in the mouth of every Jew to say, The Lord lives, in all the land of Egypt. (27) For I have watched over them, to hurt them, and not to do them good: and all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt shall perish by sword and by famine, until they are utterly consumed. (28) And they that escape the sword shall return to the land of Juda few in number, and the remnant of Juda, who have continued in the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand. (29) And this shall be a sign to you, that I will visit you for evil. (30) Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will give Uaphres king of Egypt into the hands of his enemy, and into the hands of one that seeks his life; as I gave Sedekias king of Juda into the hands of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, his enemy, and who sought his life.

51b

(1) THE WORD WHICH JEREMIAS THE PROPHET spoke to Baruch son of Nerias, when he wrote these words in the book from the mouth of Jeremias, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda. (2) Thus has the Lord said to thee, O Baruch. (3) Whereas thou hast said, Alas! alas! for the Lord has laid a grievous trouble upon me; I lay down in groaning, I found no rest; (4) say thou to him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I pull down those whom I have built up, and I pluck up those whom I have planted. (5) And wilt thou seek great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but I will give to thee thy life for a spoil in every place whither thou shalt go.

52

(1) It was the twenty-first year of Sedekias, when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Amitaal, the daughter of Jeremias, of Lobena. (2) (3) (4) And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the ninth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and they made a rampart round it, and built a wall round about it with large stones. (5) So the city was besieged, until the eleventh year of king Sedekias, (6) on the ninth day of the month, and then the famine was severe in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. (7) And the city was broken up, and all the men of war went out by night by the way of the gate, between the wall and the outworks, which were by the king’s garden; and the Chaldeans were by the city round about; and they went by the way leading to the wilderness. (8) But the host of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the country beyond Jericho; and all his servants were dispersed from about him. (9) And they took the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon to Deblatha, and he judged him. (10) And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Sedekias before his eyes; and he slew all the princes of Juda in Deblatha. (11) And he put out the eyes of Sedekias, and bound him in fetters; and the king of Babylon brought him to Babylon, and put him into the grinding-house, until the day when he died. (12) And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nabuzardan the captain of the guard, who waited on the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem; (13) and he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of the city, and every great house he burnt with fire. (14) And the host of the Chaldeans that was with the captain of the guard pulled down all the wall of Jerusalem round about. (15) (16) But the captain of the guard left the remnant of the people to be vinedressers and husbandmen. (17) And the Chaldeans broke in pieces the brazen pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, and they took the brass thereof, and carried it away to Babylon. (18) Also the rim, and the bowls, and the flesh-hooks, and all the brazen vessels, wherewith they ministered; (19) and the basons, and the snuffers, and the oil-funnels, and the candlesticks, and the censers, and the cups, the golden, of gold, and the silver, of silver, the captain of the guard took away. (20) And the two pillars, and the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen under the sea, which things king Solomon made for the house of the Lord; the brass of which articles was without weight. (21) And as for the pillars, the height of one pillar was thirty-five cubits; and a line of twelve cubits compassed it round; and the thickness of it all round was four fingers. (22) And there was a brazen chapiter upon them, and the length was five cubits, even the height of one chapiter; and there were on the chapiter round about network and pomegranates, all of brass: and correspondingly the second pillar had eight pomegranates to a cubit for the twelve cubits. (23) And the pomegranates were ninety-six on a side; and all the pomegranates on the network round about were a hundred. (24) And the captain of the guard took the chief priest, and the second priest, and those that kept the way; (25) and one eunuch, who was over the men of war, and seven men of renown, who were in the king’s presence that were found in the city; and the scribe of the forces, who did the part of a scribe to the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. (26) And Nabuzardan the captain of the king’s guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Deblatha. (27) And the king of Babylon smote them in Deblatha, in the land of Æmath. (28) (29) (30) (31) And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year after that Joakim king of Juda had been carried away captive, in the twelfth month, on the four and twentieth day of the month, that Ulaemadachar king of Babylon, in the year in which he began to reign, raised the head of Joakim king of Juda, and shaved him, and brought him out of the house where he was kept, (32) and spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the kings that were with him in Babylon, (33) and changed his prison garments: and he ate bread continually before him all the days that he lived. (34) And his appointed portion was given him continually by the king of Babylon from day to day, until the day when he died.

Lamentations of Jeremiah

1 2 3 4 5

1

And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate, that Jeremias sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said (1) ALEPH. How does the city that was filled with people sit solitary! she is become as a widow: she that was magnified among the nations, and princess among the provinces, has become tributary. (2) BETH. She weeps sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; and there is none of all her lovers to comfort her: all that were her friends have dealt deceitfully with her, they are become her enemies. (3) GIMEL. Judea is gone into captivity by reason of her affliction, and by reason of the abundance of her servitude: she dwells among the nations, she has not found rest: all her pursuers have overtaken her between her oppressors. (4) DALETH. The ways of Sion mourn, because there are none that come to the feast: all her gates are ruined: her priests groan, her virgins are led captive, and she is in bitterness in herself. (5) HE. Her oppressors are become the head, and her enemies have prospered; for the Lord has afflicted her because of the multitude of her sins: her young children are gone into captivity before the face of the oppressor. (6) VAU. And all her beauty has been taken away from the daughter of Sion: her princes were as rams finding no pasture, and are gone away in weakness before the face of the pursuer. (7) ZAIN. Jerusalem remembered the days of her affliction, and her rejection; she thought on all her desirable things which were from the days of old, when her people fell into the hands of the oppressor, and there was none to help her: when her enemies saw it they laughed at her habitation. (8) HETH. Jerusalem has sinned a great sin; therefore has she come into tribulation, all that used to honour her have afflicted her, for they have seen her shame: yea, she herself groaned, and turned backward. (9) TETH. Her uncleanness is before her feet; she remembered not her last end; she has lowered her boasting tone, there is none to comfort her. Behold, O Lord, my affliction: for the enemy has magnified himself. (10) JOD. The oppressor has stretched out his hand on all her desirable things: for she has seen the Gentiles entering into her sanctuary, concerning whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. (11) CHAPH. All her people groan, seeking bread: they have given their desirable things for meat, to restore their soul: behold, Lord, and look; for she is become dishonoured. (12) LAMED. All ye that pass by the way, turn, and see if there is sorrow like to my sorrow, which has happened to me. The Lord who spoke by me has afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. (13) MEM. He has sent fire from his lofty habitation, he has brought it into my bones: he has spread a net for my feet, he has turned me back: he has made me desolate and mourning all the day. (14) NUN. He has watched over my sins, they are twined about my hands, they have come up on my neck: my strength has failed; for the Lord has laid pains on my hands, I shall not be able to stand. (15) SAMECH. The Lord has cut off all my strong men from the midst of me: he has summoned against me a time for crushing my choice men: the Lord has trodden a wine-press for the virgin daughter of Juda: for these things I weep. (16) AIN. Mine eye has poured out water, because he that should comfort me, that should restore my soul, has been removed far from me: my sons have been destroyed, because the enemy has prevailed. (17) PHE. Sion has spread out her hand, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord has commanded concerning Jacob, his oppressors are round about him: Jerusalem has become among them as a removed woman. (18) TSADE. The Lord is righteous; for I have provoked his mouth: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my grief: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. (19) KOPH. I called my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and my elders failed in the city; for they sought meat that they might restore their souls, and found it not. (20) RHECHS. Behold, O Lord; for I am afflicted: my belly is troubled, and my heart is turned within me; for I have been grievously rebellious: abroad the sword has bereaved me, even as death at home. (21) CHSEN. Hear, I pray you, for I groan: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of mine afflictions, and rejoice because thou hast done it: thou hast brought on the day, thou hast called the time: they are become like to me. (22) THAU. Let all their wickedness come before thy face; and strip them, as they have made a gleaning for all my sins: for my groans are many, and my heart is grieved.

2

(1) ALEPH. How has the Lord darkened in his wrath the daughter of Sion! he has cast down the glory of Israel from heaven to earth, and has not remembered his footstool. (2) BETH. In the day of his wrath the Lord has overwhelmed her as in the sea, and not spared: he has brought down in his fury all the beautiful things of Jacob; he has brought down to the ground the strong-holds of the daughter of Juda; he has profaned her kings and her princes. (3) GIMEL. He has broken in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he has turned back his right hand from the face of the enemy, and has kindled a flame in Jacob as a fire, and it has devoured all things round about. (4) DALETH. He has bent his bow as an opposing enemy: he has strengthened his right hand as an adversary, and has destroyed all the desirable things of my eyes in the tabernacle of the daughter of Sion: he has poured forth his anger as fire. (5) HE. The Lord is become as an enemy: he has overwhelmed Israel as in the sea, he has overwhelmed her palaces: he has destroyed her strong-holds, and has multiplied the afflicted and humbled ones to the daughter of Juda. (6) VAU. And he has scattered his tabernacle as a vine, he has marred his feast: the Lord has forgotten the feast and the sabbath which he appointed in Sion, and in the fury of his wrath has vexed the king, and priest, and prince. (7) ZAIN. The Lord has rejected his altar, he has cast off his sanctuary, he has broken by the hand of the enemy the wall of her palaces; they have uttered their voice in the house of the Lord as on a feast day. (8) HETH. And he has turned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Sion: he has stretched out the measuring line, he has not turned back his hand from afflicting her: therefore the bulwark mourned, and the wall was weakened with it. (9) TETH. Her gates are sunk into the ground: he has destroyed and broken to pieces her bars, and her king and her prince among the Gentiles: there is no law, nay, her prophets have seen no vision from the Lord. (10) JOD. The elders of the daughter of Sion have sat upon the ground, they have kept silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloths: they have brought down to the ground the chief virgins in Jerusalem. (11) CHAPH. Mine eyes have failed with tears, my heart is troubled, my glory is cast down to the ground, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; while the infant and suckling swoon in the streets of the city. (12) LAMED. They said to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? while they fainted like wounded men in the streets of the city, while their souls were poured out into their mother’s bosom. (13) MEM. What shall I testify to thee, or what shall I compare to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? who shall save and comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion? for the cup of thy destruction is enlarged: who shall heal thee? (14) NUN. Thy prophets have seen for thee vanities and folly: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn back thy captivity; but they have seen for thee vain burdens, and worthless visions. (15) SAMECH. All that go by the way have clapped their hands at thee; they have hissed and shaken their head at the daughter of Jerusalem. Is this the city, they say, the crown of joy of all the earth? (16) AIN. All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they have hissed and gnashed their teeth, and said, We have swallowed her up: moreover this is the day which we looked for; we have found it, we have seen it. (17) PHE. The Lord has done that which he purposed; he has accomplished his word, even the things which he commanded from the ancient days: he has thrown down, and has not spared: and he has caused the enemy to rejoice over thee, he has exalted the horn of him that afflicted thee. (18) TSADE. Their heart cried to the Lord, Ye walls of Sion, pour down tears like torrents day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eyes cease. (19) KOPH. Arise, rejoice in the night at the beginning of thy watch: pour out thy heart as water before the face of the Lord; lift up thy hands to him for the life of thine infants, who faint for hunger at the top of all the streets. (20) RHECHS. Behold, O Lord, and see for whom thou has gathered thus. Shall the women eat the fruit of their womb? the cook has made a gathering: shall the infants sucking at the breasts be slain? wilt thou slay the priest and prophet in the sanctuary of the Lord? (21) CHSEN. The child and old man have lain down in the street: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity: thou hast slain them with the sword and with famine; in the day of thy wrath thou hast mangled them, thou has not spared. (22) THAU. He has called my sojourners round about to a solemn day, and there was not in the day of the wrath of the Lord any one that escaped or was left; whereas I have strengthened and multiplied all mine enemies.

3

(1) ALEPH. I am the man that sees poverty, through the rod of his wrath upon me. (2) He has taken me, and led me away into darkness, and not into light. (3) Nay, against me has he turned his hand all the day. (4) He has made old my flesh and my skin; he has broken my bones. (5) BETH. He has built against me, and compassed my head, and brought travail upon me. (6) He has set me in dark places, as them that have long been dead. (7) He has builded against me, and I cannot come forth: he has made my brazen chain heavy. (8) GIMEL. Yea, though I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayer. (9) DALETH. He has built up my ways, he has hedged my paths; (10) he has troubled me, as a she-bear lying in wait: he is to me as a lion in secret places. (11) He pursued me after I departed, and brought me to a stand: he has utterly ruined me. (12) HE. He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. (13) He has caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. (14) I became a laughing-stock to all my people; and their song all the day. (15) VAU. He has filled me with bitterness, he has drenched me with gall. (16) And he has dashed out my teeth with gravel, he has fed me with ashes. (17) He has also removed my soul from peace: I forgot prosperity. (18) Therefore my success has perished, and my hope from the Lord. (19) ZAIN. I remembered by reason of my poverty, and because of persecution my bitterness and gall shall be remembered; (20) and my soul shall meditate with me. (21) This will I lay up in my heart, therefore I will endure. (22) HETH. It is the mercies of the Lord, that he has not failed me, because his compassions are not exhausted. Pity us, O Lord, early every month: for we are not brought to an end, because his compassions are not exhausted. (23) They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (24) The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I wait for him. (25) TETH. The Lord is good to them that wait for him: the soul which shall seek him (26) is good, and shall wait for, and quietly expect salvation of the Lord. (27) TETH. It is good for a man when he bears a yoke in his youth. (28) He will sit alone, and be silent, because he has borne it upon him. (29) (30) JOD. He will give his cheek to him that smites him: he will be filled full with reproaches. (31) For the Lord will not reject for ever. (32) CHAPH. For he that has brought down will pity, and that according to the abundance of his mercy. (33) He has not answered in anger from his heart, though he has brought low the children of a man. (34) LAMED. To bring down under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, (35) to turn aside the judgment of a man before the face of the Most High, (36) to condemn a man unjustly in his judgment, the Lord has not given commandment. (37) Who has thus spoken, and it has come to pass? the Lord has not commanded it. (38) Out of the mouth of the Most High there shall not come forth evil and good. (39) MEM. Why should a living man complain, a man concerning his sin? (40) NUN. Our way has been searched out and examined, and we will turn to the Lord. (41) Let us lift up our hearts with our hand to the lofty One in heaven. (42) We have sinned, we have transgressed; and thou hast not pardoned. (43) SAMECH. Thou has visited us in wrath, and driven us away: thou has slain, thou has not pitied. (44) Thou hast veiled thyself with a cloud because of prayer, that I might be blind, (45) and be cast off. AIN. Thou hast set us alone in the midst of the nations. (46) All our enemies have opened their mouth against us. (47) Fear and wrath are come upon us, suspense and destruction. (48) Mine eye shall pour down torrents of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people. (49) PHE. Mine eye is drowned with tears, and I will not be silent, so that there shall be no rest, (50) until the Lord look down, and behold from heaven. (51) Mine eye shall prey upon my soul, because of all the daughters of the city. (52) TSADE. The fowlers chased me as a sparrow, all mine enemies destroyed my life in a pit without cause, (53) and laid a stone upon me. (54) Water flowed over my head: I said, I am cut off. (55) KOPH. I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the lowest dungeon. (56) Thou heardest my voice: close not thine ears to my supplication. (57) Thou drewest nigh to my help: in the day wherein I called upon thee thou saidst to me, Fear not. (58) RECHS. O Lord, thou has pleaded the causes of my soul; thou has redeemed my life. (59) Thou hast seen, O Lord, my troubles: thou hast judged my cause. (60) Thou hast seen all their vengeance, thou hast looked on all their devices against me. (61) CHSEN. Thou hast heard their reproach and all their devices against me; (62) the lips of them that rose up against me, and their plots against me all the day; (63) their sitting down and their rising up: look thou upon their eyes. (64) Thou wilt render them a recompense, O Lord, according to the works of their hands. (65) THAU. Thou wilt give them as a covering, the grief of my heart. (66) Thou wilt persecute them in anger, and wilt consume them from under the heaven, O Lord.

4

(1) ALEPH. How will the gold be tarnished, and the fine silver changed! the sacred stones have been poured forth at the top of all the streets. (2) BETH. The precious sons of Zion, who were equalled in value with gold, how are they counted as earthen vessels, the works of the hands of the potter! (3) GIMEL. Nay, serpents have drawn out the breasts, they give suck to their young, the daughters of my people are incurably cruel, as an ostrich in a desert. (4) DALETH. The tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the roof of its mouth for thirst: the little children ask for bread, and there is none to break it to them. (5) HE. They that feed on dainties are desolate in the streets: they that used to be nursed in scarlet have clothed themselves with dung. (6) VAU. And the iniquity of the daughter of my people has been increased beyond the iniquities of Sodoma, the city that was overthrown very suddenly, and none laboured against her with their hands. (7) ZAIN. Her Nazarites were made purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were purified as with fire, their polishing was superior to sapphire stone. (8) HETH. Their countenance is become blacker than smoke; they are not known in the streets: their skin has cleaved to their bones; they are withered, they are become as a stick. (9) TETH. The slain with the sword were better than they that were slain with hunger: they have departed, pierced through from want of the fruits of the field. (10) JOD. The hands of tender-hearted women have sodden their own children: they became meat for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people. (11) CHAPH. The Lord has accomplished his wrath; he has poured out fierce anger, and has kindled a fire in Sion, and it has devoured her foundations. (12) LAMED. The kings of the earth, even all that dwell in the world, believed not that an enemy and oppressor would enter through the gates of Jerusalem. (13) MEM. For the sins of her prophets, and iniquities of her priests, who shed righteous blood in the midst of her, (14) NUN. her watchmen staggered in the streets, they were defiled with blood in their weakness, they touched their raiment with it. (15) SAMECH. Depart ye from the unclean ones: call ye them: depart, depart, touch them not: for they are on fire, yea, they stagger: say ye among the nations, They shall no more sojourn there. (16) AIN. The presence of the Lord was their portion; but he will not again look upon them: they regarded not the person of the priests, they pitied not the prophets. (17) PHE. While we yet lived our eyes failed, while we looked in vain for our help. TSADE. We looked to a nation that could not save. (18) We have hunted for our little ones, that they should not walk in our streets. KOPH. Our time has drawn nigh, our days are fulfilled, our time is come. (19) Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky, they flew on the mountains, in the wilderness they laid wait for us. (20) RECHS. The breath of our nostrils, our anointed Lord, was taken in their destructive snares, of whom we said, In his shadow we shall live among the Gentiles. (21) CHSEN. Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Idumea, that dwellest in the land: yet the cup of the Lord shall pass through to thee: thou shalt be drunken, and pour forth. (22) THAU. O daughter of Sion, thine iniquity has come to an end; he shall no more carry thee captive: he has visited thine iniquities, O daughter of Edom; he has discovered thy sins.

5

(1) Remember, O Lord, what has happened to us: behold, and look on our reproach. (2) Our inheritance has been turned away to aliens, our houses to strangers: (3) we are become orphans, we have no father, our mothers are as widows. (4) We have drunk our water for money; our wood is sold to us for a burden on our neck: (5) we have been persecuted, we have laboured, we have had no rest. (6) Egypt gave the hand to us, Assur to their own satisfaction. (7) Our fathers sinned, and are not: we have borne their iniquities. (8) Servants have ruled over us: there is none to ransom us out of their hand. (9) We shall bring in our bread with danger of our lives, because of the sword of the wilderness. (10) Our skin is blackened like an oven; they are convulsed, because of the storms of famine. (11) They humbled the women in Sion, the virgins in the cities of Juda. (12) Princes were hanged up by their hands: the elders were not honoured. (13) The chosen men lifted up the voice in weeping, and the youths fainted under the wood. (14) And the elders ceased from the gate, the chosen men ceased from their music. (15) The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. (16) The crown has fallen from our head: yea, woe to us! for we have sinned. (17) For this has grief come; our heart is sorrowful: for this our eyes are darkened. (18) Over the mountain of Sion, because it is made desolate, foxes have walked therein. (19) But thou, O Lord, shalt dwell for ever; thy throne shall endure to generation and generation. (20) Wherefore wilt thou utterly forget us, and abandon us a long time? (21) Turn us, O Lord, to thee, and we shall be turned; and renew our days as before. (22) For thou hast indeed rejected us; thou hast been very wroth against us.

Baruch

1 2 3 4 5

1

(1) And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, the son of Sedecias, the son of Asadias, the son of Chelcias, wrote in Babylon, (2) In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire. (3) And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joachim king of Juda, and in the ears of all the people that came to hear the book, (4) And in the hearing of the nobles, and of the king’s sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and of all the people, from the lowest unto the highest, even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud. (5) Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord. (6) They made also a collection of money according to every man’s power: (7) And they sent it to Jerusalem unto Joachim the high priest, the son of Chelcias, son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people which were found with him at Jerusalem, (8) At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord, that were carried out of the temple, to return them into the land of Juda, the tenth day of the month Sivan, namely, silver vessels, which Sedecias the son of Josias king of Jada had made, (9) After that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias, and the princes, and the captives, and the mighty men, and the people of the land, from Jerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon. (10) And they said, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare ye manna, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God; (11) And pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for the life of Balthasar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven: (12) And the Lord will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and under the shadow of Balthasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favour in their sight. (13) Pray for us also unto the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God; and unto this day the fury of the Lord and his wrath is not turned from us. (14) And ye shall read this book which we have sent unto you, to make confession in the house of the Lord, upon the feasts and solemn days. (15) And ye shall say, To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day, unto them of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (16) And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers: (17) For we have sinned before the Lord, (18) And disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments that he gave us openly: (19) Since the day that the Lord brought our forefathers out of the land of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto the Lord our God, and we have been negligent in not hearing his voice. (20) Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us, and the curse, which the Lord appointed by Moses his servant at the time that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land that floweth with milk and honey, like as it is to see this day. (21) Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom he sent unto us: (22) But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God.

2

(1) Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which he pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and Juda, (2) To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to the things that were written in the law of Moses; (3) That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his own daughter. (4) Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all the kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and desolation among all the people round about, where the Lord hath scattered them. (5) Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, and have not been obedient unto his voice. (6) To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness: but unto us and to our fathers open shame, as appeareth this day. (7) For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath pronounced against us (8) Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart. (9) Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath commanded us. (10) Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice, to walk in the commandments of the Lord, that he hath set before us. (11) And now, O Lord God of Israel, that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and hast gotten thyself a name, as appeareth this day: (12) O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances. (13) Let thy wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among the heathen, where thou hast scattered us. (14) Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us for thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away: (15) That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, because Israel and his posterity is called by thy name. (16) O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider us: bow down thine ear, O Lord, to hear us. (17) Open thine eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves, whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither praise nor righteousness: (18) But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give thee praise and righteousness, O Lord. (19) Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee, O Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings. (20) For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us, as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying, (21) Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon: so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers. (22) But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of Babylon, (23) I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from without Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants. (24) But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon: therefore hast thou made good the words that thou spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their place. (25) And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night, and they died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by pestilence. (26) And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Juda. (27) O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine, (28) As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying, (29) If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them. (30) For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves. (31) And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears to hear: (32) And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name, (33) And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord. (34) And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished. (35) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.

3

(1) O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee. (2) Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; for thou art merciful: and have pity upon us, because we have sinned before thee. (3) For thou endurest for ever, and we perish utterly. (4) O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us. (5) Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers: but think upon thy power and thy name now at this time. (6) For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise. (7) And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our captivity: for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers, that sinned before thee. (8) Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where thou hast scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which departed from the Lord our God. (9) Hear, Israel, the commandments of life: give ear to understand wisdom. (10) How happeneth it Israel, that thou art in thine enemies’ land, that thou art waxen old in a strange country, that thou art defiled with the dead, (11) That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave? (12) Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom. (13) For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest have dwelled in peace for ever. (14) Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding; that thou mayest know also where is length of days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace. (15) Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her treasures? (16) Where are the princes of the heathen become, and such as ruled the beasts upon the earth; (17) They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and they that hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and made no end of their getting? (18) For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, and whose works are unsearchable, (19) They are vanished and gone down to the grave, and others are come up in their steads. (20) Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the way of knowledge have they not known, (21) Nor understood the paths thereof, nor laid hold of it: their children were far off from that way. (22) It hath not been heard of in Chanaan, neither hath it been seen in Theman. (23) The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding; none of these have known the way of wisdom, or remember her paths. (24) O Israel, how great is the house of God! and how large is the place of his possession! (25) Great, and hath none end; high, and unmeasurable. (26) There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. (27) Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them: (28) But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness. (29) Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? (30) Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for pure gold? (31) No man knoweth her way, nor thinketh of her path. (32) But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, and hath found her out with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for evermore hath filled it with fourfooted beasts: (33) He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, calleth it again, and it obeyeth him with fear. (34) The stars shined in their watches, and rejoiced: when he calleth them, they say, Here we be; and so with cheerfulness they shewed light unto him that made them. (35) This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him (36) He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. (37) Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.

4

(1) This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endureth for ever: all they that keep it shall come to life; but such as leave it shall die. (2) Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it: walk in the presence of the light thereof, that thou mayest be illuminated. (3) Give not thine honour to another, nor the things that are profitable unto thee to a strange nation. (4) O Israel, happy are we: for things that are pleasing to God are made known unto us. (5) Be of good cheer, my people, the memorial of Israel. (6) Ye were sold to the nations, not for your destruction: but because ye moved God to wrath, ye were delivered unto the enemies. (7) For ye provoked him that made you by sacrificing unto devils, and not to God. (8) Ye have forgotten the everlasting God, that brought you up; and ye have grieved Jerusalem, that nursed you. (9) For when she saw the wrath of God coming upon you, she said, Hearken, O ye that dwell about Sion: God hath brought upon me great mourning; (10) For I saw the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them. (11) With joy did I nourish them; but sent them away with weeping and mourning. (12) Let no man rejoice over me, a widow, and forsaken of many, who for the sins of my children am left desolate; because they departed from the law of God. (13) They knew not his statutes, nor walked in the ways of his commandments, nor trod in the paths of discipline in his righteousness. (14) Let them that dwell about Sion come, and remember ye the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting hath brought upon them. (15) For he hath brought a nation upon them from far, a shameless nation, and of a strange language, who neither reverenced old man, nor pitied child. (16) These have carried away the dear beloved children of the widow, and left her that was alone desolate without daughters. (17) But what can I help you? (18) For he that brought these plagues upon you will deliver you from the hands of your enemies. (19) Go your way, O my children, go your way: for I am left desolate. (20) I have put off the clothing of peace, and put upon me the sackcloth of my prayer: I will cry unto the Everlasting in my days. (21) Be of good cheer, O my children, cry unto the Lord, and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies. (22) For my hope is in the Everlasting, that he will save you; and joy is come unto me from the Holy One, because of the mercy which shall soon come unto you from the Everlasting our Saviour. (23) For I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever. (24) Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity: so shall they see shortly your salvation from our God which shall come upon you with great glory, and brightness of the Everlasting. (25) My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from God: for thine enemy hath persecuted thee; but shortly thou shalt see his destruction, and shalt tread upon his neck. (26) My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as a flock caught of the enemies. (27) Be of good comfort, O my children, and cry unto God: for ye shall be remembered of him that brought these things upon you. (28) For as it was your mind to go astray from God: so, being returned, seek him ten times more. (29) For he that hath brought these plagues upon you shall bring you everlasting joy with your salvation. (30) Take a good heart, O Jerusalem: for he that gave thee that name will comfort thee. (31) Miserable are they that afflicted thee, and rejoiced at thy fall. (32) Miserable are the cities which thy children served: miserable is she that received thy sons. (33) For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall: so shall she be grieved for her own desolation. (34) For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude, and her pride shall be turned into mourning. (35) For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to endure; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time. (36) O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God. (37) Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, they come gathered together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.

5

(1) Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of mourning and affliction, and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever. (2) Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which cometh from God; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting. (3) For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under heaven. (4) For thy name shall be called of God for ever The peace of righteousness, and The glory of God’s worship. (5) Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God. (6) For they departed from thee on foot, and were led away of their enemies: but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with glory, as children of the kingdom. (7) For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of long continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to make even the ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of God, (8) Moreover even the woods and every sweet smelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God. (9) For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him.

Epistle of Jeremiah

1

(1) A copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to certify them, as it was commanded him of God. (2) Because of the sins which ye have committed before God, ye shall be led away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor king of the Babylonians. (3) So when ye be come unto Babylon, ye shall remain there many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations: and after that I will bring you away peaceably from thence. (4) Now shall ye see in Babylon gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood, borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear. (5) Beware therefore that ye in no wise be like to strangers, neither be ye and of them, when ye see the multitude before them and behind them, worshipping them. (6) But say ye in your hearts, O Lord, we must worship thee. (7) For mine angel is with you, and I myself caring for your souls. (8) As for their tongue, it is polished by the workman, and they themselves are gilded and laid over with silver; yet are they but false, and cannot speak. (9) And taking gold, as it were for a virgin that loveth to go gay, they make crowns for the heads of their gods. (10) Sometimes also the priests convey from their gods gold and silver, and bestow it upon themselves. (11) Yea, they will give thereof to the common harlots, and deck them as men with garments, being gods of silver, and gods of gold, and wood. (12) Yet cannot these gods save themselves from rust and moth, though they be covered with purple raiment. (13) They wipe their faces because of the dust of the temple, when there is much upon them. (14) And he that cannot put to death one that offendeth him holdeth a scepter, as though he were a judge of the country. (15) He hath also in his right hand a dagger and an axe: but cannot deliver himself from war and thieves. (16) Whereby they are known not to be gods: therefore fear them not. (17) For like as a vessel that a man useth is nothing worth when it is broken; even so it is with their gods: when they be set up in the temple, their eyes be full of dust through the feet of them that come in. (18) And as the doors are made sure on every side upon him that offendeth the king, as being committed to suffer death: even so the priests make fast their temples with doors, with locks, and bars, lest their gods be spoiled with robbers. (19) They light them candles, yea, more than for themselves, whereof they cannot see one. (20) They are as one of the beams of the temple, yet they say their hearts are gnawed upon by things creeping out of the earth; and when they eat them and their clothes, they feel it not. (21) Their faces are blacked through the smoke that cometh out of the temple. (22) Upon their bodies and heads sit bats, swallows, and birds, and the cats also. (23) By this ye may know that they are no gods: therefore fear them not. (24) Notwithstanding the gold that is about them to make them beautiful, except they wipe off the rust, they will not shine: for neither when they were molten did they feel it. (25) The things wherein there is no breath are bought for a most high price. (26) They are borne upon shoulders, having no feet whereby they declare unto men that they be nothing worth. (27) They also that serve them are ashamed: for if they fall to the ground at any time, they cannot rise up again of themselves: neither, if one set them upright, can they move of themselves: neither, if they be bowed down, can they make themselves straight: but they set gifts before them as unto dead men. (28) As for the things that are sacrificed unto them, their priests sell and abuse; in like manner their wives lay up part thereof in salt; but unto the poor and impotent they give nothing of it. (29) Menstruous women and women in childbed eat their sacrifices: by these things ye may know that they are no gods: fear them not. (30) For how can they be called gods? because women set meat before the gods of silver, gold, and wood. (31) And the priests sit in their temples, having their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads. (32) They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast when one is dead. (33) The priests also take off their garments, and clothe their wives and children. (34) Whether it be evil that one doeth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it: they can neither set up a king, nor put him down. (35) In like manner, they can neither give riches nor money: though a man make a vow unto them, and keep it not, they will not require it. (36) They can save no man from death, neither deliver the weak from the mighty. (37) They cannot restore a blind man to his sight, nor help any man in his distress. (38) They can shew no mercy to the widow, nor do good to the fatherless. (39) Their gods of wood, and which are overlaid with gold and silver, are like the stones that be hewn out of the mountain: they that worship them shall be confounded. (40) How should a man then think and say that they are gods, when even the Chaldeans themselves dishonour them? (41) Who if they shall see one dumb that cannot speak, they bring him, and intreat Bel that he may speak, as though he were able to understand. (42) Yet they cannot understand this themselves, and leave them: for they have no knowledge. (43) The women also with cords about them, sitting in the ways, burn bran for perfume: but if any of them, drawn by some that passeth by, lie with him, she reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, nor her cord broken. (44) Whatsoever is done among them is false: how may it then be thought or said that they are gods? (45) They are made of carpenters and goldsmiths: they can be nothing else than the workmen will have them to be. (46) And they themselves that made them can never continue long; how should then the things that are made of them be gods? (47) For they left lies and reproaches to them that come after. (48) For when there cometh any war or plague upon them, the priests consult with themselves, where they may be hidden with them. (49) How then cannot men perceive that they be no gods, which can neither save themselves from war, nor from plague? (50) For seeing they be but of wood, and overlaid with silver and gold, it shall be known hereafter that they are false: (51) And it shall manifestly appear to all nations and kings that they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them. (52) Who then may not know that they are no gods? (53) For neither can they set up a king in the land, nor give rain unto men. (54) Neither can they judge their own cause, nor redress a wrong, being unable: for they are as crows between heaven and earth. (55) Whereupon when fire falleth upon the house of gods of wood, or laid over with gold or silver, their priests will flee away, and escape; but they themselves shall be burned asunder like beams. (56) Moreover they cannot withstand any king or enemies: how can it then be thought or said that they be gods? (57) Neither are those gods of wood, and laid over with silver or gold, able to escape either from thieves or robbers. (58) Whose gold, and silver, and garments wherewith they are clothed, they that are strong take, and go away withal: neither are they able to help themselves. (59) Therefore it is better to be a king that sheweth his power, or else a profitable vessel in an house, which the owner shall have use of, than such false gods; or to be a door in an house, to keep such things therein, than such false gods. or a pillar of wood in a palace, than such false gods. (60) For sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their offices, are obedient. (61) In like manner the lightning when it breaketh forth is easy to be seen; and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country. (62) And when God commandeth the clouds to go over the whole world, they do as they are bidden. (63) And the fire sent from above to consume hills and woods doeth as it is commanded: but these are like unto them neither in shew nor power. (64) Wherefore it is neither to be supposed nor said that they are gods, seeing, they are able neither to judge causes, nor to do good unto men. (65) Knowing therefore that they are no gods, fear them not, (66) For they can neither curse nor bless kings: (67) Neither can they shew signs in the heavens among the heathen, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon. (68) The beasts are better than they: for they can get under a cover and help themselves. (69) It is then by no means manifest unto us that they are gods: therefore fear them not. (70) For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing: so are their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold. (71) And likewise their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold, are like to a white thorn in an orchard, that every bird sitteth upon; as also to a dead body, that is east into the dark. (72) And ye shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple that rotteth upon them: and they themselves afterward shall be eaten, and shall be a reproach in the country. (73) Better therefore is the just man that hath none idols: for he shall be far from reproach.

Ezekiel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

1

(1) Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, that I was in the midst of the captivity by the river of Chobar; and the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. (2) On the fifth day of the month; this was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joakim. (3) And the word of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me. (4) And I looked, and, behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud on it, and there was brightness round about it, and gleaming fire, and in the midst of it as it were the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire, and brightness in it. (5) And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. (6) And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. (7) And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and there were sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. (8) And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. (9) And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. (10) And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of the four; and the face of a calf on the left of the four; and the face of an eagle to the four. (11) And the four had their wings spread out above; each one had two joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. (12) And each one went straight forward: wherever the spirit was going they went, and turned not back. (13) And in the midst of the living creatures there was an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures; and the brightness of fire, and out of the fire came forth lightning. (14) (15) And I looked, and, behold, the four had each one wheel on the ground near the living creatures. (16) And the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of beryl: and the four had one likeness: and their work was as it were a wheel in a wheel. (17) They went on their four sides: they turned not as they went; (18) neither did their backs turn: and they were high: and I beheld them, and the backs of them four were full of eyes round about. (19) And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures lifted themselves off the earth, the wheels were lifted off. (20) Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels. (21) When those went, the wheels went; and when those stood, the wheels stood; and when those lifted themselves off the earth, they were lifted off with them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels. (22) And the likeness over the heads of the living creatures was as a firmament, as the appearance of crystal, spread out over their wings above. (23) And their wings were spread out under the firmament, reaching one to the other; two wings to each, covering their bodies. (24) And I heard the sound of their wings when they went, as the sound of much water: and when they stood, their wings were let down. (25) And lo! a voice from above the firmament (26) that was over their head, there was as the appearance of a sapphire stone, and the likeness of a throne upon it: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as an appearance of a man above. (27) And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber from the appearance of the loins and upwards, and from the appearance of the loins and under I saw an appearance of fire, and the brightness thereof round about. (28) As the appearance of the bow when it is in the cloud in days of rain, so was the form of brightness round about.

2

(1) This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I saw and fell upon my face, and heard the voice of one speaking: and he said to me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee. (2) And the Spirit came upon me, and took me up, and raised me, and set me on my feet: and I heard him speaking to me. (3) And he said to me, Son of Man, I send thee forth to the house of Israel, them that provoke me; who have provoked me, they and their fathers to this day. (4) And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord. (5) Whether then indeed they shall hear or fear, (for it is a provoking house,) yet they shall know that thou art a prophet in the midst of them. (6) And thou, son of man, fear them not, nor be dismayed at their face; (for they will madden and will rise up against thee round about, and thou dwellest in the midst of scorpions): be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their countenance, for it is a provoking house. (7) And thou shalt speak my words to them, whether they will hear or fear: for it is a provoking house. (8) And thou, son of man, hear him that speaks to thee; be not thou provoking, as the provoking house: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee. (9) And I looked, and behold, a hand stretched out to me, and in it a volume of a book. (10) And he unrolled it before me: and in it the front and the back were written upon: and there was written in it Lamentation, and mournful song, and woe.

3

(1) And he said to me, Son of Man, eat this volume, and go and speak to the children of Israel. (2) So he opened my mouth, and caused me to eat the volume. And he said to me, Son of man, (3) thy mouth shall eat, and thy belly shall be filled with this volume that is given to thee. So I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. (4) And he said to me, Son of man, go thy way, and go in to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. (5) For thou art not sent to a people of hard speech, but to the house of Israel; (6) neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words thou wouldest not understand: although if I had sent thee to such, they would have hearkened to thee. (7) But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are stubborn and hard-hearted. (8) And, behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen thy power against their power. (9) And it shall be continually stronger than a rock: be not afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their faces, because it is a provoking house. (10) And he said to me, Son of man, receive into thine heart all the words that I have spoken to thee, and hear them with thine ears. (11) And go thy way, go in to the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. (12) Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice as of a great earthquake, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. (13) And I perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures clapping one to the other, and the sound of the wheels was near them, and the sound of the earthquake. (14) And the Spirit lifted me, and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was mighty upon me. (15) Then I passed through the air and came into the captivity, and went round to them that dwelt by the river of Chobar who were there; and I sat there seven days, conversant in the midst of them. (16) And after the seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, (17) I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear a word of my mouth, and shalt threaten them from me. (18) When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou hast not warned him, to give warning to the wicked, to turn from his ways, that he should live; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. (19) But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, and thou shalt deliver thy soul. (20) And when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits a trespass, and I shall bring punishment before him, he shall die, because thou didst not warn him: he shall even die in his sins, because his righteousness shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (21) But if thou warn the righteous not to sin, and he sin not, the righteous shall surely live, because thou hast warned him; and thou shalt deliver thine own soul. (22) And the hand of the Lord came upon me; and he said to me, Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shalt thou be spoken to. (23) And I arose, and went forth to the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, according to the vision, and according to the glory of the Lord, which I saw by the river of Chobar: and I fell on my face. (24) Then the Spirit came upon me, and set me on my feet, and spoke to me, and said to me, Go in, and shut thyself up in the midst of thine house. (25) And thou, son of man, behold, bonds are prepared for thee, and they shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not come forth of the midst of them. (26) Also I will bind thy tongue, and thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: because it is a provoking house. (27) But when I speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, He that hears, let him hear; and he that is disobedient, let him be disobedient: because it is a provoking house.

4

(1) And thou, son of man, take thee a brick, and thou shalt set it before thy face, and shalt portray on it the city, even Jerusalem. (2) And thou shalt besiege it, and build works against it, and throw up a mound round about it, and pitch camps against it, and set up engines round about. (3) And take thou to thyself an iron pan, and thou shalt set it for an iron wall between thee and the city: and thou shalt set thy face against it, and it shall be in a siege, and thou shalt besiege it. This is a sign to the children of Israel. (4) And thou shalt lie upon thy left side, and lay the iniquities of the house of Israel upon it, according to the number of the hundred and fifty days during which thou shalt lie upon it: and thou shalt bear their iniquities. (5) For I have appointed thee their iniquities for a number of days, for a hundred and ninety days: so thou shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Israel. (6) And thou shalt accomplish this, and then shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Juda forty days: I have appointed thee a day for a year. (7) So thou shalt set thy face to the siege of Jerusalem, and shalt strengthen thine arm, and shalt prophesy against it. (8) And, behold, I have prepared bonds for thee, land thou mayest not turn from thy one side to the other, until the days of thy siege shall be accomplished. (9) Take thou also to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and bread-corn; and thou shalt cast them into one earthen vessel, and shalt make them into loaves for thyself; and thou shalt eat them a hundred and ninety days, according to the number of the days during which thou sleepest on thy side. (10) And thou shalt eat thy food by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat them. (11) And thou shalt drink water by measure, even from time to time thou shalt drink the sixth part of a hin. (12) And thou shalt eat them as a barley cake: thou shalt bake them before their eyes in man’s dung. (13) And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall the children of Israel eat unclean things among the Gentiles. (14) Then I said, Not so, Lord God of Israel: surely my soul has not been defiled with uncleanness; nor have I eaten, that which died of itself or was torn of beasts from my birth until now; neither has any corrupt flesh entered into my mouth. (15) And he said to me, Behold, I have given thee dung of oxen instead of man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy loaves upon it. (16) And he said to me, Son of man, behold, I break the support of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight and in want; and shall drink water by measure, and in a state of ruin: (17) that they may want bread and water; and a man and his brother shall be brought to ruin, and they shall pine away in their iniquities.

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(1) And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber’s razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair. (2) A fourth part thou shalt burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfillment of the days of the siege: and thou shalt take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part thou shalt cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. (3) And thou shalt take thence a few in number, and shalt wrap them in the fold of thy garment. (4) And thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and thou shalt say to the whole house of Israel, (5) Thus saith the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations. (6) And thou shalt declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes to the sinful one of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes. (7) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because your occasion for sin has been taken from the nations round about you, and ye have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, ye have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord; (8) Behold, I am against thee, and I will execute judgment in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. (9) And I will do in thee things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all thine abominations. (10) Therefore the fathers shall eat their children in the midst of thee, and children shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and I will scatter all that are left of thee to every wind. (11) Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy. (12) A fourth part of thee shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of thee shall be consumed in the midst of thee with famine: and as for another fourth part of thee, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of thee shall fall by sword round about thee, and I will draw out a sword after them. (13) And my wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and thou shalt know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them. (14) And I will make thee desolate, and thy daughters round about thee, in the sight of every one that passes through. (15) And thou shalt be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about thee, when I have executed judgments in thee in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord have spoken. (16) And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of thy bread. (17) So I will send forth against thee famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon thee; and I will bring a sword upon thee round about. I the Lord have spoken.

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(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face against the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them; (3) and thou shalt say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the valleys, and to the forests; Behold, I bring a sword upon you, and your high places shall be utterly destroyed. (4) And your altars shall be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. (5) And I will scatter your bones round about your altars, (6) and in all your habitations: the cities shall be made desolate, and the high places utterly laid waste; that your altars may be destroyed, and your idols be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats be abolished. (7) And slain men shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (8) When there are some of you escaping from the sword among the Gentiles, and when ye are scattered in the countries; (9) then they of you that escape among the nations whither they were carried captive shall remember me; (I have sworn an oath against their heart that goes a-whoring from me, and their eyes that go a-whoring after their practices;) and they shall mourn over themselves for all their abominations. (10) And they shall know that I the Lord have spoken. (11) Thus saith the Lord; Clap with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot and say, Aha, aha! for all the abominations of the house of Israel: they shall fall by the sword, and by pestilence, and by famine. (12) He that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is far off shall die by the pestilence; and he that is in the siege shall be consumed with famine: and I will accomplish mine anger upon them. (13) Then ye shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain are in the midst of your idols round about your altars, on every high hill, and under every shady tree, where they offered a sweet savour to all their idols. (14) And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land desolate and ruined from the wilderness of Deblatha, in all their habitations: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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(1) Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Also, thou, son of man, say (2) Thus saith the Lord; An end is come to the land of Israel, the end is come on the four corners of the land. (3) Now the end is come to thee, and I will send judgment upon thee: and I will take vengeance on thy ways, and will recompense all thine abominations upon thee. (4) Mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy: for I will recompense thy way upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. (5) For thus saith the Lord; Behold, the end is come. (6) The end is come on thee, (7) the inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day has drawn nigh, not with tumult, nor with pangs. (8) Now I will pour out my anger upon thee near at hand, and I will accomplish my wrath on thee: and I will judge thee for thy ways, and recompense upon thee all thine abominations. (9) Mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy: for I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that smite thee. (10) Behold, the day of the Lord! although the rod has blossomed, (11) pride has sprung up, and will break the staff of the wicked one, and that not with tumult, nor with haste. (12) The time is come, behold the day: let not the buyer rejoice, and let not the seller mourn. (13) For the buyer shall never again return to the seller, neither shall a man cleave with the eye of hope to his life. (14) Sound ye the trumpet, and pass sentence on all together. (15) There shall be war with the sword without, and famine and pestilence within: he that is in the field shall die by the sword; and famine and pestilence shall destroy them that are in the city. (16) But they that escape of them shall be delivered, and shall be upon the mountains: and I will slay all the rest, every one for his iniquities. (17) All hands shall be completely weakened, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture. (18) And they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and amazement shall cover them; and shame shall be upon them, even upon every face, and baldness upon every head. (19) Their silver shall be cast forth in the streets, and their gold shall be despised: their souls shall not be satisfied, and their bellies shall not be filled: for it was the punishment of their iniquities. (20) As for their choice ornaments, they employed them for pride, and they made of them images of their abominations: therefore have I made them uncleanness to them. (21) And I will deliver them into the hands of strangers to make them a prey, and to the pests of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane them. (22) And I will turn away my face from them, and they shall defile my charge, and shall go in to them unguardedly, and profane them. (23) And they shall work uncleanness: because the land is full of strange nations, and the city is full of iniquity. (24) And I will turn back the boasting of their strength; and their holy things shall be defiled. (25) And though propitiation shall come, and one shall seek peace, yet there shall be none. (26) There shall be woe upon woe, and there shall be message upon message; and a vision shall be sought from a prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. (27) The prince shall clothe himself with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be made feeble: I will do to them according to their ways, and according to their judgments will I punish them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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(1) And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in the house, and the elders of Juda were sitting before me: and the hand of the Lord came upon me. (2) And I looked, and, behold, the likeness of a man: from his loins and downwards there was fire, and from his loins upwards there was as the appearance of amber. (3) And he stretched forth the likeness of a hand, and took me by the crown of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and sky, and brought me to Jerusalem in a vision of God, to the porch of the gate that looks to the north, where was the pillar of the Purchaser. (4) And, behold, the glory of the Lord God of Israel was there, according to the vision which I saw in the plain. (5) And he said to me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes toward the north, and, behold, I looked from the north toward the eastern gate. (6) And he said to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what these do? They commit great abominations here so that I should keep away from my sanctuary: and thou shalt see yet greater iniquities. (7) And he brought me to the porch of the court. (8) And he said to me, Son of man, dig: so I dug, and behold a door. (9) And he said to me, Go in, and behold the iniquities which they practise here. (10) So I went in and looked; and beheld vain abominations, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon them round about. (11) And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jechonias the son of Saphan stood in their presence in the midst of them, and each one held his censer in his hand; and the smoke of the incense went up. (12) And he said to me, Thou hast seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do, each one of them in their secret chamber: because they have said, The Lord see not; The Lord has forsaken the earth. (13) And he said to me, Thou shalt see yet greater iniquities which these do. (14) And he brought me in to the porch of the house of the Lord that looks to the north; and, behold there were women sitting there lamenting for Thammuz. (15) And he said to me, Son of man, thou hast seen; but thou shalt yet see evil practices greater then these. (16) And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty men, with their back parts toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces turned the opposite way; and these were worshipping the sun. (17) And he said to me, Son of man, thou hast seen this. Is it a little thing to the house of Juda to practise the iniquities which they have practised here? for they have filled the land with iniquity: and, behold, these are as scorners. (18) Therefore will I deal with them in wrath: mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy.

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(1) And he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, The judgment of the city has drawn nigh; and each had the weapons of destruction in his hand. (2) And, behold, six men came from the way of the high gate that looks toward the north, and each one’s axe was in his hand; and there was one man in the midst of them clothed with a long robe down to the feet, and a sapphire girdle was on his loins: and they came in and stood near the brazen altar. (3) And the glory of the God of Israel, that was upon them, went up from the cherubs to the porch of the house. (4) And said to him, Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that groan and that grieve for all the iniquities that are done in the midst of them. (5) And he said to the first in my hearing, Go after him into the city, and smite: and let not your eyes spare, and have no mercy. (6) Slay utterly old man and youth, and virgin, and infants, and women: but go ye not nigh any on whom is the mark: begin at my sanctuary. (7) And he said to them, Defile the house, and go out and fill the ways with dead bodies, and smite. (8) And it came to pass as they were smiting, that I fell upon my face, and cried out, and said, Alas, O Lord! wilt thou destroy the remnant of Israel, in pouring out thy wrath upon Jerusalem? (9) Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Juda is become very exceedingly great: for the land is filled with many nations, and the city is filled with iniquity and uncleanness: because they have said, The Lord has forsaken the earth, The Lord looks not upon it. (10) Therefore mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have any mercy: I have recompensed their ways upon their heads. (11) And, behold, the man clothed with the long robe, and girt with the girdle about his loins, answered and said, I have done as thou didst command me.

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(1) Then I looked, and, behold, over the firmament that was above the head of the cherubs there was a likeness of a throne over them, as a sapphire stone. (2) And he said to the man clothed with the long robe, Go in between the wheels that are under the cherubs, and fill thine hands with coals of fire from between the cherubs, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight. (3) And the cherubs stood on the right hand of the house, as the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. (4) Then the glory of the Lord departed from the cherubs to the porch of the house; and the cloud filled the house, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. (5) And the sound of the cherubs’ wings was heard as far as the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God speaking. (6) And it came to pass, when he gave a charge to the man clothed with the sacred robe, saying, Take fire from between the wheels from between the cherubs, that he went in, and stood near the wheels. (7) And he stretched forth his hand into the midst of the fire that was between the cherubs, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of the man clothed with the sacred robe: and he took it, and went out. (8) And I saw the cherubs having the likeness of men’s hands under their wings. (9) And I saw, and behold, four wheels stood by the cherubs, one wheel by each cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of a carbuncle stone. (10) And as for their appearance, there was one likeness to the four, as if there should be a wheel in the midst of a wheel. (11) When they went, they went on their four sides; they turned not when they went, for whichever way the first head looked, they went; and they turned not as they went. (12) And their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about the four wheels. (13) And these wheels were called Gelgel in my hearing. (14) (15) And the cherubs were the same living creature which I saw by the river of Chobar. (16) And when the cherubs went, the wheels went, and they were close to them: and when the cherubs lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, their wheels turned not. (17) When they stood, the wheels stood; and when they mounted up, the wheels mounted up with them: because the spirit of life was in them. (18) Then the glory of the Lord departed from the house, and went up on the cherubs. (19) And the cherubs lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went forth, the wheels were also beside them, and they stood at the entrance of the front gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was upon them above. (20) This is the living creature which I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chobar; and I knew that they were cherubs. (21) Each one had four faces, and each one had eight wings; and under their wings was the likeness of men’s hands. (22) And as for the likeness of their faces, these are the same faces which I saw under the glory of the God of Israel by the river of Chobar: and they went each straight forward.

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(1) Moreover the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the front gate of the house of the Lord, that looks eastward: and behold at the entrance of the gate were about five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jechonias the son of Ezer, and Phaltias the son of Banaeas, the leaders of the people. (2) And the Lord said to me, Son of man, these are the men that devise vanities, and take evil counsel in this city: (3) who say, Have not the houses been newly built? This is the caldron, and we are the flesh. (4) Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man. (5) And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, say; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: and I know the devices of your spirit. (6) Ye have multiplied your dead in this city, and ye have filled your ways with slain men. (7) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Your dead whom ye have smitten in the midst of it, these are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. (8) Ye fear the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord. (9) And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it, and will deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. (10) Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you on the mountains of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (11) (12) (13) And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Phaltias the son of Banaeas died. And I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Alas, alas, O Lord! wilt thou utterly destroy the remnant of Israel? (14) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (15) Son of man, thy brethren, and the men of thy captivity, and all the house of Israel are come to the full, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, Keep ye far away from the Lord: the land is given to us for an inheritance. (16) Therefore say thou, Thus saith the Lord; I will cast them off among the nations, and will disperse them into every land, yet will I be to them for a little sanctuary in the countries which they shall enter. (17) Therefore say thou, Thus saith the Lord; I will also take them from the heathen, and gather them out of the lands wherein I have scattered them, and will give them the land of Israel. (18) And they shall enter in there, and shall remove all the abominations of it, and all its iniquities from it. (19) And I will give them another heart, and will put a new spirit within them; and will extract the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh: (20) that they may walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God. (21) And as for the heart set upon their abominations and their iniquities, as their heart went after them, I have recompensed their ways on their heads, saith the Lord. (22) Then the cherubs lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. (23) And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which was in front of the city. (24) And the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the land of the Chaldeans, to the captivity, in a vision by the Spirit of God: and I went up after the vision which I saw. (25) And I spoke to the captivity all the words of the Lord which he had shewed me.

12

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the iniquities of those, who have eyes to see, and see not; and have ears to hear, and hear not: because it is a provoking house. (3) Thou therefore, son of man, prepare thyself baggage for going into captivity by day in their sight; and thou shalt be led into captivity from thy place into another place in their sight; that they may see that it is a provoking house. (4) And thou shalt carry forth thy baggage, baggage for captivity, by day before their eyes: and thou shalt go forth at even, as a captive goes forth, in their sight. (5) Dig for thyself into the wall of the house, and thou shalt pass through it in their sight: (6) thou shalt be lifted up on men’s shoulders, and shalt go forth in secret: thou shalt cover thy face, and shalt not see the ground: because I have made thee a sign to the house of Israel. (7) And I did thus according to all that he commanded me; and I carried forth my baggage for captivity by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall for myself, and went out secretly; I was taken up on men’s shoulders before them. (8) And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying, (9) Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to thee, What doest thou? (10) Say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, the Prince and the Ruler in Israel, even to all the house of Israel who are in the midst of them: (11) say, I am performing signs: as I have done, so shall it be to him: they shall go into banishment and captivity. (12) And the prince in the midst of them shall be borne upon shoulders, and shall go forth in secret through the wall, and shall dig so that he may go forth thereby: he shall cover his face, that he may not be seen by any eye, and he himself shall not see the ground. (13) And I will spread out my net upon him, and he shall be caught in my toils: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; but he shall not see it, though he shall die there. (14) And I will scatter to every wind all his assistants round about him, and all that help him; and I will draw out a sword after them; (15) And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have scattered them among the nations; and I will disperse them in the countries. (16) And I will leave of them a few men in number spared from the sword, and from famine, and pestilence; that they may declare all their iniquities among the nations whither they have gone; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (17) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (18) Son of man, eat thy bread with sorrow, and drink thy water with torment and affliction. (19) And thou shalt say to the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread in scarcity, and shall drink their water in desolation, that the land may be desolate with all that it contains: for all that dwell in it are ungodly. (20) And their inhabited cities shall be laid utterly waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (21) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (22) Son of man, what is your parable on the land of Israel, that ye say, The days are long, the vision has perished? (23) Therefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord; I will even set aside this parable, and the house of Israel shall no more at all use this parable: for thou shalt say to them, The days are at hand, and the import of every vision. (24) For there shall no more be any false vision, nor any one prophesying flatteries in the midst of the children of Israel. (25) For I the Lord will speak my words; I will speak and perform them, and will no more delay, for in your days, O provoking house, I will speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord. (26) Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (27) Son of man, behold, the provoking house of Israel boldly say, The vision which this man sees is for many days, and he prophesies for times afar off. (28) Therefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Henceforth none of my words shall linger, which I shall speak: I will speak and do, saith the Lord.

13

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and thou shalt prophesy, and shalt say to them, Hear ye the word of the Lord: (3) Thus saith the Lord, Woe to them that prophesy out of their own heart, and who see nothing at all. (4) Thy prophets, O Israel, are like foxes in the deserts. (5) They have not continued steadfast, and they have gathered flocks against the house of Israel, they that say, (6) In the day of the Lord, have not stood, seeing false visions, prophesying vanities, who say, The Lord saith, and the Lord has not sent them, and they began to try to confirm the word. (7) Have ye not seen a false vision? and spoken vain prophecies? (8) And therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Because your words are false, and your prophecies are vain, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord. (9) And I will stretch forth my hand against the prophets that see false visions, and those that utter vanities: they shall not partake of the instruction of my people, neither shall they be written in the roll of the house of Israel, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (10) Because they have caused my people to err, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and they plaster it, —it shall fall. (11) Say to them that plaster it, It shall fall; and there shall be a flooding rain; and I will send great stones upon their joinings, and they shall fall; and there shall be a sweeping wind, and it shall be broken. (12) And lo! the wall has fallen; and will they not say to you, Where is your plaster wherewith ye plastered it? (13) Therefore thus saith the Lord; I will even cause to burst forth a sweeping blast with fury, and there shall be a flooding rain in my wrath; and in my fury I will bring on great stones for complete destruction. (14) And I will break down the wall which ye have plastered, and it shall fall; and I will lay it on the ground, and its foundations shall be discovered, and it shall fall; and ye shall be consumed with rebukes: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (15) And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that plaster it; it shall fall: and I said to you, The wall is not, nor they that plaster it, (16) even the prophets of Israel, who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord. (17) And thou, son of man, set thy face firmly against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy against them. (18) And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Woe to the women that sew pillows under every elbow, and make kerchiefs on the head of every stature to pervert souls! The souls of my people are perverted, and they have saved souls alive. (19) And they have dishonoured me before my people for a handful of barley, and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls which should not die, and to save alive the souls which should not live, while ye speak to a people hearing vain speeches. (20) Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against your pillows, whereby ye there confound souls, and I will tear them away from your arms, and will set at liberty their souls which ye pervert to scatter them. (21) And I will tear your kerchiefs, and will rescue my people out of your hands, and they shall no longer be in your hands to be confounded; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (22) Because ye have perverted the heart of the righteous, whereas I perverted him not, and that in order to strengthen the hands of the wicked, that he should not at all turn from his evil way and live: (23) therefore ye shall not see false visions, and ye shall no more utter prophecies: but I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

14

(1) And there came to me men of the people of Israel, of the elders, and sat before me. (2) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (3) Son of man, these men have conceived their devices in their hearts, and have set before their faces the punishment of their iniquities: shall I indeed answer them? (4) Therefore speak to them, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Any man of the house of Israel, who shall conceive his devices in his heart, and shall set the punishment of his iniquity before his face, and shall come to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him according to the things in which his mind is entangled, (5) that he should turn aside the house of Israel, according to their hearts that are estranged from me in their thoughts. (6) Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Be converted, and turn from your evil practices, and from all your sins, and turn your faces back again. (7) For any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who shall separate himself from me, and conceive his imaginations in his heart, and set before his face the punishment of his iniquity, and come to the prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him, according to the things wherein he is entangled. (8) And I will set my face against that man, and will make him desolate and ruined, and will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (9) And if a prophet should cause to err and should speak, I the Lord have caused that prophet to err, and will stretch out my hand upon him, and will utterly destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (10) And they shall bear their iniquity according to the trespass of him that asks; and it shall be in like manner to the prophet according to the trespass: (11) that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, and that they may no more defile themselves with any of their transgressions: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God, saith the Lord. (12) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (13) Son of man, if a land shall sin against me by committing a trespass, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its staff of bread, and will send forth famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast. (14) And though these three men should be in the midst of it, Noe, and Daniel, and Job, they alone should be delivered by their righteousness, saith the Lord. (15) If again I bring evil beasts upon the land, and take vengeance upon it, and it be ruined, and there be no one to pass through for fear of the wild beasts: (16) and if these three men should be in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, neither sons nor daughters shall be saved, but these only shall be saved, and the land shall be destroyed. (17) Or again if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Let the sword go through the land; and I cut off from them man and beast: (18) though these three men were in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, they shall not deliver sons or daughters, but they only shall be saved themselves. (19) Or if again I send pestilence upon that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to destroy from off it man and beast: (20) and should Noe, and Daniel, and Job, be in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, there shall be left them neither sons nor daughters; only they by their righteousness shall deliver their souls. (21) Thus saith the Lord, And if I even send upon Jerusalem my four sore judgments, sword, and famine, and evil beasts, and pestilence, to destroy from out of it man and beast; (22) yet, behold, there shall be men left in it, the escaped thereof, who shall lead forth of it sons and daughters: behold, they shall go forth to you, and ye shall see their ways and their thoughts: and ye shall mourn over the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, even all the evils which I have brought upon it. (23) And they shall comfort you, because ye shall see their ways and their thoughts: and ye shall know that I have not done in vain all that I have done in it, saith the Lord.

15

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) And thou, son of man—of all the wood, of the branches that are among the trees of the forest, what shall be made of the wood of the vine? (3) Will they take wood of it to make it fit for work? will they take of it a peg to hang any vessel upon it? (4) It is only given to the fire to be consumed; the fire consumes that which is yearly pruned of it, and it is utterly gone. Will it be useful for any work? (5) Not even while it is yet whole will it be useful for any work: if the fire shall have utterly consumed it, will it still be fit for work? (6) Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord, As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given up to the fire to be consumed, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (7) And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth of the fire, and yet fire shall devour them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set my face against them. (8) And I will give up the land to ruin, because they have utterly transgressed, saith the Lord.

16

(1) Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, testify to Jerusalem of her iniquities; (3) and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord to Jerusalem; Thy root and thy birth are of the land of Chanaan: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Chettite. (4) And as for thy birth in the day wherein thou wast born, thou didst not bind thy breasts, and thou wast not washed in water, neither wast thou salted with salt, neither wast thou swathed in swaddling-bands. (5) Nor did mine eye pity thee, to do for thee one of all these things, to feel at all for thee; but thou wast cast out on the face of the field, because of the deformity of thy person, in the day wherein thou wast born. (6) And I passed by to thee, and saw thee polluted in thy blood; and I said to thee, Let there be life out of thy blood: (7) increase; I have made thee as the springing grass of the field. So thou didst increase and grow, and didst enter into great cities: thy breasts were set, and thy hair grew, whereas thou wast naked and bare. (8) And I passed by thee and saw thee, and, behold, it was thy time and a time of resting; and I spread my wings over thee, and covered thy shame, and swear to thee: and I entered into covenant with thee, saith the Lord, and thou becamest mine. (9) And I washed thee in water, and washed thy blood from thee, and anointed thee with oil. (10) And I clothed thee with embroidered garments, and clothed thee beneath with purple, and girded thee with fine linen, and clothed thee with silk, (11) and decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thine hands, and a necklace on thy neck. (12) And I put a pendant on thy nostril, and rings in thine ears, and a crown of glory on thine head. (13) So thou wast adorned with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and variegated work: thou didst eat fine flour, and oil, and honey, and didst become extremely beautiful. (14) And thy name went forth among the nations for thy beauty: because it was perfected with elegance, and in the comeliness which I put upon thee, saith the Lord. (15) Thou didst trust in thy beauty, and didst go a-whoring because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy fornication on every passer by. (16) And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest to thyself idols of needlework, and didst go a-whoring after them; therefore thou shalt never come in, nor shall the like take place. (17) And thou tookest thy fair ornaments of my gold and of my silver, of what I gave thee, and thou madest to thyself male images, and thou didst commit whoredom with them. (18) And thou didst take thy variegated apparel and didst clothe them, and thou didst set before them mine oil and mine incense. (19) And thou tookest my bread which I gave thee, (yea I fed thee with fine flour and oil and honey) and didst set them before them for a sweet-smelling savour: yea, it was so, saith the Lord. (20) And thou tookest thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou borest, and didst sacrifice these to them to be destroyed. Thou didst go a-whoring as if that were little, (21) and didst slay thy children, and gavest them up in offering them to them for an expiation. (22) This is beyond all thy fornication, and thou didst not remember thine infancy, when thou wast naked and bare, and didst live though defiled in thy blood. (23) And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, saith the Lord, (24) that thou didst build thyself a house of fornication, and didst make thyself a public place in every street; (25) and on the head of every way thou didst set up thy fornications, and didst defile thy beauty, and didst open thy feet to every passer by, and didst multiply thy fornication. (26) And thou didst go a-whoring after the children of Egypt thy neighbors, great of flesh; and didst go a-whoring, often to provoke me to anger. (27) And if I stretch out my hand against thee, then will I abolish thy statutes, and deliver thee up to the wills of them that hate thee, even to the daughters of the Philistines that turned thee aside from the way wherein thou sinned. (28) And thou didst go a-whoring to the daughters of Assur, and not even thus wast thou satisfied; yea, thou didst go a-whoring, and wast not satisfied. (29) And thou didst multiply thy covenants with the land of the Chaldeans; and not even with these wast thou satisfied. (30) Why should I make a covenant with thy daughter, saith the Lord, while thou doest all these things, the works of a harlot? and thou hast gone a-whoring in a threefold degree with thy daughters. (31) Thou hast built a house of harlotry in every top of a way, and hast set up thine high place in every street; and thou didst become as a harlot gathering hires. (32) An adulteress resembles thee, taking rewards of her husband. (33) She has even given rewards to all that went a-whoring after her, and thou hast given rewards to all thy lovers, yea, thou didst load them with rewards, that they should come to thee from every side for thy fornication. (34) And there has happened in thee perverseness in thy fornication beyond other women, and they have committed fornication with thee, in that thou givest hires over and above, and hires were not given to thee; and thus perverseness happened in thee. (35) Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord: (36) Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast poured forth thy money, therefore thy shame shall be discovered in thy harlotry with thy lovers, and with regard to all the imaginations of thine iniquities, and for the blood of thy children which thou hast given to them. (37) Therefore, behold, I will gather all thy lovers with whom thou hast consorted, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou didst hate; and I will gather them against thee round about, and will expose thy wickedness to them, and they shall see all thy shame. (38) And I will be avenged on thee with the vengeance of an adulteress, and I will bring upon thee blood of fury and jealousy. (39) And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall break down thy house of harlotry, and destroy thine high place; and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take thy proud ornaments, and leave thee naked and bare. (40) And they shall bring multitudes upon thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and pierce thee with their swords. (41) And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and shall execute vengeance on thee in the sight of many women: and I will turn thee back from harlotry, and I will no more give thee rewards. (42) So will I slacken my fury against thee, and my jealousy shall be removed from thee, and I will rest, and be no more careful for thee. (43) Because thou didst not remember thine infancy, and thou didst grieve me in all these things; therefore, behold, I have recompensed thy ways upon thine head, saith the Lord: for thus hast thou wrought ungodliness above all thine other iniquities. (44) These are all the things they have spoken against thee in a proverb, saying, (45) As is the mother, so is thy mother’s daughter: thou art she that has rejected her husband and her children; and the sisters of thy sisters have rejected their husbands and their children: your mother was a Chettite, and your father an Amorite. (46) Your elder sister who dwells on thy left hand is Samaria, she and her daughters: and thy younger sister, that dwells on the right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. (47) Yet notwithstanding thou hast not walked in their ways, neither hast thou done according to their iniquities within a little, but thou hast exceeded them in all thy ways. (48) As I live, saith the Lord, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as thou and thy daughters have done. (49) Moreover this was the sin of thy sister Sodom, pride: she and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread and in abundance: this belonged to her and her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy. (50) And they boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off as I saw fit. (51) Also Samaria has not sinned according to half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine iniquities beyond them, and thou hast justified thy sisters in all thine iniquities which thou hast committed. (52) Thou therefore bear thy punishment, for that thou hast corrupted thy sisters by thy sins which thou hast committed beyond them; and thou hast made them appear more righteous than thyself: thou therefore be ashamed, and bear thy dishonour, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. (53) And I will turn their captivity, even the captivity of Sodom and her daughters; and I will turn the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; and I will turn thy captivity in the midst of them: (54) that thou mayest bear thy punishment, and be dishonoured for all that thou hast done in provoking me to anger. (55) And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were at the beginning, and thou and thy daughters shall be restored as ye were at the beginning. (56) And surely thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the days of thy pride: (57) before thy wickedness was discovered, even now thou art the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, even of the daughters of the Philistines that compass thee round about. (58) As for thine ungodliness and thine iniquities, thou hast borne them, saith the Lord. (59) Thus saith the Lord; I will even do to thee as thou hast done, as thou hast dealt shamefully in these things to transgress my covenant. (60) And I will remember my covenant made with thee in the days of thine infancy, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant. (61) Then thou shalt remember thy way, and shalt be utterly dishonoured when thou receivest thine elder sisters with thy younger ones: and I will give them to thee for building up, but not by thy covenant. (62) And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: (63) that thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and mayest no more be able to open thy mouth for thy shame, when I am reconciled to thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord.

17

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel: (3) and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; A great eagle with large wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of entering into Libanus—and he took the choice branches of the cedar: (4) he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city. (5) And he took of the seed of the land, and sowed it in a field planted by much water; he set it in a conspicuous place. (6) And it sprang up, and became a weak and little vine, so that the branches thereof appeared upon it, and its roots were under it: and it became a vine, and put forth shoots, and sent forth its tendrils. (7) And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward him, and her roots were turned towards him, and she sent forth her branches towards him, that he might water her together with the growth of her plantation. (8) She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine. (9) Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the roots of her tender stem and her fruit be blighted? yea, all her early shoots shall be dried up, and that not by a mighty arm, nor by many people, to tear her up from her roots. (10) And, behold, it thrives: shall it prosper? shall it not wither as soon as the east wind touches it? it shall be withered together with the growth of its shoots. (11) Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying, (12) Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know ye not what these things were? say to them, Whenever the king of Babylon shall come against Jerusalem, then he shall take her king and her princes, and shall take them home to Babylon. (13) And he shall take of the seed royal, and shall make a covenant with him, and shall bind him with an oath: and he shall take the princes of the land: (14) that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that he may keep his covenant, and establish it. (15) And if he shall revolt from him, to send his messengers into Egypt, that they may give him horses and much people; shall he prosper? shall he that acts as an adversary be preserved? and shall he that transgresses the covenant be preserved? (16) As I live, saith the Lord, verily in the place where the king is that made him king, who dishonoured my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon. (17) And Pharaoh shall make war upon him not with a large force or great multitude, in throwing up a mound, and in building of forts, to cut off souls. (18) Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when, behold, I engage his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall not escape. (19) Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; As I live, surely mine oath which he has profaned, and my covenant which he has transgressed, I will even recompense it upon his head. (20) And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare. (21) In every battle of his they shall fall by the sword, and I will scatter his remnant to every wind: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it. (22) For thus saith the Lord; I will even take of the choice branches of the cedar from the top thereof, I will crop off their hearts, and I will plant it on a high mountain: (23) and I will hang it on a lofty mountain of Israel: yea, I will plant it, and it shall put forth shoots, and shall bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar: and every bird shall rest beneath it, even every fowl shall rest under its shadow: its branches shall be restored. (24) And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord that bring low the high tree, and exalt the low tree, and wither the green tree, and cause the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.

18

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, what mean ye by this parable among the children of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten unripe grapes, and the children’s teeth have been set on edge? (3) As I live, saith the Lord, surely this parable shall no more be spoken in Israel. (4) For all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son, they are mine: the soul that sins, it shall die. (5) But the man who shall be just, who executes judgment and righteousness, (6) who shall not eat upon the mountains, and shall not at all lift up his eyes to the devices of the house of Israel, and shall not defile his neighbor’s wife, and shall not draw nigh to her that is removed, (7) and shall not oppress any man, but shall return the pledge of the debtor, and shall be guilty of no plunder, shall give his bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked; (8) and shall not lend his money upon usury, and shall not receive usurious increase, and shall turn back his hand from injustice, shall execute righteous judgment between a man and his neighbor, (9) and has walked in my commandments and kept mine ordinances, to do them; he is righteous, he shall surely live, saith the Lord. (10) And if he beget a mischievous son, shedding blood and committing sins, (11) who has not walked in the way of his righteous father, but has even eaten upon the mountains, and has defiled his neighbor’s wife, (12) and has oppressed the poor and needy, and has committed robbery, and not restored a pledge, and has set his eyes upon idols, has wrought iniquities, (13) has lent upon usury, and taken usurious increase; he shall by no means live: he has wrought all these iniquities; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. (14) And if he beget a son, and the son see all his father’s sins which he has wrought, and fear, and not do according to them, (15) and if he has not eaten on the mountains, and has not set his eyes on the devices of the house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, (16) and has not oppressed a man, and has not retained the pledge, nor committed robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has clothed the naked, (17) and has turned back his hand from unrighteousness, has not received interest or usurious increase, has wrought righteousness, and walked in mine ordinances; he shall not die for the iniquities of his father, he shall surely live. (18) But if his father grievously afflict, or plunder, he has wrought enmity in the midst of my people, and shall die in his iniquity. (19) But ye will say, Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father? Because the son has wrought judgment and mercy, has kept all my statues, and done them, he shall surely live. (20) But the soul that sins shall die: and the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the iniquity of the transgressor shall be upon him. (21) And if the transgressor turn away from all his iniquities which he has committed, and keep all my commandments, and do justice and mercy, he shall surely live, and shall by no means die. (22) None of his trespasses which he has committed shall be remembers: in his righteousness which he has done he shall live. (23) Shall I at all desire death of the sinner, saith the Lord, as I desire that he should turn from his evil way, and live? (24) But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, according to all the transgressions which the transgressor has wrought, none of his righteousness which he has wrought shall be at all remembered: in his trespass wherein he has trespassed, and in his sins wherein he has sinned, in them shall he die. (25) Yet ye have said, The way of the Lord is not straight. Hear now, all the house of Israel; will not my way be straight? Is your way straight? (26) When the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits a trespass, and dies in the trespass he has committed, he shall even die in it. (27) And when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and shall do judgment and justice, he has kept his soul, (28) and has turned away from all his ungodliness which he has committed: he shall surely live, he shall not die. (29) Yet the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not right. Is not my way right, O house of Israel? is not your way wrong? (30) I will judge you, O house of Israel, saith the Lord, each one according to his way: be converted, and turn from all your ungodliness, and it shall not become to you the punishment of iniquity. (31) Cast away from yourselves all your ungodliness wherein ye have sinned against me; and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: for why should ye die, O house of Israel? (32) For I desire not the death of him that dies, saith the Lord.

19

(1) Moreover do thou take up a lamentation for the prince of Israel, (2) and say, Why is thy mother become a whelp in the midst of lions? in the midst of lions she has multiplied her whelps. (3) And one of her whelps sprang forth; he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. (4) And the nations heard a report of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him into the land of Egypt in chains. (5) And she saw that he was driven away from her, and her hope of him perished, and she took another of her whelps; she made him a lion. (6) And he went up and down in the midst of lions, he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. (7) And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fullness of it, by the voice of his roaring. (8) Then the nations set upon him from the countries round about, and they spread their nets upon him: he was taken in their pit. (9) And they put him in chains and in a cage, and he came to the king of Babylon; and he cast him into prison, that his voice should not be heard on the mountains of Israel. (10) Thy mother was as a vine and as a blossom on a pomegranate tree, planted by water: her fruit and her shoot abounded by reason of much water. (11) And she became a rod for a tribe of princes, and was elevated in her bulk in the midst of other trees, and she saw her bulk in the multitude of her branches. (12) But she was broken down in wrath, she was cast upon the ground, and the east wind dried up her choice branches: vengeance came upon them, and the rod of her strength was withered; fire consumed it. (13) And now they have planted her in the wilderness, in a dry land. (14) And fire is gone out of a rod of her choice boughs, and has devoured her; and there was no rod of strength in her. Her race is become a parable of lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

20

(1) And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the fifteenth day of the month, there came men of the elders of the house of Israel to enquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. (2) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (3) Son of man, speak to the elders of the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, I will not be enquired of by you, saith the Lord. (4) Shall I utterly take vengeance on them, son of man? testify to them of the iniquities of their fathers: (5) and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; From the day that I chose the house of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was known to them in the land of Egypt, and helped them with my hand, saying, I am the Lord your God; (6) in that day I helped them with my hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is abundant beyond every land. (7) And I said to them, Let every one cast away the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the devices of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (8) But they revolted from me, and would not hearken to me: they cast not away the abominations of their eyes, and forsook not the devices of Egypt: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them, to accomplish my wrath upon them in the midst of Egypt. (9) But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they are, among whom I was made known to them in their sight, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. (10) And I brought them into the wilderness. (11) And I gave them my commandments, and made known to them mine ordinances, all which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them. (12) And I gave them my sabbaths, that they should be for a sign between me and them, that they should know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. (13) And I said to the house of Israel in the wilderness, Walk ye in my commandments: but they walked not in them, and they rejected mine ordinances, which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them; and they grievously profaned my sabbaths: and I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. (14) But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned before the Gentiles, before whose eyes I brought them out. (15) But I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness once for all, that I would not bring them into the land which I gave them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is sweeter than all lands: (16) because they rejected mine ordinances, and walked not in my commandments, but profaned my sabbaths, and went after the imaginations of their hearts. (17) Yet mine eyes spared them, so as not to destroy them utterly, and I did not make an end of them in the wilderness. (18) And I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk not ye in the customs of your fathers, and keep not their ordinances, and have no fellowship with their practices, nor defile yourselves with them. (19) I am the Lord your God; walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; (20) and hallow my sabbaths, and let them be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. (21) But they provoked me, and their children walked not in my commandments, and they took no heed to mine ordinances to do them, which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them, and they profaned my sabbaths: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish mine anger upon them. (22) But I wrought so that my name might not be at all profaned before the Gentiles; and I brought them out in their sight. (23) I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles, and disperse them in the countries; (24) because they kept not mine ordinances, and rejected my commandments, and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes went after the imaginations of their fathers. (25) So I gave them commandments that were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live. (26) And I will defile them by their own decrees, when I pass through upon every one that opens the womb, that I may destroy them. (27) Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord: Hitherto have your fathers provoked me in their trespasses in which they transgressed against me. (28) Whereas I brought them into the land concerning which I lifted up mine hand to give it them; and they looked upon every high hill, and every shady tree, and they sacrificed there to their gods, and offered there sweet-smelling savour, and there they poured out their drink-offerings. (29) And I said to them, What is Abama, that ye go in thither? and they called its name Abama, until this day. (30) Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Do ye pollute yourselves with the iniquities of your fathers, and do ye go a-whoring after their abominations, (31) and do ye pollute yourselves with the first-fruits of your gifts, in the offerings wherewith ye pollute yourselves in all your imaginations, until this day; and shall I answer you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord, I will not answer you, neither shall this thing come upon your spirit. (32) And it shall not be as ye say, We will be as the nations, and as the tribes of the earth, to worship stocks and stones. (33) Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath: (34) I will bring you out from the nations, and will take you out of the lands wherein ye were dispersed, with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath. (35) And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and will plead with you there face to face. (36) As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I judge you, saith the Lord. (37) And I will cause you to pass under my rod, and I will bring you in by number. (38) And I will separate from among you the ungodly and the revolters; for I will lead them forth out of their place of sojourning, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord, even the Lord. (39) And as to you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord, even the Lord; Put away each one his evil practices, and hereafter if ye hearken to me, then shall ye no more profane my holy name by your gifts and by devices. (40) For upon my holy mountain, on the high mountain, saith the Lord, even the Lord, there shall all the house of Israel serve me for ever: and there will I accept you, and there will I have respect to your first-fruits, and the first-fruits of your offerings, in all your holy things. (41) I will accept you with a sweet-smelling savour, when I bring you out from the nations, and take you out of the countries wherein ye have been dispersed; and I will be sanctified among you in the sight of the nations. (42) And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought you into the land of Israel, into the land concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers. (43) And ye shall there remember your ways, and your devices wherewith ye defiled yourselves; and ye shall bewail yourselves for all your wickedness. (44) And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have done thus to you, that my name may not be profaned in your evil ways, and in your corrupt devices, saith the Lord. (45) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (46) Son of man, set thy face against Thaeman, and look toward Darom, and prophesy against the chief forest of Nageb, (47) and thou shalt say to the forest of Nageb, Hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, even the Lord; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame that is kindled shall not be quenched, and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north. (48) And all flesh shall know that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. (49) And I said, Not so, O Lord God! they say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable?

21

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Therefore prophesy, son of man, set thy face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and look toward their holy places, and thou shalt prophesy against the land of Israel, (3) and thou shalt say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of thee the transgressor and unrighteous. (4) Because I will destroy out of thee the unrighteous and the transgressor, therefore so shall my sword come forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: (5) and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more. (6) And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight. (7) And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Wherefore dost thou groan? that thou shalt say, For the report; because it comes: and every heart shall break, and all hands shall become feeble, and all flesh and every spirit shall faint, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture: behold, it comes, saith the Lord. (8) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (9) Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage, (10) that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree. (11) And he made it ready for his hand to hold: the sword is sharpened, it is ready to put into the hand of the slayer. (12) Cry out and howl, son of man: for this sword is come upon my people, this sword is come upon all the princes of Israel: they shall be as strangers: judgment with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap thine hands, for sentence has been passed: (13) and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God. (14) And thou, son of man, prophesy, and clap thine hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is the sword of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and thou shalt strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint (15) and the weak ones be multiplied at every gate—they are given up to the slaughter of the sword: it is well fitted for slaughter, it is well fitted for glittering. (16) And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself. (17) And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken it. (18) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (19) and thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may enter in: the two shall go forth of one country; and there shall be a force at the top of the way of the city, thou shalt set it at the top of the way, (20) that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof. (21) For the king of Babylon shall stand on the old way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination, to make bright the arrow, and to enquire of the graven images, and to examine the victims. (22) On his right was the divination against Jerusalem, to cast a mound, to open the mouth in shouting, to lift up the voice with crying, to cast a mound against her gates, to cast up a heap, and to build forts. (23) And he was to them as one using divination before them, and he himself recounting his iniquities, that they might be borne in mind. (24) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because ye have caused your iniquities to be remembered, in the discovery of your wickedness, so that your sins should be seen, in all your wickedness and in your evil practices; because ye have caused remembrance of them, in these shall ye be taken. (25) And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, even an end, is come in a sea of iniquity, thus saith the Lord; (26) Thou hast taken off the mitre and put on the crown, it shall not have such another after it: thou hast abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low. (27) Injustice, injustice, injustice, will I make it: woe to it: such shall it be until he comes to whom it belongs; and I will deliver it to him. (28) And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that thou mayest gleam. (29) While thou art seeing vain visions, and while thou art prophesying falsehoods, to bring thyself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, even an end, in a season of iniquity. (30) Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee. (31) And I will pour out my wrath upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction. (32) Thou shalt be fuel for fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of thy land; there shall be no remembrance at all of thee: for I the Lord have spoken it. (33) (34) (35) (36) (37)

22

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, declare thou to her all her iniquities. (3) And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself; (4) in their blood which thou hast shed, thou hast transgressed; and in thy devices which thou hast formed, thou hast polluted thyself; and thou hast brought nigh thy days, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries, (5) to those near thee, and to those far distant from thee; and they shall mock thee, thou that art notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities. (6) Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in thee each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood. (7) In thee they have reviled father and mother; and in thee they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow. (8) And they have set at nought my holy things, and in thee they have profaned my sabbaths. (9) There are robbers in thee, to shed blood in thee; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of thee. (10) In thee they have uncovered the father’s shame; and in thee they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness. (11) They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor’s wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in thee they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father. (12) In thee they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in thee interest and usurious increase; and by oppression thou hast brought thy wickedness to the full, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord. (13) And if I shall smite my hand at thine iniquities which thou hast accomplished, which thou hast wrought, and at thy blood that has been shed in the midst of thee, (14) shall thy heart endure? shall thine hands be strong in the days which I bring upon thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do it. (15) And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and thy uncleanness shall be removed out of thee. (16) And I will give heritages in thee in the sight of the nations, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (17) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (18) Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are all become to me as it were mixed with brass, and iron, and tin, and lead; they are mixed up in the midst of the silver. (19) Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. (20) As silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, and lead, are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire into it, that they may be melted: so will I take you in my wrath, and I will gather and melt you. (21) And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. (22) As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you. (23) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (24) Son of man, say to her, Thou art the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon thee in the day of wrath; (25) whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and thy widows are multiplied in the midst of thee. (26) Her priests also have set at nought my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and profane, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them. (27) Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain. (28) And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken. (29) That sorely oppress the people of the land with injustice, and commit robbery; oppressing the poor and needy, and not dealing justly with the stranger. (30) And I sought from among them a man behaving uprightly, and standing before me perfectly in the time of wrath, so that I should not utterly destroy her: but I found him not. (31) So I have poured out my wrath upon her in the fury of mine anger, to accomplish it. I have recompensed their ways on their own heads, saith the Lord God.

23

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother: (3) and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth: there their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity. (4) And their names were Oola the elder, and Ooliba her sister: and they were mine, and bore sons and daughters: and as for their names, Samaria was Oola, and Jerusalem was Ooliba. (5) And Oola went a-whoring from me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that were her neighbors, (6) clothed with purple, princes and captains; they were young men and choice, all horseman riding on horses. (7) And she bestowed her fornication upon them; all were choice sons of the Assyrians: and on whomsoever she doted herself, with them she defiled herself in all their devices. (8) And she forsook not her fornication with the Egyptians: for in her youth they committed fornication with her, and they deflowered her, and poured out their fornication upon her. (9) Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the children of the Assyrians, on whom she doted. (10) They uncovered her shame: they took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became a byword among women: and they wrought vengeance in her for the sake of the daughters. (11) And her sister Ooliba saw it, and she indulged in her fondness more corruptly than she, and in her fornication more than the fornication of her sister. (12) She doted upon the sons of the Assyrian, princes and captains, her neighbours, clothed with fine linen, horsemen riding on horses; they were all choice young men. (13) And I saw that they were defiled, that the two had one way. (14) And she increased her fornication, and she saw men painted on the wall, likenesses of the Chaldeans painted with a pencil, (15) having variegated girdles on their loins, having also richly dyed attire upon their heads; all had a princely appearance, the likeness of the children of the Chaldeans, of their native land. (16) And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans. (17) And the sons of Babylon came to her, into the bed of rest, and they defiled her in her fornication, and she was defiled by them, and her soul was alienated from them. (18) And she exposed her fornication, and exposed her shame: and my soul was alienated from her, even as my soul was alienated from her sister. (19) And thou didst multiply thy fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of thy youth, wherein thou didst commit whoredom in Egypt, (20) and thou didst dote upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of the asses, and their members as the members of horses. (21) And thou didst look upon the iniquity of thy youth, the things which thou wroughtest in Egypt in thy lodgings, where were the breasts of thy youth. (22) Therefore, Ooliba, thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stir up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them upon thee round about, (23) the children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Phacuc, and Sue, and Hychue, and all the sons of the Assyrians with them; choice young men, governors and captains, all princes and renowned, riding on horses. (24) And they all shall come upon thee from the north, chariots and wheels, with a multitude of nations, shields and targets; and the enemy shall set a watch against thee round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall take vengeance on thee with their judgments. (25) And I will bring upon thee my jealousy, and they shall deal with thee in great wrath: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and shall cast down thy remnant with the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy remnant fire shall devour. (26) And they shall strip thee of thy raiment, and take away thine ornaments. (27) So I will turn back thine ungodliness from thee, and thy fornication from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thine eyes upon them, and shalt no more remember Egypt. (28) Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of those whom thou hatest, from whom thy soul is alienated. (29) And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take all the fruits of thy labours and thy toils, and thou shalt be naked and bare: and the shame of thy fornication shall be exposed: and thy ungodliness and thy fornication (30) brought this upon thee, in that thou wentest a-whoring after the nations, and didst defile thyself with their devices. (31) Thou didst walk in the way of thy sister; and I will put her cup into thine hands. (32) Thus saith the Lord; Drink thy sister’s cup, deep and large, and full, to cause complete drunkenness. (33) And thou shalt be thoroughly weakened; and the cup of destruction, the cup of thy sister Samaria, (34) drink thou it, and I will take away her feasts and her new moons: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord. (35) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Because thou has forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore receive thou the reward of thine ungodliness and thy fornication. (36) And the Lord said to me, Son of man, wilt thou not judge Oola and Ooliba? and declare to them their iniquities? (37) For they have committed adultery, and blood was in their hands, they committed adultery with their devices, and they passed through the fire to them their children which they bore to me. (38) So long too as they did these things to me, they defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my sabbaths. (39) And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, they also went into my sanctuary to profane it: and whereas they did thus in the midst of my house; (40) and whereas they did thus to the men that came from afar, to whom they sent messengers, and as soon as they came, immediately thou didst wash thyself, and didst paint thine eyes and adorn thyself with ornaments, (41) and satest on a prepared bed, and before it there was a table set out, and as for mine incense and mine oil, they rejoiced in them, (42) and they raised a sound of music, and that with men coming from the wilderness out of a multitude of men, and they put bracelets on their hands, and a crown of glory on their heads; (43) Therefore I said, Do they not commit adultery with these? and has she also gone a-whoring after the manner of a harlot? (44) And they went in to her, as men go in to a harlot; so they went in to Oola and to Ooliba to work iniquity. (45) And they are just men, and shall take vengeance on them with the judgment of an adulteress and the judgment of blood: for they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. (46) Thus saith the Lord God, Bring up a multitude upon them, and send trouble and plunder into the midst of them. (47) And stone them with the stones of a multitude, and pierce them with their swords: they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and shall burn up their houses. (48) And I will remove ungodliness out of the land, and all the women shall be instructed, and shall not do according to their ungodliness. (49) And your ungodliness shall be recompensed upon you, and ye shall bear the guilt of your devices: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

24

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying, (2) Son of man, write for thyself daily from this day, on which the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem, even from this day. (3) And speak a parable to the provoking house, and thou shalt say to them, (4) and put the pieces into it, every prime piece, the leg and shoulder taken off from the bones, (5) which are taken from choice cattle, and burn the bones under them: her bones are boiled and cooked in the midst of her. (6) Therefore thus saith the Lord; O bloody city, the caldron in which there is scum, and the scum has not gone out of, she has brought it forth piece by piece, no lot has fallen upon it. (7) For her blood is in the midst of her; I have set it upon a smooth rock: I have not poured it out upon the earth, so that the earth should cover it; (8) that my wrath should come up for complete vengeance to be taken: I set her blood upon a smooth rock, so as not to cover it. (9) Therefore thus saith the Lord, I will also make the firebrand great, (10) and I will multiply the wood, and kindle the fire, that the flesh may be consumed, and the liquor boiled away; (11) and that it may stand upon the coals, that her brass may be thoroughly heated, and be melted in the midst of her filthiness, and her scum may be consumed, (12) and her abundant scum may not come forth of her. (13) Her scum shall become shameful, because thou didst defile thyself: and what if thou shalt be purged no more until I have accomplished my wrath? (14) I the Lord have spoken; and it shall come, and I will do it; I will not delay, neither will I have any mercy: I will judge thee, saith the Lord, according to thy ways, and according to thy devices: therefore will I judge thee according to thy bloodshed, and according to thy devices will I judge thee, thou unclean, notorious, and abundantly provoking one. (15) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (16) Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thine eyes by violence: thou shalt not lament, neither shalt thou weep. (17) Thou shalt groan for blood, and have mourning upon thy loins; thy hair shall not be braided upon thee, and thy sandals shall be on thy feet; thou shalt in no wise be comforted by their lips, and thou shalt not eat the bread of men. (18) And I spoke to the people in the morning, as he commanded me in the evening, and I did in the morning as it was commanded me. (19) And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are that thou doest? (20) Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, (21) Say to the house of Israel, (22) And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not be comforted at their mouth, and ye shall not eat the bread of men. (23) And your hair shall be upon your head, and your shoes on your feet: neither shall ye at all lament or weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and shall comfort every one his brother. (24) And Jezekiel shall be for a sign to you: according to all that I have done shall ye do, when these things shall come; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (25) And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take their strength from them, the pride of their boasting, the desires of their eyes, and the pride of their soul, their sons and their daughters, (26) that in that day he that escapes shall come to thee, to tell it thee in thine ears? (27) In that day thy mouth shall be opened to him that escapes; thou shalt speak, and shalt be no longer dumb: and thou shalt be for a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

25

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face steadfastly against the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them; (3) and thou shalt say to the children of Ammon, (4) therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of Kedem for an inheritance, and they shall lodge in thee with their stuff, and they shall pitch their tents in thee: they shall eat thy fruits, and they shall drink thy milk. (5) And I will give up the city of Ammon for camels’ pastures, and the children of Ammon for a pasture of sheep: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (6) For thus saith the Lord; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy foot, and heartily rejoiced against the land of Israel; (7) therefore I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a spoil to the nations; and I will utterly destroy thee from among the peoples, and I will completely cut thee off from out of the countries: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. (8) Thus saith the Lord; Because Moab has said, Behold, are not the house of Israel and Juda like all the other nations? (9) Therefore, behold, I will weaken the shoulder of Moab from his frontier cities, even the choice land, the house of Bethasimuth above the fountain of the city, by the sea-side. (10) I have given him the children of Kedem in addition to the children of Ammon for an inheritance, that there may be no remembrance of the children of Ammon. (11) And I will execute vengeance on Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (12) Thus saith the Lord; Because of what the Idumeans have done in taking vengeance on the house of Juda, and because they have remembered injuries, and have exacted full recompense; (13) therefore thus saith the Lord; I will also stretch out my hand upon Idumea, and will utterly destroy out of it man and beast; and will make it desolate; and they that are pursued out of Thaeman shall fall by the sword. (14) And I will execute my vengeance on Idumea by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall deal in Idumea according to mine anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord. (15) Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because the Philistines have wrought revengefully, and raised up vengeance rejoicing from their heart to destroy the Israelites to a man; (16) therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and will utterly destroy the Cretans, and will cut off the remnant that dwell by the sea-coast. (17) And I will execute great vengeance upon them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought my vengeance upon them.

26

(1) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, because Sor has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is crushed: the nations are destroyed: she is turned to me: she that was full is made desolate: (3) therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Sor, and I will bring up many nations against thee, as the sea comes up with its waves. (4) And they shall cast down the walls of Sor, and shall cast down thy towers: and I will scrape her dust from off her, and make her a bare rock. (5) She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for repairing nets: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord: and it shall be a spoil for the nations. (6) And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain with the sword, and they shall know that I am the Lord. (7) For thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring up against thee, O Sor, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon from the north: he is a king of kings, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and a concourse of very many nations. (8) He shall slay thy daughters that are in the field with the sword, and shall set a watch against thee, and build forts around thee, and carry a rampart round against thee, and set up warlike works, and array his spears against thee. (9) He shall cast down with his swords thy walls and thy towers. (10) By reason of thy multitude of his horses their dust shall cover thee, and by reason of the sound of his horsemen and the wheels of his chariots the walls shall be shaken, when he enters into thy gates, as one entering into a city from the plain. (11) With the hoofs of his horses they shall trample all thy streets: he shall slay thy people with the sword, and shall bring down to the ground the support of thy strength. (12) And he shall prey upon thy power, and plunder thy substance, and shall cast down thy walls, and break down thy pleasant houses: and he shall cast thy stones and thy timber and thy dust into the midst of thy sea. (13) And he shall destroy the multitude of thy musicians, and the sound of thy psalteries shall be heard no more. (14) And I will make thee a bare rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord. (15) For thus saith the Lord God to Sor; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, while the wounded are groaning, while they have drawn a sword in the midst of thee? (16) And all the princes of the nations of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and shall take off their crowns from their heads, and shall take off their embroidered raiment: they shall be utterly amazed; they shall sit upon the ground, and fear their own destruction, and shall groan over thee. (17) And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and shall say to thee, How art thou destroyed from out of the sea, the renowned city, that brought her terror upon all her inhabitants. (18) And the isles shall be alarmed at the day of thy fall. (19) For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make the city desolate, as the cities that shall not be inhabited, when I have brought the deep up upon thee, (20) and great waters shall cover thee; and I shall bring thee down to them that go down to the pit, to the people of old time, and shall cause thee to dwell in the depths of the earth, as in everlasting desolation, with them that go down to the pit, that thou mayest not be inhabited, nor stand upon the land of life; (21) I will make thee a destruction, and thou shalt be no more for ever, saith the Lord God.

27

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me saying, (2) And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation against Sor; (3) and thou shalt say to Sor that dwells at the entrance of the sea, to the mart of the nations coming from many islands, Thus saith the Lord to Sor; (4) In the heart of the sea thy sons have put beauty upon thee for Beelim. (5) Cedar in Senir was employed for thee in building: boards of cypress timber were taken out of Libanus, and wood to make thee masts of fir. (6) They made thine oars of wood out of the land of Basan; thy sacred utensils they made of ivory, thy shady houses of wood from the isles of Chetiim. (7) Fine linen with embroidery from Egypt supplied the couch, to put honour upon thee, and to clothe thee with blue and purple from the isles of Elisai; and they became thy coverings. (8) And thy princes were the dwellers in Sidon, and the Aradians were thy rowers: thy wise men, O Sor, who were in thee, these were thy pilots. (9) The elders of the Biblians, and their wise men, who were in thee, these helped thy counsel: and all the ships of the sea and their rowers traded for thee to the utmost west. (10) Persians and Lydians and Libyans were in thine army: thy warriors hung in thee shields and helmets; these gave thee thy glory. (11) The sons of the Aradians and thine army were upon the walls; there were guards in thy towers: they hung their quivers on thy battlements round about; these completed thy beauty. (12) The Carthaginians were thy merchants because of the abundance of all thy strength; they furnished thy market with silver, and gold, and iron, and tin, and lead. (13) Greece, both the whole world, and the adjacent coasts, these traded with thee in the persons of men, and they gave as thy merchandise vessels of brass. (14) Out of the house of Thogarma horses and horsemen furnished the market. (15) The sons of the Rhodians were thy merchants; from the islands they multiplied thy merchandise, even elephants’ teeth: and to them that came in thou didst return thy prices, (16) even men as thy merchandise, from the multitude of thy trading population, myrrh and embroidered works from Tharsis: Ramoth also and Chorchor furnished thy market. (17) Juda and the children of Israel, these were thy merchants; in the sale of corn and ointments and cassia: and they gave the best honey, and oil, and resin, to thy trading population. (18) The people of Damascus were thy merchants by reason of the abundance of all thy power; wine out of Chelbon, and wool from Miletus; and they brought wine into thy market. (19) Out of Asel came wrought iron, and there is the sound of wheels among thy trading population. (20) The people of Daedan were thy merchants, with choice cattle for chariots. (21) Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, these were thy traders with thee, bringing camels, and lambs, and rams, in which they trade with thee. (22) The merchants of Sabba and Ramma, these were thy merchants, with choice spices, and precious stones: and they brought gold to thy market. (23) Charra, and Chanaa, these were thy merchants: Assur, and Charman, were thy merchants: (24) bringing for merchandise blue, and choice stores bound with cords, and cypress wood. (25) Ships were thy merchants, in abundance, with thy trading population: and thou wast filled and very heavily loaded in the heart of the sea. (26) Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the south wind has broken thee in the heart of the sea. (27) Thy forces, and thy gain, and that of thy traders, and thy rowers, and thy pilots, and thy counselors, and they that traffic with thee, and all thy warriors that are in thee: and all thy company in the midst of thee shall perish in the heart of the sea, in the day of thy fall. (28) At the cry of thy voice thy pilots shall be greatly terrified. (29) And all the rowers and the mariners shall come down from the ships, and the pilots of the sea shall stand on the land. (30) And they shall wail over thee with their voice, and cry bitterly, and put earth on their heads, and spread ashes under them. (31) (32) And their sons shall take up a lament for thee, even a lamentation for Sor, saying, (33) How large a reward hast thou gained from the sea? thou hast filled nations out of thine abundance; and out of thy mixed merchandise thou hast enriched all the kings of the earth. (34) Now art thou broken in the sea, thy traders are in the deep water, and all thy company in the midst of thee: all thy rowers have fallen. (35) All the dwellers in the islands have mourned over thee, and their kings have been utterly amazed, and their countenance has wept. (36) Merchants from the nations have hissed at thee; thou art utterly destroyed, and shalt not be any more for ever.

28

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) And thou, son of man, say to the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord; Because thine heart has been exalted, and thou hast said, I am God, I have inhabited the dwelling of God in the heart of the sea; yet thou art man and not God, though thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God: (3) art thou wiser than Daniel? or have not the wise instructed thee with their knowledge? (4) Hast thou gained power for thyself by thine own knowledge or thine own prudence, and gotten gold and silver in thy treasures? (5) By thy abundant knowledge and thy traffic thou hast multiplied thy power; thy heart has been lifted up by thy power. (6) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since thou hast set thine heart as the hart of God; (7) because of this, behold, I will bring on thee strange plagues from the nations; and they shall draw their swords against thee, and against the beauty of thy knowledge, (8) and they shall bring down thy beauty to destruction. And they shall bring thee down; and thou shalt die the death of the slain in the heart of the sea. (9) Wilt thou indeed say, I am God, before them that slay thee? whereas thou art man, and not God. (10) Thou shalt perish by the hands of strangers among the multitude of the uncircumcised: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord. (11) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (12) Son of man, take up a lamentation for the prince of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou art a seal of resemblance, and crown of beauty. (13) Thou wast in the delight of the paradise of God; thou hast bound upon thee every precious stone, the sardius, and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle, and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure, and agate, and amethyst, and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx: and thou hast filled thy treasures and thy stores in thee with gold. (14) From the day that thou wast created thou wast with the cherub: I set thee on the holy mount of God; thou wast in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) Thou wast faultless in thy days, from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee. (16) Of the abundance of thy merchandise thou hast filled thy storehouses with iniquity, and hast sinned: therefore thou hast been cast down wounded from the mount of God, and the cherub has brought thee out of the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Thy heart has been lifted up because of thy beauty; thy knowledge has been corrupted with thy beauty: because of the multitude of thy sins I have cast thee to the ground, I have caused thee to be put to open shame before kings. (18) Because of the multitude of thy sins and the iniquities of thy merchandise, I have profaned thy sacred things; and I will bring fire out of the midst of thee, this shall devour thee; and I will make thee to be ashes upon thy land before all that see thee. (19) And all that know thee among the nations shall groan over thee: thou art gone to destruction, and thou shalt not exist any more. (20) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (21) Son of man, set thy face against Sidon, and prophesy against it, (22) and say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought judgments in thee, and I will be sanctified in thee. (23) Blood and death shall be in thy streets; and men wounded with swords shall fall in thee and on every side of thee; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (24) And there shall no more be in the house of Israel a thorn of bitterness and a pricking briar proceeding from them that are round about them, who dishonoured them; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (25) Thus saith the Lord God; I will also gather Israel from the nations, among whom they have been scattered, and I will be sanctified among them, and before the peoples and nations: and they shall dwell upon their land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. (26) Yea, they shall dwell upon it safely, and they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and dwell securely, when I shall execute judgment on all that have dishonoured them, even on those that are round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and the God of their fathers.

29

(1) In the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face against Pharao king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against the whole of Egypt: (3) and say, (4) And I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy river to stick to thy sides, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy river: (5) and I will quickly cast down thee and all the fish of thy river: thou shalt fall on the face of the plain, and shalt by no means be gathered, and shalt not be brought together: I have given thee for food to the wild beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the sky. (6) And all the dwellers in Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because thou hast been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. (7) When they took hold of thee with their hand, thou didst break: and when every hand was clapped against them, and when they leaned on thee, thou wast utterly broken, and didst crush the loins of them all. (8) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast; (9) and the land of Egypt shall be ruined and desert; and they shall know that I am the Lord; because thou sayest, The rivers are mine, and I made them. (10) Therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against all thy rivers, and I will give up the land of Egypt to desolation, and the sword, and destruction, from Magdol and Syene even to the borders of the Ethiopians. (11) No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited for forty years. (12) And I will cause her land to be utterly destroyed in the midst of a land that is desolate, and her cities shall be desolate forty years in the midst of cities that are desolate: and I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will utterly scatter them into the countries. (13) Thus saith the Lord; After forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they have been scattered; (14) and I will turn the captivity of the Egyptians, and will cause them to dwell in the land of Phathore, in the land whence they were taken; (15) and it shall be a base kingdom beyond all other kingdoms; it shall not any more be exalted over the nations; and I will make them few in number, that they may not be great among the nations. (16) And they shall no more be to the house of Israel a confidence bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they follow after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (17) And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (18) Son of man, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was bald, and every shoulder peeled; yet there was no reward to him or to his army serving against Tyre, nor for the service wherewith they served against it. (19) Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he shall take the plunder thereof, and seize the spoils thereof; and it shall be a reward for his army. (20) In return for his service wherewith he served against Tyre, I have given him the land of Egypt; thus saith the Lord God: (21) In that day shall a horn spring forth for all the house of Israel, and I will give thee an open mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

30

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Woe, woe worth the day! (3) For the day of the Lord is nigh, a day of cloud; it shall be the end of the nations. (4) And the sword shall come upon the Egyptians, and there shall be tumult in Ethiopia, and in Egypt men shall fall down slain together, and her foundations shall fall. (5) Persians, and Cretans, and Lydians, and Libyans, and all the mixed multitude, and they of the children of my covenant, shall fall by the sword therein. (6) And the supports of Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her strength shall come down from Magdol to Syene: they shall fall by the sword in it, saith the Lord. (7) And it shall be made desolate in the midst of desolate countries, and their cities shall be desolate in the midst of desolate cities: (8) and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall send fire upon Egypt, and when all that help her shall be broken. (9) In that day shall messengers go forth hasting to destroy Ethiopia utterly, and there shall be tumult among them in the day of Egypt: for, behold it comes. (10) Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the multitude of the Egyptians by the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, (11) his hand and his people’s; they are plagues sent forth from the nations to destroy the land: and they all shall unsheath their swords against Egypt, and the land shall be filled with slain. (12) And I will make their rivers desolate, and will destroy the land and the fulness of it by the hands of strangers: I the Lord have spoken. (13) For thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the nobles from Memphis, and the princes of Memphis out of the land of Egypt; and they shall be no more. (14) And I will destroy the land of Phathore, and will send fire upon Tanis, and will execute vengeance on Diospolis. (15) And I will pour out my wrath upon Sais the strength of Egypt, and will destroy the multitude of Memphis. (16) And I will send fire upon Egypt; and Syene shall be sorely troubled; and there shall be a breaking in Diospolis, and waters shall be poured out. (17) The youths of Heliopolis and Bubastum shall fall by the sword, and the women shall go into captivity. (18) And the day shall be darkened in Taphnae, when I have broken there the scepters of Egypt: and the pride of her strength shall perish there: and a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be taken prisoners. (19) And I will execute judgment on Egypt; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (20) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (21) Son of man, I have broken the arms of Pharao, king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up to be healed, to have a plaster put upon it, or to be strengthened to lay hold of the sword. (22) Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against Pharao king of Egypt, and I will break his strong and outstretched arms, and will smite down his sword out of his hand. (23) And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations, and will utterly scatter them among the countries. (24) And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword into his hand: and he shall bring it upon Egypt, and shall take her plunder and seize her spoils. (25) Yea, I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharao shall fail: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have put my sword into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out over the land of Egypt. (26) And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations, and utterly scatter them among the countries; and they all shall know that I am the Lord.

31

(1) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, say to Pharao king of Egypt, and to his multitude; (3) Behold, the Assyrian was a cypress in Libanus, and was fair in shoots, and high in stature: his top reached to the midst of the clouds. (4) The water nourished him, the depth made him grow tall; she led her rivers round about his plants, and she sent forth her streams to all the trees of the field. (5) Therefore was his stature exalted above all the trees of the field, and his branches spread far by the help of much water. (6) All the birds of the sky made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches all the wild beasts of the field bred; the whole multitude of nations dwelt under his shadow. (7) And he was fair in his height by reason of the multitude of his branches: for his roots were amidst much water. (8) And such cypresses as this were in the paradise of God; and there were no pines like his shoots, and there were no firs like his branches: no tree in the paradise of God was like him in his beauty, (9) because of the multitude of his branches: and the trees of God’s paradise of delight envied him. (10) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Because thou art grown great, and hast set thy top in the midst of the clouds, and I saw when he was exalted; (11) therefore I delivered him into the hands of the prince of the nations, and he wrought his destruction. (12) And ravaging strangers from the nations have destroyed him, and have cast him down upon the mountains: his branches fell in all the valleys, and his boughs were broken in every field of the land; and all the people of the nations are gone down from their shelter, and have laid him low. (13) All the birds of the sky have settled on his fallen trunk, and all the wild beasts of the field came upon his boughs: (14) in order that none of the trees by the water should exalt themselves by reason of their size: whereas they set their top in the midst of the clouds, yet they continued not in their high state in their place, all that drank water, all were consigned to death, to the depth of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. (15) Thus saith the Lord God; In the day wherein he went down to Hades, the deep mourned for him: and I stayed her floods, and restrained her abundance of water: and Libanus saddened for him, all the trees of the field fainted for him. (16) At the sound of his fall the nations quaked, when I brought him down to Hades with them that go down to the pit: and all the trees of Delight comforted him in the heart, and the choice of plants of Libanus, all that drink water. (17) For they went down to hell with him among the slain with the sword; and his seed, even they that dwelt under his shadow, perished in the midst of their life. (18) To whom art thou compared? descend, and be thou debased with the trees of paradise to the depth of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword. Thus shall Pharao be, and the multitude of his host, saith the Lord God.

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(1) And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharao king of Egypt, and say to him, (3) Thus saith the Lord; I will also cast over thee the nets of many nations, and will bring thee up with my hook: (4) and I will stretch thee upon the earth: the fields shall be covered with thee, and I will cause all the birds of the sky to settle upon thee, and I will fill with thee all the wild beasts of the earth. (5) And I will cast thy flesh upon the mountains, and will saturate them with thy blood. (6) And the land shall be drenched with thy dung, because of thy multitude upon the mountains: I will fill the valleys with thee. (7) And I will veil the heavens when thou art extinguished, and will darken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. (8) All the bodies that give light in the sky, shall be darkened over thee, and I will bring darkness upon the earth, saith the Lord God. (9) And I will provoke to anger the heart of many people, when I shall lead thee captive among the nations, to a land which thou hast not known. (10) And many nations shall mourn over thee, and their kings shall be utterly amazed, when my sword flies in their faces, as they wait for their own fall from the day of thy fall. (11) For thus saith the Lord God; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee, (12) with the swords of mighty men; and I will cast down thy strength: they are all destroying ones from the nations, and they shall destroy the pride of Egypt, and all her strength shall be crushed. (13) And I will destroy all her cattle from beside the great water; and the foot of man shall not trouble it any more, and the step of cattle shall no more trample it. (14) Thus shall their waters then be at rest, and their rivers shall flow like oil, saith the Lord, (15) when I shall give up Egypt to destruction, and the land shall be made desolate with the fullness thereof; when I shall scatter all that dwell in it, and they shall know that I am the Lord. (16) There is a lamentation, and thou shalt utter it; and the daughters of the nations shall utter it, even for Egypt, and they shall mourn for it over all the strength thereof, saith the Lord God. (17) And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (18) Son of man, lament over the strength of Egypt, for the nations shall bring down her daughters dead to the depth of the earth, to them that go down to the pit. (19) (20) They shall fall with him in the midst of them that are slain with the sword, and all his strength shall perish: the giants also shall say to thee, (21) Be thou in the depth of the pit: to whom art thou superior? yea, go down, and lie with the uncircumcised, in the midst of them that are slain with the sword. (22) There are Assur and all his company: all his slain have been laid there: (23) and their burial is in the depth of the pit, and his company are set around about his tomb: all the slain that fell by the sword, who had caused the fear of them to be upon the land of the living. (24) There is Ælam and all his host round about his tomb: all the slain that fell by the sword, and the uncircumcised that go down to the deep of the earth, who caused their fear to be upon the land of the living: and they have received their punishment with them that go down to the pit, (25) in the midst of the slain. (26) There were laid Mosoch, and Thobel, and all his strength round about his tomb: all his slain men, all the uncircumcised, slain with the sword, who caused their fear to be in the land of the living. (27) And they are laid with the giants that fell of old, who went down to Hades with their weapons of war: and they laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities were upon their bones, because they terrified all men during their life. (28) And thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that have been slain by the sword. (29) There are laid the princes of Assur, who yielded their strength to a wound of the sword: these are laid with the slain, with them that go down to the pit. (30) There are the princes of the north, even all the captains of Assur, who go down slain to Hades: they lie uncircumcised among the slain with the sword together with their terror and their strength, and they have received their punishment with them that go down to the pit. (31) King Pharao shall see them, and shall be comforted over all their force, saith the Lord God. (32) For I have caused his fear to be upon the land of the living yet he shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharao, and all his multitude with him, saith the Lord God.

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(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and thou shalt say to them, (3) and he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and sound an alarm to the people; (4) and he that hears the sound of the trumpet shall hear indeed, and yet not take heed, and the sword shall come upon him, and overtake him, his blood shall be upon his own head. (5) Because he heard the sound of the trumpet, and took no heed, his blood shall be upon him: but the other, because he took heed, has delivered his soul. (6) But if the watchman see the sword coming, and do not sound the trumpet, and the people do not watch; and the sword come, and take a soul from among them, that soul is taken because of its iniquity; but the blood thereof will I require at the watchman’s hand. (7) And thou, son of man, I have set thee as a watchman to the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear a word from my mouth. (8) When I say to the sinner, Thou shalt surely die; if thou speak not to warn the wicked from his way, the wicked himself shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (9) But if thou forewarn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way, he shall die in his ungodliness; but thou hast delivered thine own soul. (10) And thou, son of man, say to the house of Israel; Thus have ye spoken, saying, Our errors, and our iniquities weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, and how then shall we live? (11) Say to them, Thus saith the Lord; As I live, I desire not the death of the ungodly, as that the ungodly should turn from his way and live: turn ye heartily from your way; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (12) Say to the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him, in the day wherein he errs: and the iniquity of the ungodly shall not harm him, in the day wherein he turns from his iniquity, but the righteous erring shall not be able to deliver himself. (13) When I say to the righteous, Thou shalt live; and he trusts in his righteousness, and shall commit iniquity, none of his righteousnesses shall be remembered; in his unrighteousness which he has wrought, in it shall he die. (14) And when I say to the ungodly, Thou shalt surely die; and he shall turn from his sin, and do judgment and justice, (15) and return the pledge, and repay that which he has robbed, and walk in the ordinances of life, so as to do no wrong; he shall surely live, and shall not die. (16) None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered: because he has wrought judgment and righteousness; by them shall he live. (17) Yet the children of thy people will say, The way of the Lord is not straight: whereas this their way is not straight. (18) When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and shall commit iniquities, then shall he die in them. (19) And when the sinner turns from his iniquity, and shall do judgment and righteousness, he shall live by them. (20) And this is that which ye said, The way of the Lord is not straight. I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one for his ways. (21) And it came to pass in the tenth year of our captivity, in the twelfth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped from Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is taken. (22) Now the hand of the Lord had come upon me in the evening, before he came; and he opened my mouth, when he came to me in the morning: and my mouth was open, it was no longer kept closed. (23) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (24) Son of man, they that inhabit the desolate places on the land of Israel say, Abram was one, and he possessed the land: and we are more numerous; to us the land is given for a possession. (25) (26) (27) Therefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, As I live, surely they that are in the desolate places shall fall by swords and they that are in the open plain shall be given for food to the wild beasts of the field, and them that are in the fortified cities and them that are in the caves I will slay with pestilence. (28) And I will make the land desert, and the pride of her strength shall perish; and the mountains of Israel shall be made desolate by reason of no man passing through. (29) And they shall know that I am the Lord; and I will make their land desert, and it shall be made desolate because of all their abominations which they have wrought. (30) And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people are they that speak concerning thee by the walls, and in the porches of the houses, and they talk one to another, saying, Let us come together, and let us hear the words that proceed from the Lord. (31) They approach thee as a people comes together, and sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for there is falsehood in their mouth, and their heart goes after their pollutions. (32) And thou art to them as a sound of a sweet, well-tuned psaltery, and they will hear thy words, but they will not do them. (33) But whenever it shall come to pass, they will say, Behold, it is come: and they shall know that there was a prophet in the midst of them.

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(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds, (3) Behold, ye feed on the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool, and slay the fat: but ye feed not my sheep. (4) The weak one ye have not strengthened, and the sick ye have not cherished, and the bruised ye have not bound up, and the stray one ye have not turned back, and the lost ye have not sought; and the strong ye have wearied with labour. (5) And my sheep were scattered, because there were no shepherds: and they became meat to all the wild beasts of the field. (6) And my sheep were scattered on every mountain, and on every high hill: yea, they were scattered on the face of the earth, and there was none to seek them out, nor to bring them back. (7) Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. (8) As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the wild beasts of the field, because there were no shepherds, and the shepherds sought not out my sheep, and the shepherds fed themselves, but fed not my sheep. (9) For this cause, O shepherds, (10) thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hands, and will turn them back that they shall not feed my sheep, and the shepherds shall no longer feed them; and I will deliver my sheep out of their mouth, and they shall no longer be meat for them. (11) For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will seek out my sheep, and will visit them. (12) As the shepherd seeks his flock, in the day when there is darkness and cloud, in the midst of the sheep that are separated: so will I seek out my sheep, and will bring them back from every place where they were scattered in the day of cloud and darkness. (13) And I will bring them out from the Gentiles, and will gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land, and will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and in the valleys, and in every inhabited place of the land. (14) I will feed them in a good pasture, on a high mountain of Israel: and their folds shall be there, and they shall lie down, and there shall they rest in perfect prosperity, and they shall feed in a fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. (15) I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to rest; and they shall know that I am the Lord: thus saith the Lord God. (16) I will seek that which is lost, and I will recover the stray one, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the fainting, and will guard the strong, and will feed them with judgment. (17) And as for you, ye sheep, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will distinguish between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats. (18) And is it not enough for you that ye fed on the good pasture, that ye trampled with your feet the remnant of your pasture? and that ye drank the standing water, that ye disturbed the residue with your feet? (19) So my sheep fed on that which ye had trampled with your feet; and they drank the water that had been disturbed by your feet. (20) Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will separate between the strong sheep and the weak sheep. (21) Ye did thrust with your sides and shoulders, and pushed with your horns, and ye cruelly treated all the sick. (22) Therefore I will save my sheep, and they shall not be any more for a prey; and will judge between ram and ram. (23) And I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall tend them, even my servant David, and he shall be their shepherd; (24) and I the Lord will be to them a God, and David a prince in the midst of them; I the Lord have spoken it. (25) And I will make with David a covenant of peace and I will utterly destroy evil beasts from off the land; and they shall dwell in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests. (26) And I will settle them round about my mountain; and I will give you the rain, the rain of blessing. (27) And the trees that are in the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her strength, and they shall dwell in the confidence of peace on their land, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken their yoke; and I will deliver them out of the hand of those that enslaved them. (28) And they shall no more be a spoil to the nations, and the wild beasts of the land shall no more at all devour them; and they shall dwell safely, and there shall be none to make them afraid. (29) And I will raise up for them a plant of peace, and they shall no more perish with hunger upon the land, and they shall no more bear the reproach of the nations. (30) And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and they my people. O house of Israel, saith the Lord God, (31) ye are my sheep, even the sheep of my flock, and I am the Lord your God, saith the Lord God.

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(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, (3) and say to it, (4) And I will cause desolation in thy cities, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. (5) Because thou hast been a perpetual enemy, and hast laid wait craftily for the house of Israel, with the hand of enemies with a sword, in the time of injustice, at the last: (6) Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, verily thou hast sinned even to blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee. (7) And I will make mount Seir a waste, and desolate, and I will destroy from off it men and cattle: (8) and I will fill thy hills and thy valleys with slain men, and in all thy plains there shall fall in thee men slain with the sword. (9) I will make thee a perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not be inhabited any more: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. (10) Because thou saidst, The two nations and the two countries shall be mine, and I shall inherit them; whereas the Lord is there: (11) therefore, as I live, saith the Lord, I will even deal with thee according to thine enmity, and I will be made known to thee when I shall judge thee: (12) and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. I have heard the voice of thy blasphemies, whereas thou hast said, The desert mountains of Israel are given to us for food; (13) and thou hast spoken swelling words against me with thy mouth: I have heard them. (14) Thus saith the Lord; When all the earth is rejoicing, I will make thee desert. (15) Thou shalt be desert, O mount Seir, and all Idumea; and it shall be utterly consumed: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord their God.

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(1) And thou, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say to the mountains of Israel, Hear ye the word of the Lord: (2) Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy has said against you, Aha, the old waste places are become a possession for us: (3) therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have been dishonoured, and hated by those round about you, that ye might be a possession to the remainder of the nations, and ye became a by-word, and a reproach to the nations: (4) therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the streams, and to the valleys, and to the places that have been made desolate and destroyed, and to the cities that have been deserted, and have become a spoil and a trampling to the nations that were left round about; (5) therefore, thus saith the Lord; Verily in the fire of my wrath have I spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Idumea, because they have appropriated my land to themselves for a possession with joy, disregarding the lives of the inhabitants, to destroy it by plunder: (6) therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the valleys, and to the forests, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because ye have borne the reproaches of the heathen: (7) therefore I will lift up my hand against the nations that are round about you; they shall bear their reproach. (8) But your grapes and your fruits, O mountains of Israel, shall my people eat; for they are hoping to come. (9) For, behold, I am toward you, and I will have respect to you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: (10) and I will multiply men upon you, even all the house of Israel to the end: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the desolate land shall be built upon. (11) And I will multiply men and cattle upon you; and I will cause you to dwell as at the beginning, and will treat you well, as in your former times: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (12) And I will increase men upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and ye shall be to them for a possession; and ye shall no more be bereaved of them. (13) Thus saith the Lord God: Because they said to thee, Thou land devourest men, and hast been bereaved of thy nation; (14) therefore thou shalt no more devour men, and thou shalt no more bereave thy nation, saith the Lord God. (15) And there shall no more be heard against you the reproach of the nations, and ye shall no more bear the revilings of the peoples, saith the Lord God. (16) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (17) Son of man, the house of Israel dwelt upon their land, and defiled it by their way, and with their idols, and with their uncleannesses; and their way was before me like the uncleanness of a removed woman. (18) So I poured out my wrath upon them: (19) and I dispersed them among the nations, and utterly scattered them through the countries: I judged them according to their way and according to their sin. (20) And they went in among the nations, among which they went, and they profaned my holy name, while it was said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and they came forth out of his land. (21) But I spared them for the sake of my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations, among whom they went. (22) Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; I do not this, O house of Israel, for your sakes, but because of my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, among whom ye went. (23) And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which ye profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified among you before their eyes. (24) And I will take you out from the nations, and will gather you out of all the lands, and will bring you into your own land: (25) and I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be purged from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you. (26) And I will give you a new heart, and will put a new spirit in you: and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you, and will cause you to walk in mine ordinances, and to keep my judgments, and do them. (28) And ye shall dwell upon the land which I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be to me a people, and I will be to you a God. (29) And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and multiply it, and will not bring famine upon you. (30) And I will multiply the fruit of the trees, and the produce of the field, that ye may not bear the reproach of famine among the nations. (31) And ye shall remember your evil ways and your practices that were not good, and ye shall be hateful in your own sight for your transgressions and for your abominations. (32) Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, as it is known to you: be ye ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. (33) Thus saith the Lord God; In the day wherein I shall cleanse you from all your iniquities I will also cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be built upon: (34) and the desolate land shall be cultivated, whereas it was desolate in the eyes of every one that passed by. (35) And they shall say, That desolate land is become like a garden of delight; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are inhabited. (36) And the nations, as many as shall have been left round about you, shall know that I the Lord have built the ruined cities and planted the waste lands: I the Lord have spoken, and will do it. (37) Thus saith the Lord God; Yet for this will I be sought by the house of Israel, to establish them; I will multiply them even men as sheep; (38) as holy sheep, as the sheep of Jerusalem in her feasts; thus shall the desert cities be full of flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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(1) And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and the Lord brought me forth by the Spirit, and set me in the midst of the plain, and it was full of human bones. (2) And he led me round about them every way: and, behold, there were very many on the face of the plain, very dry. (3) And he said to me, Son of man, will these bones live? and I said, O Lord God, thou knowest this. (4) And he said to me, Prophesy upon these bones, and thou shalt say to them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. (5) Thus saith the Lord to these bones; Behold, I will bring upon you the breath of life: (6) and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and will spread skin upon you, and will put my Spirit into you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (7) So I prophesied as the Lord commanded me: and it came to pass while I was prophesying, that, behold, there was a shaking, and the bones approached each one to his joint. (8) And I looked, and behold, sinews and flesh grew upon them, and skin came upon them above: but there was not breath in them. (9) And he said to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord; Come from the four winds, and breathe upon these dead men, and let them live. (10) So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, a very great congregation. (11) And the Lord spoke to me, saying, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: and they say, Our bones are become dry, our hope has perished, we are quite spent. (12) Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will open your tombs, and will bring you up out of your tombs, and will bring you into the land of Israel. (13) And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, that I may bring up my people from their graves. (14) And I will put my Spirit within you, and ye shall live, and I will place you upon your own land: and ye shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and will do it, saith the Lord. (15) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (16) Son of man, take for thyself a rod, and write upon it, Juda, and the children of Israel his adherents; and thou shalt take for thyself another rod, and thou shalt inscribe it for Joseph, the rod of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel that belong to him. (17) And thou shalt joint them together for thyself, so as that they should bind themselves into one stick; and they shall be in thine hand. (18) And it shall come to pass, when the children of thy people shall say to thee, Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these things? (19) Then shalt thou say to them, Thus saith the Lord; behold, I will take the tribe of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel that belong to him, and I will add them to the tribe of Juda, and they shall become one rod in the hand of Juda. (20) And the rods on which thou didst write shall be in thine hand in their presence. (21) And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the whole house of Israel out of the midst of the nations, among whom they have gone, and I will gather them from all that are round about them, and I will bring them into the land of Israel. (22) And I will make them a nation in my land, even on the mountains of Israel; and they shall have one prince: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided any more at all into two kingdoms: (23) that they may no more defile themselves with their idols; and I will deliver them from all their transgressions whereby they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be to me a people, and I the Lord will be to them a God. (24) And my servant David shall be a prince in the midst of them: there shall be one shepherd of them all; for they shall walk in mine ordinances, and keep my judgments, and do them. (25) And they shall dwell in their land, which I have given to my servant Jacob, where their fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell upon it: and David my servant shall be their prince forever. (26) And I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever. (27) And my tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be my people. (28) And the nations shall know that I am the Lord that sanctifies them, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for ever.

38

(1) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face against Gog, and the land of Magog, Rhos, prince of Mesoch and Thobel, and prophesy against him, (3) and say to him, Thus saith the Lord God; (4) and I will gather thee, and all thine host, horses and horsemen, all wearing breast-plates, with a great multitude, shields and helmets and swords: (5) Persians, and Ethiopians, and Libyans; all with helmets and shields. (6) Gomer, and all belonging to him; the house of Thorgama, from the end of the north, and all belonging to him; and many nations with thee. (7) Be thou prepared, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy multitude that is assembled with thee, and thou shalt be to me for a guard. (8) He shall be prepared after many days, and he shall come at the end of years, and shall come to a land that is brought back from the sword, when the people are gathered from many nations against the land of Israel, which was entirely desolate: and he is come forth out of the nations, and they shall all dwell securely. (9) And thou shalt go up as rain, and shalt arrive as a cloud to cover the land, and there shall be thou, and all that are about thee, and many nations with thee. (10) Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass in that day, that thoughts shall come up into thine heart, and thou shalt devise evil devices. (11) And thou shalt say, I will go up to the rejected land; I will come upon them that are at ease in tranquility, and dwelling in peace, all inhabiting a land in which there is no wall, nor bars, nor have they doors; (12) to seize plunder, and to take their spoil; to turn my hands against the desolate land that is now inhabited, and against a nation that is gathered from many nations, that have acquired property, dwelling in the midst of the land. (13) Sabba, and Daedan, and Carthaginian merchants, and all their villages shall say to thee, Thou art come for plunder to take a prey, and to get spoils: thou hast gathered thy multitude to take silver and gold, to carry off property, to take spoils. (14) Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus saith the Lord; Wilt thou not arise in that day, when my people Israel are dwelling securely, (15) and come out of thy place from the farthest north, and many nations with thee? all of them mounted on horses, a great gathering, and a large force? (16) And thou shalt come up upon my people Israel as a cloud to cover the land; it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will bring thee up upon my land, that all the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in thee before them. (17) Thus saith the Lord God, to Gog; Thou art he concerning whom I spoke in former times, by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel, in those days and years, that I would bring thee up against them. (18) And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, (19) that my wrath and my jealousy shall arise, I have spoken in the fire of mine anger, verily in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; (20) and the fish of the sea shall quake at the presence of the Lord, and the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the field, and all the reptiles that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth; and the mountains shall be rent, and the valleys shall fall, and every wall on the land shall fall. (21) And I will summon against it even every fear, saith the Lord: the sword of every man shall be against his brother. (22) And I will judge him with pestilence, and blood, and sweeping rain, and hailstones; and I will rain upon him fire and brimstone, and upon all that are with him, and upon many nations with him. (23) And I will be magnified, and sanctified, and glorified; and I will be known in the presence of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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(1) And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, Rhos prince of Mesoch and Thobel: (2) and I will assemble thee, and guide thee, and raise thee up on the extremity of the north, and I will bring thee up upon the mountains of Israel. (3) And I will destroy the bow out of thy left hand, and thine arrows out of thy right hand, and I will cast thee down on the mountains of Israel; (4) and thou and all that belong to thee shall fall, and the nations that are with thee shall be given to multitudes of birds, even to every fowl, and I have given thee to all the wild beasts of the field to be devoured. (5) Thou shalt fall on the face of the field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord. (6) And I will send a fire upon Gog, and the islands shall be securely inhabited: and they shall know that I am the Lord. (7) And my holy name shall be known in the midst of my people Israel; and my holy name shall no more be profaned: and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. (8) Behold it is come, and thou shalt know that it shall be, saith the Lord God; this is the day concerning which I have spoken. (9) And they that inhabit the cities of Israel shall come forth, and make a fire with the arms, the shields and the spears, and bows and arrows, and hand-staves, and lances, and they shall keep fire burning with them for seven years: (10) and they shall not take any wood out of the field, neither shall they cut any out of the forests, but they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and spoil those that spoiled them, saith the Lord. (11) And it shall come to pass that in that day I will give to Gog a place of renown, a tomb in Israel, the burial-place of them that approach the sea: and they shall build round about the outlet of the valley, and there they shall bury Gog and all his multitude: and the place shall then be called the burial-place of Gog. (12) And the house of Israel shall bury them, that the land may be cleansed in the space of seven months. (13) Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a place of renown in the day wherein it was glorified, saith the Lord. (14) And they shall appoint men continually to go over the land, to bury them that have been left on the face of the earth, to cleanse it after the space of seven months, and they shall seek them out. (15) And every one that goes through the land, and sees a man’s bone, shall set up a mark by it, until the buriers shall have buried it in the valley, the burial place of Gog. (16) For the name of the city shall be Burial-place: so shall the land be cleansed. (17) And thou, son of man, say, Thus saith the Lord; Say to every winged bird, and to all the wild beasts of the field, Gather yourselves, and come; gather yourselves from all places round about to my sacrifice, which I have made for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, and ye shall eat flesh, and drink blood. (18) Ye shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and ye shall drink the blood of princes of the earth, rams, and calves and goats, and they are all fatted calves. (19) And ye shall eat fat till ye are full, and shall drink wine till ye are drunken, of my sacrifice which I have prepared for you. (20) And ye shall be filled at my table, eating horse, and rider, and mighty man, and every warrior, saith the Lord. (21) And I will set my glory among you, and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have wrought, and my hand which I have brought upon them. (22) And the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from this day and onwards. (23) And all the nations shall know that the house of Israel were led captive because of their sins, because they rebelled against me, and I turned away my face from them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. (24) According to their uncleannesses and according to their transgressions did I deal with them, and I turned away my face from them. (25) Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Now will I turn back captivity in Jacob, and will have mercy on the house of Israel, and will be jealous for the sake of my holy name. (26) And they shall bear their reproach, and the iniquity which they committed when they dwelt upon their land in peace. Yet there shall be none to terrify them (27) when I have brought them back from the nations, and gathered them out of the countries of the nations: and I will be sanctified among them in the presence of the nations. (28) And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, when I have been manifested to them among the nations. (29) And I will no more turn away my face from them, because I have poured out my wrath upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

40

(1) And it came to pass in the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the first month, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the taking of the city, in that day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me (2) in a vision of God into the land of Israel, and set me on a very high mountain, and upon it there was as it were the frame of a city before me. (3) And he brought me in thither, and, behold, there was a man, and the appearance of him was as the appearance of shining brass, and in his hand was a builder’s line, and a measuring reed; and he stood at the gate. (4) And the man said to me, (5) And behold a wall round about the house without, and in the man’s hand a reed, the measure of it was six cubits by the cubit, and a span: and he measured across the front wall; the breadth was equal to the reed, and the length of it equal to the reed. (6) And he entered by seven steps into the gate that looks eastward, and he measured across the porch of the gate equal to the reed. (7) And the chamber was equal in length to the reed, and equal in breadth to the reed; and the porch between the chambers six cubits; and the second chamber equal in breadth to the reed, and equal in length to the reed, and the porch five cubits. (8) And the third chamber equal in length to the reed, and equal in breadth to the reed. (9) And the porch of the gateway (near the porch of the gate) eight cubits; and the posts there of two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward: (10) and the chambers of the gate of the chamber in front were three on one side and three on the other, and there was one measure to the three: there was one measure to the porches on this side and on that. (11) And he measured the breadth of the door of the gateway, ten cubits; and the breadth of the gateway thirteen cubits. (12) And the space before the chambers was narrowed to a cubit in front of the chambers on this side and on that side: and the chamber was six cubits this way, and six cubits that way. (13) And he measured the gate from the wall of one chamber to the wall of the other chamber: the breadth was twenty-five cubits, the one gate over against the other gate. (14) And the open space of the porch of the gate without, was twenty cubits to the chambers round about the gate. (15) And the open space of the gate without to the open space of the porch of the gate within was fifty cubits. (16) And there were secret windows to the chambers, and to the porches within the gate of the court round about, and in the same manner windows to the porches round about within: and on the porch there were palm-trees on this side and on that side. (17) And he brought me into the inner court, and, behold, there were chambers, and peristyles round about the court; thirty chambers within the ranges of columns. (18) And the porticos were behind the gates; according to the length of the gates, was the lower peristyle. (19) And he measured the breadth of the court, from the open space of the outer gate inwards to the open space of the gate looking outwards: a hundred cubits was the distance to the place of the gate looking eastward: and he brought me to the north; (20) and behold a gate looking northwards belonging to the outer court, and he measured it, both the length of it and the breadth; (21) and the chambers, three on this side and three on that; and the posts, and the porches, and the palm-trees thereof: and they were according to the measures of the gate that looks eastward: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof was twenty-five cubits. (22) And its windows, and its porches, and its palm-trees, were according to the dimensions of the gate looking eastward; and they went up to it by seven steps; and the porches were within. (23) And there was a gate to the inner court looking toward the north gate, after the manner of the gate looking toward the east; and he measured the court from gate to gate, a hundred cubits. (24) And he brought me to the south side, and behold a gate looking southwards: and he measured it, and its chambers, and its posts, and its porches, according to these dimensions. (25) And its windows and its porches round about were according to the windows of the porch: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof was five and twenty cubits. (26) And it had seven steps, and porches within: and it had palm-trees on the posts, one on one side, and one on the other side. (27) And there was a gate opposite the gate of the inner court southward: and he measured the court from gate to gate, a hundred cubits in breadth southward. (28) And he brought me into the inner court of the south gate: and he measured the gate according to these measures; (29) and the chambers, and the posts, (30) and the porches, according to these measures: and there were windows to it and to the porches round about: its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits, (31) from the porch to the outer court: and there were palm-trees to the post thereof, and eight steps. (32) And he brought me in at the gate that looks eastward: and he measured it according to these measures: (33) and the chambers, and the posts, and the porches according to these measures: and there were windows to it, and porches round about: the length of it was fifty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty-five cubits. (34) And there were porches opening into the inner court, and palm-trees on the posts on this side and on that side: and it had eight steps. (35) And he brought me in at the northern gate, and measured it according to these measures; (36) and the chambers, and the posts, and the porches: and it had windows round about, and it had its porches: the length of it was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. (37) And its porches were toward the inner court; and there were palm-trees to the posts on this side and on that side: and it had eight steps. (38) Its chambers and its door-ways, and its porches at the second gate served as a drain, (39) that they might slay in it the sin-offerings, and the trespass-offerings. (40) And behind the drain for the whole-burnt-offerings at the north gate, two tables eastward behind the second gate; and behind the porch of the gate two tables eastward. (41) Four on one side and four on the other side behind the gate; upon them they kill the victims, in front of the eight tables of sacrifices. (42) And there were four tables of hewn stone for whole-burnt-offerings, the breadth of them was a cubit and a half, and the length of them two cubits and a half, and their height was a cubit: on them they shall place the instruments with which they slay there the whole-burnt-offerings and the victims. (43) And they shall have within a border of hewn stone round about of a span broad, and over the tables above screens for covering them from the wet and from the heat. (44) And he brought me into the inner court, and behold there were two chambers in the inner court, one behind the gate looking to the north, turning southward, and one behind the southern gate, but which looks to the north. (45) And he said to me, This chamber that looks to the south, is for the priests that keep the charge of the house. (46) And the chamber that looks to the north is for the priests that keep the charge of the altar: they are the sons of Sadduc, those of the tribe of Levi who draw near to the Lord to serve him. (47) And he measured the court, the length whereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth a hundred cubits, on its four sides; and the altar in front of the house. (48) And he brought me into the porch of the house; and he measured the post of the porch, the breadth was five cubits on one side and five cubits on the other side; and the breadth of the door was fourteen cubits, and the side-pieces of the door of the porch were three cubits on one side, and three cubits on the other side. (49) And the length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth twelve cubits; and they went up to it by ten steps; and there were pillars to the porch, one on this side and one on that side.

41

(1) And he brought me into the temple, the porch of which he measured, six cubits the breadth on one side, and six cubits the breadth of the porch on the other side. (2) And the breadth of the gateway was ten cubits, and the side-pieces of the gateway were five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and he measured the length of it, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. (3) And he went into the inner court, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the side-pieces of the door, seven cubits on one side, and seven cubits on the other side. (4) And he measured the length of the doors, forty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, in front of the temple: and he said, This is the holy of holies. (5) And he measured the wall of the house, six cubits: and the breadth of each side, four cubits round about. (6) And the sides were twice ninety, side against side; and there was a space in the wall of the house at the sides round about, that they should be for them that take hold of them to see, that they should not at all touch the walls of the house. (7) And the breadth of the upper side was made according to the projection out of the wall, against the upper one round about the house, that it might be enlarged above, and that men might go up to the upper chambers from those below, and from the ground-sills to the third story. (8) And as for the height of the house round about, each space between the sides was equal to a reed of six cubits; (9) and the breadth of the wall of each side without was five cubits; and the spaces that were left between the sides of the house, (10) and between the chambers, were a width of twenty cubits, the circumference of the house. (11) And the doors of the chambers were toward the space left by the one door that looked northward, and there was one door southward; and the breadth of the remaining open space was five cubits in extent round about. (12) And the partition wall in front of the remaining space, toward the west, was seventy cubits in breadth; the breadth of the partition wall was five cubits round about, and the length of it ninety cubits. (13) And he measured in front of the house a length of a hundred cubits, and the remaining spaces and the partitions; and the walls thereof were in length a hundred cubits. (14) And the breadth in front of the house, and the remaining spaces before it were a hundred cubits. (15) And he measured the length of the partition in front of the space left by the back parts of that house; and the spaces left on this side and on that side were in length a hundred cubits: and the temple and the corners and the outer porch were ceiled. (16) And the windows were latticed, giving light round about to the three stories, so as to look through: and the house and the parts adjoining were planked round about, and so was the floor, and from the floor up to the windows, and the window shutters folded back in three parts for one to look through. (17) And almost all the way to the inner, and close to the outer side, and upon all the wall round about within and without, (18) were carved cherubs and palm-trees between the cherubs, and each cherub had two faces. (19) The face of a man was toward one palm-tree on this side and on that side, and the face of a lion toward another palm-tree on this side and on that side: the house was carved all round. (20) From the floor to the ceiling were cherubs and palm-trees carved. (21) And the holy place and the temple opened on four sides; in front of the holy places the appearance was as the look of (22) a wooden altar, the height of it three cubits, and the length two cubits, and the breadth two cubits; and it had horns, and the base of it and the sides of it were of wood: and he said to me, This is the table, which is before the face of the Lord. (23) And the temple had two doors, and the sanctuary had two doors, with two turning leaves apiece; (24) two leaves to the one, and two leaves to the other door. (25) And there was carved work upon them, and cherubs on the doors of the temple, and palm-trees according to the carving of the sanctuary; and there were stout planks in front of the porch without. (26) And there were secret windows; and he measured from side to side, to the roofing of the porch; and the sides of the house were closely planked.

42

(1) And he brought me into the inner court eastward, opposite the northern gate: and he brought me in, and behold five chambers near the vacant space, and near the northern partition, (2) a hundred cubits in length toward the north, and in breadth fifty, (3) ornamented accordingly as the gates of the inner court, and arranged accordingly as the peristyles of the outer court, with triple porticos fronting one another. (4) And in front of the chambers was a walk ten cubits in breadth, the length reaching to a hundred cubits; and their doors were northward. (5) And the upper walks were in like manner: for the peristyle projected from it, even from the range of columns below, and there was a space between; so were there a peristyle and a space between, and so were there two porticos. (6) For they were triple, and they had not pillars like the pillars of the outer ones: therefore they projected from the lower ones and the middle ones from the ground. (7) And there was light without, corresponding to the chambers of the outer court looking toward the front of the northern chambers; the length of them was fifty cubits. (8) For the length of the chambers looking toward the inner court was fifty cubits, and these are the ones that front the others; the whole was a hundred cubits. (9) And there were doors of these chambers for an outlet toward the east, so that one should go through them out of the outer court, (10) by the opening of the walk at the corner; and the south parts were toward the south, toward the remaining space, and toward the partition, and so were the chambers. (11) And the walk was in front of them, according to the measures of the chambers toward the north, both according to the length of them, and according to the breadth of them, and according to all their openings, an according to all their turnings, and according to their lights, and according to their doors. (12) So were the measures of the chambers toward the south, and according to the doors at the entrance of the walk, as it were the distance of a reed for light, and eastward as one went in by them. (13) And he said to me, The chambers toward the north, and the chambers toward the south, in front of the void spaces, these are the chambers of the sanctuary, wherein the priests the sons of Sadduc, who draw night to the Lord, shall eat the most holy things: and there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat-offering, and the sin-offerings, and the trespass-offerings; because the place is holy. (14) None shall go in thither except the priests, and they shall not go forth of the holy place into the outer court, that they that draw nigh to me may be continually holy, and may not touch their garments in which they minister, with defilement, for they are holy; and they shall put on other garments whenever they come in contact with the people. (15) So the measurement of the house within was accomplished: and he brought me forth by the way of the gate that looks eastward, and measured the plan of the house round about in order. (16) And he stood behind the gate looking eastward, and measured five hundred cubits with the measuring reed. (17) And he turned to the north and measured in front of the north side five hundred cubits with the measuring reed. (18) And he turned to the west, and measured in front of the west side, five hundred cubits with the measuring reed. (19) And he turned to the south, and measured in front of the south side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. (20) The four sides he measured by the same reed, and he marked out the house and the circumference of the parts round about, a space of five hundred cubits eastward, and a breadth of five hundred cubits, to make a division between the sanctuary and the outer wall, that belonged to the design of the house.

43

(1) Moreover he brought me to the gate looking eastward, and led me forth. (2) And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came by the eastern way; and there was a voice of an army, as the sound of many redoubling their shouts, and the earth shone like light from the glory round about. (3) And the vision which I saw was like the vision which I saw when I went in to anoint the city: and the vision of the chariot which I saw was like the vision which I saw at the river Chobar; and I fell upon my face. (4) And the glory of the Lord came into the house, by the way of the gate looking eastward. (5) And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the house of the Lord was full of glory. (6) And I stood, and behold there was a voice out of the house of one speaking to me, and a man stood near me, (7) and he said to me, (8) when they set my door-way by their door-way, and my thresholds near to their thresholds: and they made my wall as it were joining myself and them, and they profaned my holy name with their iniquities which they wrought: and I destroyed them in my wrath and with slaughter. (9) And now let them put away from me their fornication, and the murders of their princes, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. (10) And thou, son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may cease from their sins; and shew its aspect and the arrangement of it. (11) And they shall bear their punishment for all the things that they have done: and thou shalt describe the house, and its entrances, and the plan thereof, and all its ordinances, and thou shalt make known to them all the regulations of it, and describe them before them: and they shall keep all my commandments, and all my ordinances, and do them. (12) And thou shalt shew the plan of the house on the top of the mountain: all its limits round about shall be most holy. (13) And these are the measures of the altar by the cubit of a cubit and a span, the cavity shall be a cubit deep, and a cubit shall be the breadth, and the border on the rim of it round about shall be a span: and this shall be the height of the altar (14) from the bottom at the commencement of the hollow part to this great mercy-seat, from beneath was two cubits, and the breadth was a cubit; and from the little mercy-seat to the great mercy-seat, four cubits, and the breadth was a cubit. (15) And the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and above the horns a cubit. (16) And the altar shall be of the length of twelve cubits, by twelve cubits in breadth, square upon its four sides. (17) And the mercy-seat shall be fourteen cubits in length, by fourteen cubits in breadth on its four sides; and there shall be a border to it carried round about it of half a cubit; and the rim of it shall be a cubit round about; and the steps thereof looking eastward. (18) And he said to me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God of Israel; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day of its being made, to offer upon it whole-burnt-offerings, and to pour blood upon it. (19) And thou shalt appoint to the priests the Levites of the seed of Sadduc, that draw nigh to me, saith the Lord God, to minister to me, a calf of the herd for a sin-offering. (20) And they shall take of its blood, and shall put it on the four horns of the altar, and upon the four corners of the propitiatory, and upon the base round about, and they shall make atonement for it. (21) And they shall take the calf of the sin-offering, and it shall be consumed by fire in the separate place of the house, outside the sanctuary. (22) And on the second day they shall take two kids of the goats without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall make atonement for the altar, as they made atonement with the calf. (23) And after they have finished the atonement, they shall bring an unblemished calf of the herd, and an unblemished ram of the flock. (24) And ye shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt upon them, and shall offer them up as whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord. (25) Seven days shalt thou offer a kid daily for a sin-offering, and a calf of the herd, and a ram out of the flock: they shall sacrifice them unblemished for seven days: (26) and they shall make atonement for the altar, and shall purge it; and they shall consecrate themselves. (27) And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your whole-burnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord.

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(1) Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. (2) And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. (3) For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. (4) And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face. (5) And the Lord said to me, Son of man, attend with thine heart, and see with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say to thee, according to all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the regulations thereof; and thou shalt attend well to the entrance of the house, according to all its outlets, in all the holy things. (6) And thou shalt say to the provoking house, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you to have committed all your iniquities, O house of Israel! (7) that ye have brought in aliens, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to profane it, when ye offered bread, flesh, and blood; and ye transgressed my covenant by all your iniquities; (8) and ye appointed others to keep the charges in my sanctuary. (9) Therefore thus saith the Lord God; No alien, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of all the children of strangers that are in the midst of the house of Israel. (10) But as for the Levites who departed far from me when Israel went astray from me after their imaginations, they shall even bear their iniquity. (11) yet they shall minister in my sanctuary, being porters at the gates of the house, and serving the house: they shall slay the victims and the whole-burnt-offerings for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister to them. (12) Because they ministered to them before their idols, and it became to the house of Israel a punishment of iniquity; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God. (13) And they shall not draw nigh to me to minister to me in the priests’ office, nor to approach the holy things of the children of Israel, nor to approach my holy of holies: but they shall bear their reproach for the error wherein they erred. (14) They shall bring them to keep the charges of the house, for all the service of it, and for all that they shall do. (15) The priests the Levites, the sons of Sadduc, who kept the charges of my sanctuary when the house of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw night to me to minister to me, and shall stand before my face, to offer sacrifice to me, the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God. (16) These shall enter into my sanctuary, and these shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charges. (17) And it shall come to pass when they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen robes; and they shall not put on woollen garments when they minister at the gate of the inner court. (18) And they shall have linen mitres upon their heads, and shall have linen drawers upon their loins; and they shall not tightly gird themselves. (19) And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their robes, in which they minister; and they shall lay them up in the chambers of the sanctuary, and shall put on other robes, and they shall not sanctify the people with their robes. (20) And they shall not shave their heads, nor shall they pluck off their hair; they shall carefully cover their heads. (21) And no priest shall drink any wine, when they go into the inner court. (22) Neither shall they take to themselves to wife a widow, or one that is put away, but a virgin of the seed of Israel: but if there should happen to be a priest’s widow, they shall take her. (23) And they shall teach my people to distinguish between holy and profane, and they shall make known to them the difference between unclean and clean. (24) And these shall attend at a judgment of blood to decide it: they shall rightly observe my ordinances, and judge my judgments, and keep my statutes and my commandments in all my feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. (25) And they shall not go in to the dead body of a man to defile themselves: only a priest may defile himself for a father, or for a mother, or for a son, or for a daughter, or for a brother, or for his sister, who has not been married. (26) And after he has been cleansed, let him number to himself seven days. (27) And on whatsoever day they shall enter into the inner court to minister in the holy place, they shall bring a propitiation, saith the Lord God. (28) And it shall be to them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and no possession shall be given them among the children of Israel; for I am their possession. (29) And these shall eat the meat-offerings, and the sin-offerings, and the trespass-offerings; and every special offering in Israel shall be theirs. (30) And the first-fruits of all things, and the first-born of all animals and all offerings, of all your first-fruits there shall be a share for the priests; and ye shall give your earliest produce to the priest, to bring your blessings upon your houses. (31) And the priests shall eat no bird or beast that dies of itself, or is taken of wild beasts.

45

(1) And when ye measure the land for inheritance, ye shall set apart first-fruits to the Lord, a holy space of the land, in length twenty and five thousand reeds, and in breadth twenty thousand; it shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. (2) And there shall be a sanctuary out of this, five hundred reeds in length by five hundred in breadth, a square round about; and there shall be a vacant space beyond this of fifty cubits round about. (3) And out of this measurement shalt thou measure the length five and twenty thousand, and the breadth twenty thousand: and in it shall be the holy of holies. (4) Of the land shall be a portion for the priests that minister in the holy place, and it shall be for them that draw nigh to minister to the Lord: and it shall be to them a place for houses set apart for their sacred office; (5) the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the breadth twenty thousand: and the Levites that attend the house, they shall have cities to dwell in for a possession. (6) And ye shall appoint for the possession of the city five thousand in breadth, and in length twenty-five thousand: after the manner of the first-fruits of the holy portion, they shall be for all the house of Israel. (7) And the prince shall have a portion out of this, and out of this there shall be a portion for the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and for the possession of the city, in front of the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and in front of the possession of the city westward, and from the western parts eastward: and the length shall be equal to one of the parts of the western borders, and the length shall be to the eastern borders of the land. (8) And he shall have it for a possession in Israel: and the princes of Israel shall no more oppress my people; but the house of Israel shall inherit the land according to their tribes. (9) Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, ye princes of Israel: remove injustice and misery, execute judgment and justice; take away oppression from my people, saith the Lord God. (10) Ye shall have a just balance, and a just measure, and a just choenix for measure. (11) And in like manner there shall be one choenix as a measure of capacity; the tenth of the gomor shall be the choenix, and the tenth of the gomor shall be in fair proportion to the gomor. (12) And the weights shall be twenty oboli, your pound shall be five shekels, fifteen shekels and fifty shekels. (13) And these are the first-fruits which ye shall offer; a sixth part of a gomor of wheat, and the sixth part of it shall consist of an ephah of a core of barley. (14) And ye shall give as the appointed measure of oil one bath of oil out of ten baths; for ten baths are a gomor. (15) And one sheep from the flock out of ten, as an oblation from all the tribes of Israel, for sacrifices, and for whole-burnt-offerings, and for peace-offerings, to make atonement for you, saith the Lord God. (16) And all the people shall give these first-fruits to the prince of Israel. (17) And through the prince shall be offered the whole-burnt-offerings and the meat-offerings, and the drink-offerings in the feasts, and at the new moons, and on the sabbaths; and in all the feasts of the house of Israel: he shall offer the sin-offerings, and the meat-offering, and the whole-burnt-offerings, and the peace-offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. (18) Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, on the first day of the month, ye shall take a calf without blemish out of the herd, to make atonement for the holy place. (19) And the priest shall take of the blood of the atonement, and put it on the thresholds of the house, and upon the four corners of the temple, and upon the altar, and upon the thresholds of the gate of the inner court. (20) And thus shalt thou do in the seventh month; on the first day of the month thou shalt take a rate from each one; and ye shall make atonement for the house. (21) And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the feast of the passover; seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread. (22) And the prince shall offer in that day a calf for a sin-offering for himself, and the house, and for all the people of the land. (23) And for the seven days of the feast he shall offer as whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord seven calves and seven rams without blemish daily for the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin-offering, and a meat-offering. (24) And thou shalt prepare a cake for the calf, and cakes for the ram, and a hin of oil for the cake. (25) And in the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, thou shalt sacrifice in the feast in the same way seven days, as they sacrificed the sin-offerings, and the whole-burnt-offerings, and the freewill-offering, and the oil.

46

(1) Thus saith the Lord God; The gate that is in the inner court, that looks eastward, shall be shut the six working days; but let it be opened on the sabbath-day, and it shall be opened on the day of the new moon. (2) And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the inner gate, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his whole-burnt-offerings and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the entrance of the gate: then shall he come forth; but the gate shall not be shut till evening. (3) And the people of the land shall worship at the entrance of that gate, both on the sabbaths and at the new moons, before the Lord. (4) And the prince shall offer whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord on the sabbath-day, six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish; (5) and a freewill-offering, a meat-offering for the ram, and a meat-offering for the lambs, the gift of his hand, and a hin of oil for the meat-offering. (6) And on the day of the new moon a calf without blemish, and six lambs, and there shall be a ram without blemish; (7) and a meat-offering for the ram, and there shall be a meat-offering for the calf as a freewill-offering, and for the lambs, according as his hand can furnish, and there shall be a hin of oil for the cake. (8) And when the prince goes in, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way of the gate. (9) And whenever the people of the land shall go in before the Lord at the feasts, he that goes in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that goes in by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the gate by which he entered, but he shall go forth opposite it. (10) And the prince shall enter with them in the midst of them when they go in; and when they go forth, he shall go forth. (11) And in the feasts and in the general assemblies the freewill oblation shall be a meat-offering for the calf, and a meat-offering for the ram, and for the lambs, as his hand can furnish, and a hin of oil for the meat-offering. (12) And if the prince should prepare as a thanksgiving a whole-burnt-peace-offering to the Lord, and should open for himself the gate looking eastward, and offer his whole-burnt-offering, and his peace-offerings, as he does on the sabbath-day; then shall he go out, and shall shut the doors after he has gone out. (13) And he shall prepare daily as a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord a lamb of a year old without blemish: in the morning shall he prepare it. (14) And he shall prepare a freewill-offering for it in the morning, the sixth part of a measure of flour, and a third part of a hin of oil to mix therewith the fine flour, as a freewill-offering to the Lord, a perpetual ordinance. (15) Ye shall prepare the lamb, and the freewill-offering, and the oil in the morning, for a perpetual whole-burnt-sacrifice. (16) Thus saith the Lord God; If the prince shall give a gift to one of his sons out of his inheritance, this shall be to his sons a possession as an inheritance. (17) But if he give a gift to one of his servants, then it shall belong to him until the year of release; and then he shall restore it to the prince: but of the inheritance of his sons the possession shall continue to them. (18) And the prince shall by no means take of the inheritance of the people, to oppress them: he shall give an inheritance to his sons out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered, every one from his possession. (19) And he brought me into the entrance of the place behind the gate, into the chamber of the sanctuary belonging to the priests, that looks toward the north: and, behold, there was a place set apart. (20) And he said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass-offerings and the sin-offerings, and there shall they bake the meat-offering always; so as not to carry them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people. (21) And he brought me into the outer court, and led me round upon the four sides of the court; and, behold, there was a court on each of the sides of the court, (22) on every side a court, even a court for all the four sides, and each little court belonging to the court was in length forty cubits, and in breadth thirty cubits, there was one measure to the four. (23) And there were chambers in them round about, round about the four, and cooking-places formed under the chambers round about. (24) And he said to me, These are the cooks’ houses, where they that serve the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.

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(1) And he brought me to the entrance of the house; and, behold, water issued from under the porch eastward, for the front of the house looked eastward; and the water came down from the right side, from the south to the altar. (2) And he brought me out by the way of the northern gate, and he led me round by the way outside to the gate of the court that looks eastward; and, behold, water came down from the right side, (3) in the direction in which a man went forth opposite; and there was a measuring line in his hand, and he measured a thousand cubits with the measure; (4) and he passed through the water; it was water of a fountain: and again he measured a thousand, and passed through the water; and the water was up to the thighs: and again he measured a thousand; and he passed through water up to the loins. (5) and again he measured a thousand; and he could not pass through: for the water rose as of a torrent which men cannot pass over. (6) And he said to me, Hast thou seen this, son of man? Then he brought me, and led me back to the brink of the river (7) as I returned; and, behold, on the brink of the river there were very many trees on this side and on that side. (8) And he said to me, This is the water that goes forth to Galilee that lies eastward, and it is gone down to Arabia, and has reached as far as to the sea to the outlet of the water: and it shall heal the waters. (9) And it shall come to pass, that every animal of living and moving creatures, all on which the river shall come, shall live: and there shall be there very many fish; for this water shall go thither, and it shall heal them, and they shall live: everything on which the river shall come shall live. (10) And fishers shall stand there from Ingadin to Enagallim; it shall be a place to spread out nets upon; it shall be distinct; and the fishes thereof shall be as the fishes of the great sea, a very great multitude. (11) But at the outlet of the water, and the turn of it, and where it overflows its banks, they shall not heal at all; they are given to salt. (12) And every fruit tree shall grow by the river, even on the bank of it on this side and on that side: they shall not decay upon it, neither shall their fruit fail: they shall bring forth the first-fruit of their early crop, for these their waters come forth of the sanctuary: and their fruit shall be for meat, and their foliage for health. (13) Thus saith the Lord God; Ye shall inherit these borders of the land; they are given by lot to the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. (14) And ye shall inherit it, each according to his brother’s portion, even the land concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you by lot. (15) And these are the borders of the land that lies northward, from the great sea that comes down, and divides the entrance of Emaseldam; (16) Maabthera, Ebrameliam, between the coasts of Damascus and the coasts of Emathi, the habitation of Saunan, which places are above the coasts of Auranitis. (17) These are the borders from the sea, from the habitations of Ænan, the coasts of Damascus, and the northern coasts. (18) And the eastern coasts between Loranitis, and Damascus, and the land of Galaad, and the land of Israel, the Jordan divides to the sea that is east of the city of palm-trees. These are the eastern coasts. (19) And the southern and south-western coasts are from Thaeman and the city of palm-trees, to the water of Marimoth Cadem, reaching forth to the great sea. This part is the south and south-west. (20) This part of the great sea forms a border, till one comes opposite the entrance of Emath, even as far as the entrance thereof. These are the parts west of Emath. (21) So ye shall divide this land to them, even to the tribes of Israel. (22) Ye shall cast the lot upon it, for yourselves and the strangers that sojourn in the midst of you, who have begotten children in the midst of you: and they shall be to you as natives among the children of Israel; they shall eat with you in their inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. (23) And they shall be in the tribe of proselytes among the proselytes that are with them: there shall ye give them an inheritance, saith the Lord God.

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(1) And these are the names of the tribes from the northern corner, on the side of the descent that draws a line to the entrance of Emath the palace of Ælam, the border of Damascus northward on the side of Emath the palace; and they shall have the eastern parts as far as the sea, for Dan, one portion. (2) And from the borders of Dan eastward as far as the west sea-coast, for Asser, one. (3) And from the borders of Asser, from the eastern parts as far as the west coasts, for Nephthalim, one. (4) And from the borders of Nephthalim, from the east as far as the west coasts, for Manasse, one. (5) And from the borders of Manasse, from the eastern parts as far as the west coasts, for Ephraim, one. (6) And from the borders of Ephraim, from the eastern parts to the west coasts, for Ruben, one. (7) And from the borders of Ruben, from the eastern parts as far as the west coasts, for Juda, one. (8) And from the borders of Juda, from the eastern parts shall be the offering of first-fruits, in the breadth twenty-five thousand reeds, and in length as one of the portions measured from the east even to the western parts: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of them. (9) As for the first-fruits which they shall offer to the Lord, it shall be in length twenty-five thousand, and in breadth twenty-five thousand. (10) Out of this shall be the first-fruits of the holy things to the priests, northward, five and twenty-thousand, and towards the west, ten thousand, and southward, five and twenty thousand: and the mountain of the sanctuary, shall be in the midst of it, (11) for the priests, for the consecrated sons of Sadduc, who keep the charges of the house, who erred not in the error of the children of Israel, as the Levites erred. (12) And the first-fruits shall be given to them out of the first-fruits of the land, even a most holy portion from the borders of the Levites. (13) And the Levites shall have the part, next to the borders of the priests, in length twenty-five thousand, and in breadth ten thousand: the whole length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth twenty thousand. (14) No part of it shall be sold, nor measured as for sale, neither shall the first-fruits of the land be taken away: for they are holy to the Lord. (15) But concerning the five thousand that remain in the breadth in the five and twenty thousand, they shall be a suburb to the city for dwelling, and for a space before it: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. (16) And these shall be its dimensions; from the northern side four thousand and five hundred, and from the southern side four thousand and five hundred, and from the eastern side four thousand and five hundred, and from the western side they shall measure four thousand five hundred. (17) And there shall be a space to the city northward two hundred and fifty, and southward two hundred and fifty, and eastward two hundred and fifty, and westward two hundred and fifty. (18) And the remainder of the length that is next to the first-fruits of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and they shall be the first-fruits of the sanctuary; and the fruits thereof shall be for bread to them that labour for the city. (19) And they that labour for the city shall labour for it out of all the tribes of Israel. (20) The whole offering shall be a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: ye shall separate again part of it, the first-fruits of the sanctuary, from the possession of the city. (21) And the prince shall have the remainder on this side and on that side from the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and there shall be a possession of the city, for five and twenty thousand cubits in length, to the eastern and western borders, for five and twenty thousand to the western borders, next to the portions of the prince; and the first-fruits of the holy things and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst of it. (22) And there shall be a portion taken from the Levites, from the possession of the city in the midst of the princes between the borders of Juda and the borders of Benjamin, and it shall be the portion of the princes. (23) And as for the rest of the tribes, from the eastern parts as far as the western, Benjamin shall have one portion. (24) And from the borders of Benjamin, from the eastern parts to the western, Symeon, one. (25) And from the borders of Symeon, from the eastern parts to the western, Issachar, one. (26) And from the borders of Issachar, from the eastern parts to the western, Zabulon, one. (27) And from the borders of Zabulon, from the east to the western parts, Gad, one. (28) And from the borders of Gad, from the eastern parts to the south-western parts; his coasts shall even be from Thaeman, and the water of Barimoth Cades, for an inheritance, unto the great sea. (29) This is the land, which ye shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God. (30) And these are the goings out of the city northward, four thousand and five hundred by measure. (31) And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; the gate of Ruben, one, and the gate of Juda, one, and the gate of Levi, one. (32) And eastward four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; the gate of Joseph, one, and the gate of Benjamin, one, and the gate of Dan, one. (33) And southward, four thousand and five hundred by measure: and three gates; the gate of Symeon, one, and the gate of Issachar, one, and the gate of Zabulon, one. (34) And westward, four thousand and five hundred by measure: and three gates; the gate of Gad, one, and the gate of Asser, one, and the gate of Nephthalim, one. (35) The circumference, eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city, from the day that it shall be finished, shall be the name thereof.

Daniel

A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 C D

A

(1) There dwelt a man in Babylon, called Joacim: (2) And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Chelcias, a very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord. (3) Her parents also were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses. (4) Now Joacim was a great rich man, and had a fair garden joining unto his house: and to him resorted the Jews; because he was more honourable than all others. (5) The same year were appointed two of the ancients of the people to be judges, such as the Lord spake of, that wickedness came from Babylon from ancient judges, who seemed to govern the people. (6) These kept much at Joacim's house: and all that had any suits in law came unto them. (7) Now when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went into her husband's garden to walk. (8) And the two elders saw her going in every day, and walking; so that their lust was inflamed toward her. (9) And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. (10) And albeit they both were wounded with her love, yet durst not one shew another his grief. (11) For they were ashamed to declare their lust, that they desired to have to do with her. (12) Yet they watched diligently from day to day to see her. (13) And the one said to the other, Let us now go home: for it is dinner time. (14) So when they were gone out, they parted the one from the other, and turning back again they came to the same place; and after that they had asked one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust: then appointed they a time both together, when they might find her alone. (15) And it fell out, as they watched a fit time, she went in as before with two maids only, and she was desirous to wash herself in the garden: for it was hot. (16) And there was no body there save the two elders, that had hid themselves, and watched her. (17) Then she said to her maids, Bring me oil and washing balls, and shut the garden doors, that I may wash me. (18) And they did as she bade them, and shut the garden doors, and went out themselves at privy doors to fetch the things that she had commanded them: but they saw not the elders, because they were hid. (19) Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders rose up, and ran unto her, saying, (20) Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us. (21) If thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a young man was with thee: and therefore thou didst send away thy maids from thee. (22) Then Susanna sighed, and said, I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death unto me: and if I do it not I cannot escape your hands. (23) It is better for me to fall into your hands, and not do it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. (24) With that Susanna cried with a loud voice: and the two elders cried out against her. (25) Then ran the one, and opened the garden door. (26) So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the privy door, to see what was done unto her. (27) But when the elders had declared their matter, the servants were greatly ashamed: for there was never such a report made of Susanna. (28) And it came to pass the next day, when the people were assembled to her husband Joacim, the two elders came also full of mischievous imagination against Susanna to put her to death; (29) And said before the people, Send for Susanna, the daughter of Chelcias, Joacim's wife. And so they sent. (30) So she came with her father and mother, her children, and all her kindred. (31) Now Susanna was a very delicate woman, and beauteous to behold. (32) And these wicked men commanded to uncover her face, (for she was covered) that they might be filled with her beauty. (33) Therefore her friends and all that saw her wept. (34) Then the two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and laid their hands upon her head. (35) And she weeping looked up toward heaven: for her heart trusted in the Lord. (36) And the elders said, As we walked in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the garden doors, and sent the maids away. (37) Then a young man, who there was hid, came unto her, and lay with her. (38) Then we that stood in a corner of the garden, seeing this wickedness, ran unto them. (39) And when we saw them together, the man we could not hold: for he was stronger than we, and opened the door, and leaped out. (40) But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us: these things do we testify. (41) Then the assembly believed them as those that were the elders and judges of the people: so they condemned her to death. (42) Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, O everlasting God, that knowest the secrets, and knowest all things before they be: (43) Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me, and, behold, I must die; whereas I never did such things as these men have maliciously invented against me. (44) And the Lord heard her voice. (45) Therefore when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young youth whose name was Daniel: (46) Who cried with a loud voice, I am clear from the blood of this woman. (47) Then all the people turned them toward him, and said, What mean these words that thou hast spoken? (48) So he standing in the midst of them said, Are ye such fools, ye sons of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel? (49) Return again to the place of judgment: for they have borne false witness against her. (50) Wherefore all the people turned again in haste, and the elders said unto him, Come, sit down among us, and shew it us, seeing God hath given thee the honour of an elder. (51) Then said Daniel unto them, Put these two aside one far from another, and I will examine them. (52) So when they were put asunder one from another, he called one of them, and said unto him, O thou that art waxen old in wickedness, now thy sins which thou hast committed aforetime are come to light. (53) For thou hast pronounced false judgment and hast condemned the innocent and hast let the guilty go free; albeit the Lord saith, The innocent and righteous shalt thou not slay. (54) Now then, if thou hast seen her, tell me, Under what tree sawest thou them companying together? Who answered, Under a mastick tree. (55) And Daniel said, Very well; thou hast lied against thine own head; for even now the angel of God hath received the sentence of God to cut thee in two. (56) So he put him aside, and commanded to bring the other, and said unto him, O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thine heart. (57) Thus have ye dealt with the daughters of Israel, and they for fear companied with you: but the daughter of Juda would not abide your wickedness. (58) Now therefore tell me, Under what tree didst thou take them companying together? Who answered, Under an holm tree. (59) Then said Daniel unto him, Well; thou hast also lied against thine own head: for the angel of God waiteth with the sword to cut thee in two, that he may destroy you. (60) With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and praised God, who saveth them that trust in him. (61) And they arose against the two elders, for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth: (62) And according to the law of Moses they did unto them in such sort as they maliciously intended to do to their neighbour: and they put them to death. Thus the innocent blood was saved the same day. (63) Therefore Chelcias and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, with Joacim her husband, and all the kindred, because there was no dishonesty found in her. (64) From that day forth was Daniel had in great reputation in the sight of the people.

1

(1) In the third year of the reign of Joakim king of Juda, came Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it. (2) And the Lord gave into his hand Joakim king of Juda, and part of the vessels of the house of God: and he brought them into the land of Sennaar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god. (3) And the king told Asphanez his chief eunuch, to bring in some of the captive children of Israel, and of the seed of the kingdom, and of the princes; (4) young men in whom was no blemish, and beautiful in appearance, and skilled in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and acquainted with prudence, and who had ability to stand in the house before the king, and the king gave commandment to teach them the learning and language of the Chaldeans. (5) And the king appointed them a daily portion from the king’s table, and from the wine which he drank; and gave orders to nourish them three years, and that afterwards they should stand before the king. (6) Now these were among them of the children of Juda, Daniel, and Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael. (7) And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel, Baltasar; and to Ananias, Sedrach; and to Misael, Misach; and to Azarias, Abdenago. (8) And Daniel purposed in his heart, that he would not defile himself with the king’s table, nor with the wine of his drink: and he intreated the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (9) Now God had brought Daniel into favour and compassion with the chief of the eunuchs. (10) And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your meat and your drink, lest he see your countenances gloomy in comparison of the young men your equals; also shall ye endanger my head to the king. (11) And Daniel said to Amelsad, whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. (12) Prove now thy servants ten days; and let them give us pulse, and let us eat, and let us drink water: (13) And let our countenances be seen by thee, and the countenances of the children that eat at the king’s table; and deal with thy servants according as thou shalt see. (14) And he hearkened to them, and proved them ten days. (15) And at the end of the ten days their countenances appeared fairer and stouter in flesh, than the children that fed at the king’s table. (16) So Amelsad took away their supper and the wine of their drink, and gave them pulse. (17) And as for these four children, God gave them understanding and prudence in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. (18) And at the end of the days, after which the king had given orders to bring them in, then the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nabuchodonosor. (19) And the king spoke with them; and there were not found out of them all any like Daniel, and Ananias and Misael, and Azarias: and they stood before the king. (20) And in every matter of wisdom and knowledge wherein the king questioned them, he found them ten times wiser than all the enchanters and sorcerers that were in all his kingdom. (21) And Daniel continued till the first year of king Cyrus.

2

(1) In the second year of his reign Nabuchodonosor dreamed a dream, and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep departed from him. (2) And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king. (3) And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. (4) And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, saying, O king, live for ever: do thou tell the dream to thy servants, and we will declare the interpretation. (5) The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if ye do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, ye shall be destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled. (6) But if ye make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and presents and much honour: only tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. (7) They answered the second time, and said, Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation. (8) And the king answered and said, I verily know that ye are trying to gain time, because ye see that the thing has gone from me. (9) If then ye do not tell me the dream, I know that ye have concerted to utter before me a false and corrupt tale, until the time shall have past: tell me my dream, and I shall know that ye will also declare to me the interpretation thereof. (10) The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon the earth, who shall be able to make known the king’s matter: forasmuch as no great king or ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or Chaldean. (11) For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh. (12) Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. (13) So the decree went forth, and they began to slay the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to slay them. (14) Then Daniel answered with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the royal guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon; saying, (15) Chief magistrate of the king, wherefore has the preemptory command proceeded from the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel. (16) And Daniel intreated the king to give him time, and that he might thus declare to the king the interpretation of it. (17) So Daniel went into his house, and made known the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his friends. (18) And they sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery; that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. (19) Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night; and Daniel blessed the God of heaven, and said, (20) May the name of God be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting: for wisdom and understanding are his. (21) And he changes times and seasons: he appoints kings, and removes them, giving wisdom to the wise, and prudence to them that have understanding: (22) he reveals deep and secret matters; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is with him. (23) I give thanks to thee, and praise thee, O God of my fathers, for thou has given me wisdom and power, and has made known to me the things which we asked of thee; and thou has made known to me the king’s vision. (24) And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king. (25) Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel before the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation to the king. (26) And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, Canst thou declare to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation thereof? (27) And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king. (28) But there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known to king Nabuchodonosor what things must come to pass in the last days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are as follows, (29) O king: thy thoughts upon thy bed arose as to what must come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals mysteries has made known to thee what must come to pass. (30) Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in me beyond all others living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that thou mightest know the thoughts of thine heart. (31) Thou, O king, sawest, and behold an image: that image was great, and the appearance of it excellent, standing before thy face; and the form of it was terrible. (32) It was an image, the head of which was of fine gold, its hands and breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, (33) its legs of iron, its feet, part of iron and part of earthenware. (34) Thou sawest until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it smote the image upon its feet of iron and earthenware, and utterly reduced them to powder. (35) Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold, were ground to powder, and became as chaff from the summer threshingfloor; and the violence of the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which had smitten the image became a great mountain, and filled all the earth. (36) This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. (37) Thou, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and strong and honourable kingdom, (38) in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into thine hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and he has made thee lord of all. (39) Thou art the head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, an a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth; (40) and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue. (41) And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in it of the strength of iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware. (42) And whereas the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of earthenware, part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part of it shall be broken. (43) Whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware, they shall be mingled with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with earthenware. (44) And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all other kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (45) Whereas thou sawest that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat to pieces the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold; the great God has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure. (46) Then king Nabuchodonosor fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and gave orders to offer to him gifts and incense. (47) And the king answered and said to Daniel, Of a truth your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for thou has been able to reveal this mystery. (48) And the king promoted Daniel, and gave him great and abundant gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon, and made him chief satrap over all the wise men of Babylon. (49) And Daniel asked of the king, and he appointed Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the king’s palace.

3

(1) In his eighteenth year Nabuchodonosor the king made a golden image, its height was sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits: and he set it up in the plain of Deira, in the province of Babylon. (2) And he sent forth to gather the governors, and the captains, and the heads of provinces, chiefs, and princes, and those who were in authority, and all the rulers of districts, to come to the dedication of the image. (3) So the heads of provinces, the governors, the captains, the chiefs, the great princes, those who were in authority, and all the rulers of districts, were gathered to the dedication of the image which king Nabuchodonosor had set up; and they stood before the image. (4) Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, ye peoples, tribes, and languages, (5) at what hour ye shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, and sackbut, and psaltery, and every kind of music, ye shall fall down and worship the golden image which king Nabuchodonosor has set up. (6) And whosoever shall not fall down and worship, in the same hour he shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace. (7) And it came to pass when the nations heard the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, and sackbut, and psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the nations, tribes, and languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image which king Nabuchodonosor had set up. 8) Then came near certain Chaldeans, and accused the Jews to the king, saying, (9) O king, live for ever. (10) Thou, O king, has made a decree that every man who shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and all kinds of music, (11) and shall not fall down and worship the golden image, shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace. (12) There are certain Jews whom thou has appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who have not obeyed thy decree, O king: they serve not thy gods, and worship not the golden image which thou hast set up. (13) Then Nabuchodonosor in wrath and anger commanded to bring Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago: and they were brought before the king. (14) And Nabuchodonosor answered and said to them, Is it true, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, that ye serve not my gods, and worship not the golden image which I have set up? (15) Now then if ye be ready, whensoever ye shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and pipe, and harp, and sackbut, and psaltery, and harmony, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the golden image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, in the same hour ye shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace; and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand? (16) Then answered Sedrach, Misach and Abdenago and said to king Nabuchodonosor, We have no need to answer thee concerning this matter. (17) For our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will rescue us from thy hands, O king. (18) But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up. (19) Then Nabuchodonosor was filled with wrath, and the form of his countenance was changed toward Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago: and he gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than usual, until it should burn to the uttermost. (20) And he commanded mighty men to bind Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. (21) Then those men were bound with their coats, and caps, and hose, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, (22) forasmuch as the king’s word prevailed; and the furnace was made exceeding hot. (23) Then these three men, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell bound into the midst of the burning furnace, and walked in the midst of the flame, singing praise to God, and blessing the Lord. (B:1) Then Azarias stood up, and prayed on this manner; and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire said, (B:2) Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers: thy name is worthy to be praised and glorified for evermore: (B:3) For thou art righteous in all the things that thou hast done to us: yea, true are all thy works, thy ways are right, and all thy judgments truth. (B:4) In all the things that thou hast brought upon us, and upon the holy city of our fathers, even Jerusalem, thou hast executed true judgment: for according to truth and judgment didst thou bring all these things upon us because of our sins. (B:5) For we have sinned and committed iniquity, departing from thee. (B:6) In all things have we trespassed, and not obeyed thy commandments, nor kept them, neither done as thou hast commanded us, that it might go well with us. (B:7) Wherefore all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment. (B:8) And thou didst deliver us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful forsakers of God, and to an unjust king, and the most wicked in all the world. (B:9) And now we cannot open our mouths, we are become a shame and reproach to thy servants; and to them that worship thee. (B:10) Yet deliver us not up wholly, for thy name’s sake, neither disannul thou thy covenant: (B:11) And cause not thy mercy to depart from us, for thy beloved Abraham’s sake, for thy servant Isaac’s sake, and for thy holy Israel’s sake; (B:12) To whom thou hast spoken and promised, that thou wouldest multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that lieth upon the seashore. (B:13) For we, O Lord, are become less than any nation, and be kept under this day in all the world because of our sins. (B:14) Neither is there at this time prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place to sacrifice before thee, and to find mercy. (B:15) Nevertheless in a contrite heart and an humble spirit let us be accepted. (B:16) Like as in the burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, and like as in ten thousands of fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be in thy sight this day, and grant that we may wholly go after thee: for they shall not be confounded that put their trust in thee. (B:17) And now we follow thee with all our heart, we fear thee, and seek thy face. (B:18) Put us not to shame: but deal with us after thy lovingkindness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies. (B:19) Deliver us also according to thy marvellous works, and give glory to thy name, O Lord: and let all them that do thy servants hurt be ashamed; (B:20) And let them be confounded in all their power and might, and let their strength be broken; (B:21) And let them know that thou art God, the only God, and glorious over the whole world. (B:22) And the king’s servants, that put them in, ceased not to make the oven hot with rosin, pitch, tow, and small wood; (B:23) So that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits. (B:24) And it passed through, and burned those Chaldeans it found about the furnace. (B:25) But the angel of the Lord came down into the oven together with Azarias and his fellows, and smote the flame of the fire out of the oven; (B:26) And made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them. (B:27) Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, glorified, and blessed, God in the furnace, saying, (B:28) Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever. (B:29) And blessed is thy glorious and holy name: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever. (B:30) Blessed art thou in the temple of thine holy glory: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever. (B:31) Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubims: and to be praised and exalted above all for ever. (B:32) Blessed art thou on the glorious throne of thy kingdom: and to be praised and glorified above all for ever. (B:33) Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and above all to be praised and glorified for ever. (B:34) O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever, (B:35) O ye heavens, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:36) O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:37) O all ye waters that be above the heaven, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:38) O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:39) O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:40) O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:41) O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:42) O all ye winds, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever, (B:43) O ye fire and heat, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:44) O ye winter and summer, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:45) O ye dews and storms of snow, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:46) O ye nights and days, bless ye the Lord: bless and exalt him above all for ever. (B:47) O ye light and darkness, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:48) O ye ice and cold, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:49) O ye frost and snow, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:50) O ye lightnings and clouds, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:51) O let the earth bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:52) O ye mountains and little hills, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:53) O all ye things that grow in the earth, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:54) O ye mountains, bless ye the Lord: Praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:55) O ye seas and rivers, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:56) O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:57) O all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:58) O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:59) O ye children of men, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:60) O Israel, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:61) O ye priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:62) O ye servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:63) O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:64) O ye holy and humble men of heart, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. (B:65) O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever: for he hath delivered us from hell, and saved us from the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the furnace and burning flame: even out of the midst of the fire hath he delivered us. (B:66) O give thanks unto the Lord, because he is gracious: for his mercy endureth for ever. (B:67) O all ye that worship the Lord, bless the God of gods, praise him, and give him thanks: for his mercy endureth for ever. (24) And Nabuchodonosor heard them singing praises; and he wondered, and rose up in haste, and said to his nobles, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? and they said to the king, Yes, O king. (25) And the king said, But I see four men loose, and walking in the midst of the fire, and there has no harm happened to them; and the appearance of the fourth is like the Son of God. (26) Then Nabuchodonosor drew near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said, Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, proceed forth, and come hither. So Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, came forth out of the midst of the fire. (27) Then were assembled the satraps, and captains, and heads of provinces, and the royal princes; and they saw the men, and perceived that the fire had not had power against their bodies, and the hair of their head was not burnt, and their coats were not scorched, nor was the smell of fire upon them. (28) And king Nabuchodonosor answered and said, Blessed be the God of Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants, because they trusted in him; and they have changed the king’s word, and delivered their bodies to be burnt, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. (29) Wherefore I publish a decree: Every people, tribe, or language, that shall speak reproachfully against the God of Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago shall be destroyed, and their houses shall be plundered: because there is no other God who shall be able to deliver thus. (30) Then the king promoted Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, in the province of Babylon, and advanced them, and gave them authority to rule over all the Jews who were in his kingdom. (31) King Nabuchodonosor to all nations, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you. (32) It seemed good to me to declare to you the signs and wonders which the most high God has wrought with me, (33) how great and mighty they are: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to all generations.

4

(1) I Nabuchodonosor was thriving in my house, and prospering. (2) I saw a vision, and it terrified me, and I was troubled on my bed, and the visions of my head troubled me. (3) And I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. (4) So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof; (5) until Daniel came, whose name is Baltasar, according to the name of my God, who has within him the Holy Spirit of God; to whom I said, (6) O Baltasar, chief of the enchanters, of whom I know that the Holy Spirit of God is in thee, and no mystery is too hard for thee, hear the vision of my dream which I had, and tell me the interpretation of it. (7) I had a vision upon my bed; and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. (8) The tree grew large and strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its extent to the extremity of the whole earth: (9) its leaves were fair, and its fruit abundant, and in it was meat for all; and under it the wild beasts of the field took shelter, and the birds of the sky lodged in the branches of it, and all flesh was fed of it. (10) I beheld in the night vision upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven and cried aloud, and thus he said, (11) Cut down the tree, and pluck off its branches, and shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the wild beasts be removed from under it, and the birds from its branches. (12) Only leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and bind it with an iron and brass band; and it shall lie in the grass that is without and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with the wild beasts in the grass of the field. (13) His heart shall be changed from that of man, and the heart of a wild beast shall be given to him; and seven times shall pass over him. (14) The matter is by the decree of the watcher, and the demand is a word of the holy ones; that the living may known that the Lord is most high over the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please, and will set up over it that which is set at nought of men. (15) This is the vision which I king Nabuchodonosor saw: and do thou, Baltasar, declare the interpretation, for none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to shew me the interpretation of it: but thou, Daniel, art able; for the Holy Spirit of God is in thee. (16) Then Daniel, whose name is Baltasar, was amazed about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. And Baltasar answered and said, My lord, let the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation of it to thine enemies. (17) The tree which thou sawest, that grew large and strong, whose height reached to the sky and its extent to all the earth; (18) and whose leaves were flourishing, and its fruit abundant, (and it was meat for all; under it the wild beasts lodged, and the birds of the sky took shelter in its branches:) (19) is thyself, O king; for thou art grown great and powerful, and thy greatness has increased and reached to heaven, and thy dominion to the ends of the earth. (20) And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and he said, Strip the tree, and destroy it; only leave the stump of its roots in the ground, and bind it with a band of iron and brass; and it shall lie in the grass that is without, and in the dew of heaven, and its portion shall be with wild beasts, until seven times have passed over it; (21) this is the interpretation of it, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king. (22) And they shall drive thee forth from men, and thy dwelling shall be with wild beasts, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox, and thou shall have thy lodging under the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou known that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and will give it to whom he shall please. (23) And whereas they said, Leave the stumps of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom abides sure to thee from the time that thou shalt know the power of the heavens. (24) Therefore, O king, let my counsel please thee, and atone for thy sins by alms, and thine iniquities by compassion on the poor: it may be God will be long-suffering to thy trespasses. (25) All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor. (26) After a twelvemonth, as he walked in his palace in Babylon, (27) the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal residence, by the might of my power, for the honour of my glory? (28) While the word was yet in the king’s mouth, there came a voice from heaven, saying, To thee, king Nabuchodonosor, they say, The kingdom has departed from thee. (29) And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the wild beasts of the field, and they shall feed thee with grass as an ox: and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High is Lord of the kingdom of men, and he will give it to whomsoever he shall please. (30) In the same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor: and he was driven forth from men, and he ate grass as an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hairs were grown like lions’ hairs, and his nails as birds’ claws. (31) And at the end of the time I Nabuchodonosor lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised him that lives for ever, and gave him glory; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom lasts to all generations: (32) and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none who shall withstand his power, and say to him, What has thou done? (33) At the same time my reason returned to me, and I came to the honour of my kingdom; and my natural form returned to me, and my princes, and my nobles, sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and more abundant majesty was added to me. (34) Now therefore I Nabuchodonosor praise and greatly exalt and glorify the King of heaven; for all his works are true, and his paths are judgment: and all that walk in pride he is able to abase.

5

(1) Baltasar the king made a great supper for his thousand nobles, and there was wine before the thousand. (2) And Baltasar drinking gave orders as he tasted the wine that they should bring the gold and silver vessels, which Nabuchodonosor his father had brought forth from the temple in Jerusalem; that the king, and his nobles, and his mistresses, and his concubines, should drink out of them. (3) So the gold and silver vessels were brought which Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple of God in Jerusalem; and the king, and his nobles, and his mistresses, and his concubines, drank out of them. (4) They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stone. (5) In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote in front of the lamp on the plaster of the wall of the king’s house: and the king saw the knuckles of the hand that wrote. (6) Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one another. (7) And the king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; and he said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation, shall be clothed with scarlet, and there shall be a golden chain upon his neck, and he shall be the third ruler in my kingdom. (8) Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known the interpretation to the king. (9) And king Baltasar was troubled, and his countenance changed upon him, and his nobles were troubled with him. (10) Then the queen came into the banquet house, and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, and let not thy countenance be changed. (11) There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the Spirit of God; and in the days of thy father watchfulness and understanding were found in him; and king Nabuchodonosor thy father made him chief of the enchanters, magicians, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. (12) For there is an excellent spirit in him, and sense and understanding in him, interpreting dreams as he does, and answering hard questions, and solving difficulties: it is Daniel, and the king gave him the name of Baltasar: now then let him be called, and he shall tell thee the interpretation of the writing. (13) Then Daniel was brought in before the king: and the king said to Daniel, Art thou Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Judea, which the king my father brought? (14) I have heard concerning thee, that the Spirit of God is in thee, and that watchfulness and understanding and excellent wisdom have been found in thee. (15) And now, the wise men, magicians, and soothsayers, have come in before me, to read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation: but they could not tell it me. (16) And I have heard concerning thee, that thou art able to make interpretations: now then if thou shalt be able to read the writing, and to make known to me the interpretation of it, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and there shall be a golden chain upon thy neck, and thou shalt be third ruler in my kingdom. (17) And Daniel said, before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give the present of thine house to another; but I will read the writing, and will make known to thee the interpretation of it. (18) O king, the most high God gave to thy father Nabuchodonosor a kingdom, and majesty, and honour, and glory: (19) and by reason of the majesty which he gave to him, all nations, tribes, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he smote; and whom he would he exalted; and whom he would he abased. (20) But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was emboldened to act proudly, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his honour was taken from him. (21) And he was driven forth from men; and his heart was given him after the nature of wild beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; and they fed him with grass as an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the most high God is Lord of the kingdom of men, and will give it to whomsoever he shall please. (22) And thou accordingly, his son, O Baltasar, has not humbled thine heart before God: knowest thou not all this? (23) And thou has been exalted against the Lord God of heaven; and they have brought before thee the vessels of his house, and thou, and thy nobles, and thy mistresses, and thy concubines, have drunk wine out of them; and thou has praised the gods of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and wood, and stone, which see not, and which hear not, and know not: and the God in whose hand are thy breath, and all thy ways has thou not glorified. (24) Therefore from his presence has been sent forth the knuckle of a hand; and he has ordered the writing. (25) And this is the ordered writing, Mane, Thekel, Phares. (26) This is the interpretation of the sentence: Mane; God has measured thy kingdom, and finished it. (27) Thekel; it has been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. (28) Phares; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. (29) Then Baltasar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put the golden chain about his neck, and proclaimed concerning him that he was the third ruler in the kingdom. (30) In the same night was Baltasar the Chaldean king slain. (31) And Darius the Mede succeeded to the kingdom, being sixty-two years old.

6

(1) And it pleased Darius, and he set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, to be in all his kingdom; (2) and over them three governors, of whom one was, Daniel; for the satraps to give account to them, that the king should not be troubled. (3) And Daniel was over them, for there was an excellent spirit in him; and the king set him over all his kingdom. (4) Then the governors and satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel; but they found against him no occasion, nor trespass, nor error, because he was faithful. (5) And the governors said, We shall not find occasion against Daniel, except in the ordinances of his God. (6) Then the governors and satraps stood by the king, and said to him, King Darius, live for ever. (7) All who preside over thy kingdom, captains and satraps, chiefs and local governors, have taken counsel together, to establish by a royal statue and to confirm a decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. (8) Now then, O king, establish the decree, and publish a writ, that the decree of the Persians and Medes be not changed. (9) Then king Darius commanded the decree to be written. (10) And when Daniel knew that the decree was ordered, he went into his house; and his windows were opened in his chambers toward Jerusalem, and three times in the day he knelt upon his knees, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he used to do before. (11) Then these men watched, and found Daniel praying and supplicating to his God. (12) And they came and said to the king, O king, has thou not made a decree, that whatsoever man shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? And the king said, The word is true, and the decree of the Medes and Persians shall not pass. (13) Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel of the children of the captivity of Judea, has not submitted to thy decree; and three times in the day he makes his requests of his God. (14) Then the king, when he heard the saying, was much grieved for Daniel and he greatly exerted himself for Daniel to deliver him: and he exerted himself till evening to deliver him. (15) Then those men said to the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that we must not change any decree of statue which the king shall make. (16) Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. But the king said to Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. (17) And they brought a stone, and put it on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his ring, and with the ring of his nobles; that the case might not be altered with regard to Daniel. (18) And the king departed to his house, and lay down fasting, and they brought him no food; and his sleep departed from him. But God shut the mouths of the lions, and they not molest Daniel. (19) Then the king arose very early in the morning, and came in hast to the den of lions. (20) And when he drew near to the den, he cried with a loud voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has thy God, whom thou servest continually, been able to deliver thee from the lion’s mouth? (21) And Daniel said to the king, O king, live for ever. (22) My God has sent his angel, and stopped the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me: for uprightness was found in me before him; and moreover before thee, O king, I have committed no trespass. (23) Then the king was very glad for him, and he commanded to bring Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was brought out of the den, and there was found no hurt upon him, because he believed in his God. (24) And the king commanded, and they brought the men that had accused Daniel, and they were cast into the den of lions, they, and their children, and their wives: and they reached not the bottom of the den before the lions had the mastery of them, and utterly broke to pieces all their bones. (25) Then king Darius wrote to all nations, tribes, and languages, who dwell in all the earth, saying, Peace be multiplied to you. (26) This decree has been set forth by me in every dominion of my kingdom, that men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living and eternal God, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion is for ever. (27) He helps and delivers, and works signs and wonders in the heaven and on the earth, who has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. (28) And Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

7

(1) In the first year of Baltasar, king of the Chaldeans Daniel had a dream, and visions of his head upon his bed: and he wrote his dream. (2) I Daniel beheld, and, lo, the four winds of heaven blew violently upon the great sea. (3) And there came up four great beasts out of the sea, differing from one another. (4) The first was as a lioness, and her wings as an eagle’s; I beheld until her wings were plucked, ands she was lifted off from the earth, and she stood on human feet, and a man’s heart was given to her. (5) And, behold, a second beast like a bear, and it supported itself on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth, between its teeth: and thus they said to it, Arise, devour much flesh. (6) After this one I looked, and behold another wild beast as a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon it: and the wild beast had four heads, and power was given to it. (7) After this one I looked, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong, and its teeth were of iron; devouring and crushing to atoms, and it trampled the remainder with its feet: and it was altogether different from the beasts that were before it; and it had ten hours. (8) I noticed his horns, and behold, another little horn came up in the midst of them, and before it three of the former horns were rooted out: and, behold, there were eyes as the eyes of a man in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things. (9) I beheld until the thrones were set, and the Ancient of days sat; and his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head, as pure wool: his throne was a flame of fire, and his wheels burning fire. (10) A stream of fire rushed forth before him: thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousands of myriads, attended upon him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened. (11) I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke, until the wild beast was slain and destroyed, and his body given to be burnt with fire. (12) And the dominion of the rest of the wild beasts was taken away; but a prolonging of life was given them for certain times. (13) I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, one coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of man, and he came on to the Ancient of days, and was brought near to him. (14) And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom; and all nations, tribes, and languages, shall serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed. (15) As for me Daniel, my spirit in my body trembled, and the visions of my head troubled me. (16) And I drew near to one of them that stood by, and I sought to learn of him the truth of all these things: and he told me the truth, and made known to me the interpretation of the things. (17) These four beasts are four kingdoms that shall rise up on the earth: (18) which shall be taken away; and the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess it for ever and ever. (19) Then I enquired carefully concerning the fourth beast; for it differed from every other beast, exceeding dreadful: its teeth were of iron, and its claws of brass, devouring, and utterly breaking to pieces, and it trampled the remainder with its feet: (20) and concerning it ten horns that were in its head, and the other that came up, and rooted up some of the former, which had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and his look was bolder than the rest. (21) I beheld, and that horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; (22) until the Ancient of days came, and he gave judgment to the saints of the Most High; and the time came on, and the saints possessed the kingdom. (23) And he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on the earth, which shall excel all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and trample and destroy it. (24) And his ten horns are ten kings that shall arise: and after them shall arise another, who shall exceed all the former ones in wickedness and he shall subdue three kings. (25) And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change times and law: and power shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (26) And the judgment has sat, and they shall remove his dominion to abolish it, and to destroy it utterly. (27) And the kingdom and the power and the greatness of the kings that are under the whole heaven were given to the saints of the Most High; and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all powers shall serve and obey him. (28) Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance was changed: but I kept the matter in my heart.

8

(1) In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar a vision appeared to me, even to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. (2) And I was in Susa the palace, which is in the land of Ælam, and I was on the bank of Ubal. (3) And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a ram standing in front of the Ubal; and he had high horns; and one was higher than the other, and the high one came up last. (4) And I saw the ram butting westward, and northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, and there was none that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became great. (5) And I was considering, and, behold, a he-goat came from the south-west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the earth: and the goat had a horn between his eyes. (6) And he came to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing in front of the Ubal, and he ran at him with the violence of his strength. (7) And I saw him coming up close to the ram, and he was furiously enraged against him, and he smote the ram, and broke both his horns: and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him on the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. (8) And the he-goat grew exceedingly great: and when he was strong, his great horn was broken; and four other horns rose up in its place toward the four winds of heaven. (9) And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it grew very great toward the south, and toward the host: (10) and it magnified itself to the host of heaven; and there fell to the earth some of the host of heaven and of the stars, and they trampled on them. (11) And this shall be until the chief captain shall have delivered the captivity: and by reason of him the sacrifice was disturbed, and he prospered; and the holy place shall be made desolate. (12) And a sin-offering was given for the sacrifice, and righteousness was cast down to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. (13) And I heard one saint speaking, and a saint said to a certain one speaking, How long shall the vision continue, even the removal of the sacrifice, and the bringing in of the sin of desolation; and how long shall the sanctuary and host be trampled? (14) And he said to him, Evening and morning there shall be two thousand and four hundred days; and then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. (15) And it came to pass, as I, even I Daniel, saw the vision, and sought to understand it, that, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. (16) And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ubal; and he called, and said, Gabriel, cause that man to understand the vision. (17) And he came and stood near where I stood: and when he came, I was struck with awe, and fell upon my face: but he said to me, Understand, son of man: for yet the vision is for an appointed time. (18) And while he spoke with me, I fell upon my face to the earth: and he touched me, and set me on my feet. (19) And he said, Behold, I make thee know the things that shall come to pass at the end of the wrath: for the vision is yet for an appointed time. (20) The ram which thou sawest that had the horns is the king of the Medes and Persians. (21) The he-goat is the King of the Greeks: and the great horn which was between his eyes, he is the first king. (22) And as for the one that was broken, in whose place there stood up four horns, four kings shall arise out of his nation, but not in their own strength. (23) And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king bold in countenance, and understanding riddles. (24) And his power shall be great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and prosper, and practise, and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people. (25) And the yoke of his chain shall prosper: there is craft in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by craft shall destroy many, and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them as eggs in his hand. (26) And the vision of the evening and morning that was mentioned is true: and do thou seal the vision; for it is for many days. (27) And I Daniel fell asleep, and was sick: then I arose, and did the king’s business; and I wondered at the vision, and there was none that understood it.

9

(1) In the first year of Darius the son of Assuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, (2) I Daniel understood by books the number of the years which was the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremias, even seventy years for the accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem. (3) And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fastings and sackcloth. (4) And I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed, and said, O Lord, the great and wonderful God, keeping thy covenant and thy mercy to them that love thee, and to them that keep thy commandments; we have sinned, (5) we have done iniquity, we have transgressed, and we have departed and turned aside from thy commandments and from thy judgments: (6) and we have not hearkened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, and our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. (7) To thee, O Lord, belongs righteousness, an to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Juda, and to the dwellers in Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the earth, wherever thou has scattered them, for the sin which they committed. (8) In thee, O Lord, is our righteousness, and to us belongs confusion of faced, and to our kings, and to our princes, and to our fathers, forasmuch as we have sinned. (9) To thee, the Lord our God, belong compassions and forgivenesses, whereas we have departed from thee; (10) neither have we hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by the hands of his servants the prophets. (11) Moreover all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have refused to hearken to thy voice; so the curse has come upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. (12) And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us great evils, such as have not happened under the whole heaven, according to what has happened in Jerusalem. (13) As it is written in the law of Moses, all these evils have come upon us: yet we have not besought the Lord our God, that we might turn away from our iniquities, and have understanding in all thy truth. (14) The Lord also has watched, and brought the evils upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his work which he has executed, but we have not hearkened to his voice. (15) And now, O Lord our God, who broughtest thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and madest to thyself a name, as at this day; we have sinned, we have transgressed. (16) O Lord, thy mercy is over all: let, I pray thee, thy wrath turn away, and thine anger from thy city Jerusalem, even thy holy mountain: for we have sinned, and because of our iniquities, and those of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach among all that are round about us. (17) And now, O lord our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine on thy desolate sanctuary, for thine own sake, O Lord. (18) Incline thine ear, O my God, and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolation, and that of thy city on which thy name is called: for we do not bring our pitiful case before thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of thy manifold compassions, O Lord. (19) Hearken, O Lord; be propitious, O Lord; attend, O Lord; delay not, O my God, for thine own sake: for thy name is called upon thy city and upon thy people. (20) And while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and bringing my pitiful case before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain; (21) yea, while I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came flying, and he touched me about the hour of the evening sacrifice. (22) And he instructed me, and spoke with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to impart to thee understanding. (23) At the beginning of thy supplication the word came forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art a man much beloved: therefore consider the matter, understand the vision. (24) Seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy. (25) And thou shalt know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the prince there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; and then the time shall return, and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted. (26) And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him: and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolations. (27) And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.

10

(1) In the third year of Cyrus king of the Persians a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Baltasar; and the thing was true, and great power and understanding in the vision was given to him. (2) In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. (3) I ate no pleasant bread, and no flesh or wine entered into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself with oil, until three whole weeks were accomplished. (4) On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was near the great river, which is Tigris Eddekel. (5) And I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man clothed in linen, and his loins were girt with gold of Ophaz: (6) and his body was as Tharsis, and his face was a the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his legs as the appearance of shining brass, and the voice of his words as the voice of a multitude. (7) And I Daniel only saw the vision: and the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great amazement fell upon them, and they fled in fear. (8) So I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there was no strength left in me, and my glory was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength. (9) Yet I heard the voice of his words: and when I heard him I was pricked in the heart, and I fell with my face to the earth. (10) And, behold, a hand touched me, and it raised me on my knees. (11) And he said to me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak to thee, and stand upright: for I am now sent to thee. And when he had spoken to me this word, I stood trembling. (12) And he said to me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to afflict thyself before the Lord thy God, they words were heard, and I am come because of thy words. (13) But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians withstood me twenty-one days: and behold, Michael, one of the princes, came to help me; and I left him there with the chief of the kingdom of the Persians: (14) and I have come to inform thee of all that shall befall thy people in the last days: for the vision is yet for many days. (15) And when he had spoken with me according to these words, I turned my face to the ground, and was pricked in the heart. (16) And, behold, as it were the likeness of a son of man touched my lips; and I opened my mouth, and spoke, and said to him that stood before me, O my lord, at the sight of thee my bowels were turned within me, and I had no strength. (17) And how shall thy servant be able, O my lord, to speak with this my lord? and as for me, from henceforth strength will not remain in me, and there is no breath left in me. (18) And there touched me again as it were the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, (19) and said to me, Fear not, man greatly beloved: peace be to thee, quit thyself like a man, and be strong. And when he had spoken with me, I received strength, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me (20) And he said, Knowest thou, wherefore I am come to thee? and now I will return to fight with the prince of the Persians: and I was going in, and the prince of the Greeks came. (21) But I will tell thee that which is ordained in the scripture of truth: and there is no one that holds with me in these matters but Michael your prince.

11

(1) And I in the first year of Cyrus stood to strengthen and confirm him. (2) And now I will tell thee the truth. Behold, there shall yet rise up three kings in Persia: and the fourth shall be very far richer than all: and after that he is master of his wealth, he shall rise up against all the kingdoms of the Greeks. (3) An there shall rise up a mighty king, and he shall be lord of a great empire, and shall do according to his will. (4) And when his kingdom shall stand up, it shall be broken, and shall be divided to the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled over: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, and given to others beside these. (5) And the king of the south shall be strong; and one of their princes shall prevail against him, and shall obtain a great dominion. (6) And after his years they shall associate; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north, to make agreements with him: but she shall not retain power of arm; neither shall his seed stand: and she shall be delivered up, and they that brought her, and the maiden, and he that strengthened her in these times. (7) But out of the flower of her root there shall arise one on his place, and shall come against the host, and shall enter into the strongholds of the king of the north, and shall fight against them, and prevail. (8) Yea, he shall carry with a body of captives into Egypt their gods with their molten images, and all their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall last longer than the king of the north. (9) And he shall enter into the kingdom of the king of the south, and shall return to his own land. (10) And his sons shall gather a multitude among many: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, and he shall rest, and collect his strength. (11) And the king of the south shall be greatly enraged, and shall come forth, and shall war with the king of the north: and he shall raise a great multitude; but the multitude shall be delivered into his hand. (12) And he shall take the multitude, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down many thousands; but he shall not prevail. (13) For the king of the north shall return, and bring a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the times of years an invading army shall come with a great force, and with much substance. (14) And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south; and the children of the spoilers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; and they shall fail. (15) And the king of the north shall come in, and cast up a mound, and take strong cities: and the arms of the king of the south shall withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up, but there shall be no strength to stand. (16) And he that comes in against him shall do according to his will, and there is no one to stand before him: and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and it shall be consumed by his hand. (17) And he shall set his face to come in with the force of his whole kingdom, and shall cause everything to prosper with him: and he shall give him the daughter of women to corrupt her: but she shall not continue, neither be on his side. (18) And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many, and cause princes to cease from their reproach: nevertheless his own reproach shall return to him. (19) Then he shall turn back his face to the strength of his own land: but he shall become weak, and fall, and not be found. (20) And there shall arise out of his root one that shall cause a plant of the kingdom to pass over his place, earning kingly glory: and yet in those days shall he be broken, yet not openly, nor in war. (21) One shall stand on his place, who has been set a nought, and they have not put upon him the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in prosperously, and obtain the kingdom by deceitful ways. (22) And the arms of him that overflows shall be washed away as with a flood from before him, and shall be broken, and so shall be the head of the covenant. (23) And because of the leagues made with him he shall work deceit: and he shall come up, and overpower them with a small nation. (24) And he shall enter with prosperity, and that into fertile districts; and he shall do what his fathers and his fathers’ fathers have not done; he shall scatter among them plunder, and spoils, and wealth; and he shall devise plans against Egypt, even for a time. (25) And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the south with a great force; and the king of the south shall engage in war with a great and very strong force; but his forces shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him: (26) and they shall eat his provisions, and shall crush him, and he shall carry away armies as with a flood, and many shall fall down slain. (27) And as for both the kings, their hearts are set upon mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end is for a fixed time. (28) And he shall return to his land with much substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall perform great deeds, and return to his own land. (29) At the set time he shall return, and shall come into the south, but the last expedition shall not be as the first. (30) For the Citians issuing forth shall come against him, and he shall be brought low, and shall return, and shall be incensed against the holy covenant: and he shall do thus, and shall return, and have intelligence with them that have forsaken the holy covenant. (31) And seeds shall spring up out of him, and they shall profane the sanctuary of strength, and they shall remove the perpetual sacrifice, and make the abomination desolate. (32) And the transgressors shall bring about a covenant by deceitful ways: but a people knowing their God shall prevail, and do valiantly. (33) And the intelligent of the people shall understand much: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil of many days. (34) And when they are weak they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall attach themselves to them with treachery. (35) And some of them that understand shall fall, to try them as with fire, and to test them, and that they may be manifested at the time of the end, for the matter is yet for a set time. (36) And he shall do according to his will, and the king shall exalt and magnify himself against every god, and shall speak great swelling words, and shall prosper until the indignation shall be accomplished: for it is coming to an end. (37) And he shall not regard any gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, neither shall he regard any deity: for he shall magnify himself above all. (38) And he shall honour the god of forces on his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honour with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and desirable things. (39) And he shall do thus in the strong places of refuge with a strange god, and shall increase his glory: and he shall subject many to them, and shall distribute the land in gifts. (40) And at the end of the time he shall conflict with the king of the south: and the king of the north shall come against him with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and they shall enter into the land: and he shall break in pieces, and pass on: (41) and he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many shall fail: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. (42) And he shall stretch forth his hand over the land; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. (43) And he shall have the mastery over the secret treasures of gold and silver, and over all the desirable possessions of Egypt, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in their strongholds. (44) But rumors and anxieties out of the east and from the north shall trouble him; and he shall come with great wrath to destroy many. (45) And he shall pitch the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the holy mountain of beauty: but he shall come to his portion, and there is none to deliver him.

12

(1) And at that time Michael the great prince shall stand up, that stands over the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of tribulation, such tribulation as has not been from the time that there was a nation on the earth until that time: at that time thy people shall be delivered, even every one that is written in the book. (2) And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproach and everlasting shame. (3) And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and some of the many righteous as the stars for ever and ever. (4) And thou, Daniel, close the words, and seal the book to the time of the end; until many are taught, and knowledge is increased. (5) And I Daniel saw, and, behold, two others stood, on one side of the bank of the river, and the other on the other side of the bank of the river. (6) And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was over the water of the river, When will be the end of the wonders which thou has mentioned (7) And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was over the water of the river, and he lifted up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and sware by him that lives for ever, that it should be for a time of times and half a time: when the dispersion is ended they shall know all these things. (8) And I heard, but I understood not: and I said, O Lord, what will be the end of these things? (9) And he said, Go, Daniel: for the words are closed and sealed up to the time of the end. (10) Many must be tested, and thoroughly whitened, and tried with fire, and sanctified; but the transgressors shall transgress: and none of the transgressors shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (11) And from the time of the removal of the perpetual sacrifice, when the abomination of desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (12) Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. (13) But go thou, and rest; for there are yet days and seasons to the fulfillment of the end; and thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

C

(1) And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and Cyrus of Persia received his kingdom. (2) And Daniel conversed with the king, and was honoured above all his friends. (3) Now the Babylonians had an idol, called Bel, and there were spent upon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine. (4) And the king worshipped it and went daily to adore it: but Daniel worshipped his own God. And the king said unto him, Why dost not thou worship Bel? (5) Who answered and said, Because I may not worship idols made with hands, but the living God, who hath created the heaven and the earth, and hath sovereignty over all flesh. (6) Then said the king unto him, Thinkest thou not that Bel is a living God? seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day? (7) Then Daniel smiled, and said, O king, be not deceived: for this is but clay within, and brass without, and did never eat or drink any thing. (8) So the king was wroth, and called for his priests, and said unto them, If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these expenses, ye shall die. (9) But if ye can certify me that Bel devoureth them, then Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel. And Daniel said unto the king, Let it be according to thy word. (10) Now the priests of Bel were threescore and ten, beside their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel. (11) So Bel's priests said, Lo, we go out: but thou, O king, set on the meat, and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast and seal it with thine own signet; (12) And to morrow when thou comest in, if thou findest not that Bel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death: or else Daniel, that speaketh falsely against us. (13) And they little regarded it: for under the table they had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered in continually, and consumed those things. (14) So when they were gone forth, the king set meats before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and those they strewed throughout all the temple in the presence of the king alone: then went they out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the king's signet, and so departed. (15) Now in the night came the priests with their wives and children, as they were wont to do, and did eat and drink up all. (16) In the morning betime the king arose, and Daniel with him. (17) And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he said, Yea, O king, they be whole. (18) And as soon as he had opened the dour, the king looked upon the table, and cried with a loud voice, Great art thou, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all. (19) Then laughed Daniel, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose footsteps are these. (20) And the king said, I see the footsteps of men, women, and children. And then the king was angry, (21) And took the priests with their wives and children, who shewed him the privy doors, where they came in, and consumed such things as were upon the table. (22) Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel into Daniel's power, who destroyed him and his temple. (23) And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon worshipped. (24) And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst not say that he is no living god: therefore worship him. (25) Then said Daniel unto the king, I will worship the Lord my God: for he is the living God. (26) But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave. (27) Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe them together, and made lumps thereof: this he put in the dragon's mouth, and so the dragon burst in sunder: and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods ye worship. (28) When they of Babylon heard that, they took great indignation, and conspired against the king, saying, The king is become a Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath slain the dragon, and put the priests to death. (29) So they came to the king, and said, Deliver us Daniel, or else we will destroy thee and thine house. (30) Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore, being constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them: (31) Who cast him into the lions' den: where he was six days. (32) And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given them every day two carcases, and two sheep: which then were not given to them, to the intent they might devour Daniel. (33) Now there was in Jewry a prophet, called Habbacuc, who had made pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field, for to bring it to the reapers. (34) But the angel of the Lord said unto Habbacuc, Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, who is in the lions' den. (35) And Habbacuc said, Lord, I never saw Babylon; neither do I know where the den is. (36) Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head, and through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den. (37) And Habbacuc cried, saying, O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God hath sent thee. (38) And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O God: neither hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love thee. (39) So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set Habbacuc in his own place again immediately. (40) Upon the seventh day the king went to bewail Daniel: and when he came to the den, he looked in, and behold, Daniel was sitting. (41) Then cried the king with a loud voice, saying, Great art Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside thee. (42) And he drew him out, and cast those that were the cause of his destruction into the den: and they were devoured in a moment before his face.

D

(1) In the third year of Cyrus the Persian, who captured Babylon, a word was revealed to Daniel, whose name is Balthasar. This word is true. I, Daniel, fasted for twenty one days until the evening; I had not eaten meat, I had not drunk wine, I had not anointed myself with oil. (2) It happened, as I was on the bank of the Tigris, that this was revealed to me; I looked; and the four winds of heaven were blowing towards the great sea. (3) I saw four very frightening animals rising from the river. (4) The first animal resembled a bear, having wings like an eagle. I saw as I waited that it flew with its wings; a human heart was given to it and it stood on its feet. (5) The second animal resembled human flesh; excessively horrible, it stood to one side. I watched until three quarters of its face were broken and the fourth quarter remained firm. I looked at it until its teeth were torn out of its mouth. (6) The third animal resembled a panther; it had wings, four heads, devouring with speed and scattering what remained. (7) The fourth animal which I saw resembled a lion, an animal much more terrible than all the animals which had been before it. Power and great force were given to it; its hands were of iron, its nails of bronze; devouring, chewing, crushing with its feet what remained. I saw ten horns which came out from its head: I saw also another small horn, which came out beside these ten horns. And great power and a remarkable form were given to it. I saw four different (horns) which arose on its left, then four others which arose after all these; each of them was different from the others, and, between them all, they made nineteen (horns). (8) And I heard a voice which said to me: "Daniel, do you understand what you saw?" But I said: "How can I understand, if nobody guides me?" (9) I looked and I saw an angel of God standing on my right. Its wings were extremely bright. I was afraid and I fell to the ground. The angel seized me, made me stand on my feet and said to me: "Stand on your feet, so that I can proclaim to you what will happen in the last days. (10) The four animals which you saw are four kingdoms. The animal that you saw, similar to a bear, is the king of Persia. He will possess the land for five hundred fifty-five (555) years. Then he will perish with his kingdom; he will not be powerful for always. (11) The second animal that you saw, similar to human flesh, it is the king of the Romans: he will seize the land as if by iron; he will extend himself over it; he will dominate by his armies as far as the land of the Ethiopians, and he will reign over it nine hundred and eleven years. But he will not possess the capital of the kingdom, until many days are completed. (12) The third animal which you saw, who resembled a panther, it is the king of the Greeks. He will reign over it for a thousand years and thirty days; but his reign will not last. (13) The fourth animal which you saw, who resembles a lion, is the king of the sons of Ishmael. He will reign for a long time over the land and will be very powerful during many days. This realm will be of the race of Abraham and of the slave of Sara, the wife of Abraham. All the cities of the Persians, the Romans and the Greeks will be destroyed; nineteen kings of this race among the sons of Ishmael will reign over the land; they will reign until the time of their end. (14) The tenth of their kings will be like a prophet, the number of his name is 399. He will practise justice, will give bread to the famished, clothing to those which are naked. He will free those who are slaves. His mercy will spread over the whole land, and his justice up to heaven. (15) The eleventh of their kings will practise iniquity over all the land; he will ruin the old works. He will persecute those which are on the land, so that nobody is found who lives there or remains there. All men will groan for forty-two months. If the God of heaven treats him with indulgence, his reign will last forty months. (16) The reign of the twelfth of their kings will consequently be strengthened by the judgements of his mouth. He will carry out malicious actions in the land, so much that men will be astonished by what he did. There will be many wars during his reign. At the end of the time, a king will thoroughly disturb the kingdom of Ismaelites for one hundred and forty-seven years. In the hundred and tenth year of his reign, he will have a war with the Ethiopians. The Ismaelites will reign over them, until they have despoiled the city of the kingdom, which is Souban. They will send messengers to ask for peace; they will give them money and gold in great quantity, a tribute will be paid to them in Ethiopia. (17) The thirteenth of them will not live in this kingdom at all, and they will not fear him. His reign will be of a few days. (18) The fourteenth of their kings will receive gold and money in great quantity and he will judge the land with equity. He will engage in war with Lower Egypt, so that Egypt is in sorrow and groaning. The Ethiopians will not be subjected at all to him, they will not pay him tribute. In those days there will be war in the land of the Romans. The Ethiopians will make war with the southernmost regions of Egypt; they will plunder the boroughs and all the cities of lower Egypt, until they arrive at the town of Cleopatra that she built herself in Upper Egypt, which city is Schmoun. After these things, the king of Syria will learn of it, he will fear the end because the war is approaching him. In the end, his reign will be established and he will enjoy a happy existence. (19) Then a child will arise among the Israelites will rise; this is the fifteenth of their kings. In his heart, he will be hard like iron; he will extend his sword to the Romans; his right hand will be on the Ethiopians. His face will be double (=cheating) and his language will be double (=crafty). During the days of his reign, there will be a great disorder over all the land, and his word will be violent like fire. The Ethiopians will bring gifts of gold to him, of silver, of pearls, and he will impose his work on everyone. He will make several nations captive in order to conscript them; throughout all his reign, there will not be enough bread; there will be no peace as long as he will reign, and in his time carnage will be frequent. (20) As for the sixteenth of their kings, there will be no war in his kingdom, and he himself will not fight with anybody, and he will be granted a long time (which he will spend) in peace, and his reign will pass in uprightness. (21) As regards the seventeenth of their kings, a war will break out between him and his nation; it is him whose name makes the number 666. He will elevate from his nation a man who will make war for him; he will pursue him as far as Egypt with the riches of its kingdom. He will neglect his nation and its great people and will scatter riches in public places and highways. While moving in lower Egypt with his riches, he will go into Upper Egypt on the side of the North, with the intention to plunder Souban, the city of the Ethiopians, with the remainder of its riches. But a man of his own nation will kill him in the southernmost regions of lower Egypt, and will take what remains to him of his riches. (22) The eighteenth of their kings, at the beginning of his reign, will work great evils, for one thousand, two hundred and sixty days. He will wage war in the western countries, and he will gain the victory until the day of his death. (23) Then among them a child will arise, who is his son. This one is the nineteenth of their kings. He will be the child of a double race, because his father is an Israelite, his mother is Roman. There will be war in Egypt and Syria for twenty one months. Their swords will fall on themselves in this war. This is the king whose name makes the number 666; he will be called by these three names: Mametios, Khalle and Sarapidos. Being a child, he will reign in order to do much evil. He will order all the Jews which are in all places to gather in Jerusalem. All the land will be disturbed during his reign, until any man can be sold for a single dinar. He is without decency and he will forget the fear of God. He will not remember the law of Ishmael his father, nor of his mother, who is Roman; he will be arrogant, continuously drunk; he will make a great number of those who eat at his table die by poisoned beverages, and in these days there will be great devastations. He will free Syria and the territory of Jews, and will torment the East and Egypt. He will establish carriers of letters in Egypt. Two and three times in only one year, the East will be against itself in this reign which will be the nineteeth. He will seek neither justice, nor truth, but he will seek gold all the time. He will establish managers in the regions of Africa, and a great quantity of soldiers. War will break out between him and them; they will destroy the multitude which is with him; he will be established in the regions of Africa, with what will remain of his troops, for several years, and he will not overcome it (Africa). Then a foreign nation will rise against him; it is called Pitourgos (the Turk); it will make war on him. Sarapidos will dominate over many Romans, over Pentapolis, over the Medes; from them all he will take a tribute, will command their cities and will plunder the city which he built, and regions that his father had gathered. The Turk will prepare for war to remove the kingdom from the hands of Sarapidos; hitherto Sarapidos remained at home. He was looking for spoils, because Sarapidos had great riches before his eyes, gold, silver, all kinds of precious stones, and desirable utensils of every kind. But it will be proclaimed to him that the Turk has made himself Master of all Syria and his borders, and he will go out in great disorder with all his troops; he will leave all the water-skins, will not carry anything with him; but he will have a heart of an animal, reflecting and knowing not what to do. Then, when he flees, going up Egypt, the Turk will precede him with his troops. They will both land with their troops, they will fight until blood runs in floods. The Turk is of Roman race. There will be war at Eschmoun the city, until the water of the river is changed into blood because of the great quantity of those wounded to death. No-one will be able to drink the water any more. Many men will die by the sword, uncountable. Those who remain will plunder their own country from where they left. The Turk will make Sarapidos perish, in order to remove his kingdom from him, for fear he will not obtain the kingdom of the Ishmaelites; but this is here the end of their number. (24) Then the king of the Romans will rise up against them, he will destroy them by the edge of the sword in the middle of the Ishmaelites in the territory of their fathers in the desert. The Ishmaelites will be governed always by the Romans; the Romans will dominate over Egypt for forty years. (25) Then two nations will rise, by the name of Gog and Magog; they will shake the ground for several days; their number is as great as the grains of sand. (26) Then Antichrist will appear who will deceive many of them. When he is strengthened, he will seduce even the elect. He will kill the two prophets Enoch and Elias, so that for three and a half days they will be dead in the public places of the great town of Jerusalem. (27) Then the Ancient of Days will bring them back to life. It is He whom I see coming with the clouds from Heaven, similar to a son of man. His power is an eternal power and His reign will have no end. It is he which will put Antichrist to death and all the multitude which is with him. There will be misfortune then in truth to any soul who will live in that time over all the land, because there will be iniquity, a great affliction and groanings; but the salvation of man is between the hands of God in Heaven. This is the end of the speech." (28) The angel said to me: "Daniel, Daniel, conceal these discourses, seal them up until the time when they will be fulfilled, because that is the end of all." I, Daniel, I arose, I put a seal to the discourse, and sealed them. I will glorify God, the father of all things and the lord of the universe, He who knows the dates and times. To him be glory and power forever. Amen.

Hosea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1

(1) The word of the Lord which came to Osee the son of Beeri, in the days of Ozias, and Joatham, and Achaz, and Ezekias, kings of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joas, king of Israel. (2) The beginning of the word of the Lord by Osee. And the Lord said to Osee, Go, take to thyself a wife of fornication, and children of fornication: for the land will surely go a-whoring in departing from the Lord. (3) So he went and took Gomer, daughter of Debelaim; and she conceived, and bore him a son. (4) And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezrael; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezrael on the house of Juda, and will make to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. (5) And it shall be, in that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrael. (6) And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And he said to him, Call her name, Unpitied: for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, but will surely set myself in array against them. (7) But I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them with bow, nor with sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. (8) And she weaned Unpitied; and she conceived again, and bore a son. (9) And he said, Call his name, Not my people: for ye are not my people, and I am not your God. (10) Yet the number of the children of Israel was as the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured nor numbered: and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said to them, Ye are not my people, even they shall be called the sons of the living God. (11) And the children of Juda shall be gathered, and the children of Israel together, and shall appoint themselves one head, and shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezrael.

2

(1) Say to your brother, My people, and to your sister, Pitied. (2) Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband: and I will remove her fornication out of my presence, and her adultery from between her breasts: (3) that I may strip her naked, and make her again as she was at the day of her birth: and I will make her desolate, and make her as a dry land, and will kill her with thirst. (4) And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they are children of fornication. (5) And their mother went a-whoring: she that bore them disgraced them: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, and my garments, and my linen clothes, my oil and my necessaries. (6) Therefore, behold, I hedge up her way with thorns, and I will stop the ways, and she shall not find her path. (7) And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: and she shall say, I will go, and return to my former husband; for it was better with me than now. (8) And she knew not that I gave her her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied silver to her: but she made silver and gold images for Baal. (9) Therefore I will return, and take away my corn in its season, and my wine in its time; and I will take away my raiment and my linen clothes, so that she shall not cover her nakedness. (10) And now I will expose her uncleanness before her lovers, and no one shall by any means deliver her out of my hand. (11) And I will take away all her gladness, her feasts, and her festivals at the new moon, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies. (12) And I will utterly destroy her vines, and her fig-trees, all things of which she said, These are my hire which my lovers have given me: and I will make them a testimony, and the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky, and the reptiles of the earth shall devour them. (13) And I will recompense on her the days of Baalim, wherein she sacrificed to them, and put on her ear-rings, and her necklaces, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord. (14) Therefore, behold, I will cause her to err, and will make her as desolate, and will speak comfortably to her. (15) And I will giver her possessions from thence, and the valley of Achor to open her understanding: and she shall be afflicted there according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt. (16) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that she shall call me, My husband, and shall no longer call me Baalim. (17) And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and their names shall be remembered no more at all. (18) And I will make for them in that day a covenant with the wild beasts of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the reptiles of the earth: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle from off the earth, and will cause thee to dwell safely. (19) And I will betroth thee to myself for ever; yea, I will betroth thee to myself in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in tender compassions; (20) and I will betroth thee to myself in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. (21) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, I will hearken to the heaven, and it shall hearken to the earth; (22) and the earth shall hearken to the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hearken to Jezrael. (23) And I will sow her to me on the earth; and will love her that was not loved, and will say to that which was not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art the Lord my God.

3

(1) And the Lord said to me, Go yet, and love a woman that loves evil things, an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, and they have respect to strange gods, and love cakes of dried grapes. (2) So I hired her to myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley, and a flagon of wine. (3) And I said unto her, Thou shalt wait for me many days; and thou shalt not commit fornication, neither shalt thou be for another man; and I will be for thee. (4) For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without a priesthood, and without manifestations. (5) And afterward shall the children of Israel return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his goodness in the latter days.

4

(1) Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. (2) Cursing, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery abound in the land, and they mingle blood with blood. (3) Therefore shall the land mourn, and shall be diminished with all that dwell in it, with the wild beasts of the field, and the reptiles of the earth, and with the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea shall fail: (4) that neither any one may plead, nor any one reprove another; but my people are as a priest spoken against. (5) Therefore they shall fall by day, and the prophet with thee shall fall: I have compared thy mother unto night. (6) My people are like as if they had no knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt not minister as priest to me: and as thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. (7) According to their multitude, so they sinned against me: I will turn their glory into shame. (8) They will devour the sins of my people, and will set their hearts on their iniquities. (9) And the priest shall be as the people: and I will avenge on them their ways, and I will recompense to them their counsels. (10) And they shall eat, and shall not be satisfied: they have gone a-whoring, and shall by no means prosper: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. (11) The heart of my people has gladly engaged in fornication and wine and strong drink. (12) They asked counsel by means of signs, and they reported answer to them by their staves: they have gone astray in a spirit of whoredom, and gone grievously a-whoring from their God. (13) They have sacrificed on the tops of the mountains, and on the hills they have sacrificed under the oak and poplar, and under the shady tree, because the shade was good: therefore your daughters shall go a-whoring, and your daughters-in-law shall commit adultery. (14) And I will not visit upon your daughters when they shall commit fornication, nor your daughters-in-law when they shall commit adultery: for they themselves mingled themselves with harlots, and sacrificed with polluted ones, and the people that understood not entangled itself with a harlot. (15) But thou, O Israel, be not ignorant, and go ye not, men of Juda, to Galgala; and go not up to the house of On, and swear not by the living Lord. (16) For Israel was maddened like a mad heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a wide place. (17) Ephraim, joined with idols, has laid stumbling-blocks in his own way. (18) He has chosen the Chananites: they have grievously gone a-whoring: they have loved dishonour through her insolence. (19) Thou art a blast of wind in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their altars.

5

(1) Hear these things, ye priests; and attend, O house of Israel; and hearken, O house of the king; for the controversy is with you, because ye have been a snare in Scopia, and as a net spread on Itabyrium, (2) which they that hunt the prey have fixed: but I will correct you. (3) I know Ephraim, and Israel is not far from me: for now Ephraim has gone grievously a-whoring, Israel is defiled. (4) They have not framed their counsels to return to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in them, and they have not known the Lord. (5) And the pride of Israel shall be brought low before his face; and Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquities; and Judas also shall fall with them. (6) They shall go with sheep and calves diligently to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him, for he has withdrawn himself from them. (7) For they have forsaken the Lord; for strange children have been born to them: now shall the cankerworm devour them and their heritages. (8) Blow ye the trumpet on the hills, sound aloud on the heights: proclaim in the house of On, Benjamin is amazed. (9) Ephraim has come to nought in the days of reproof: in the tribes of Israel I have shown faithful dealings. (10) The princes of Juda became as they that removed the bounds: I will pour out upon them my fury as water. (11) Ephraim altogether prevailed against his adversary, he trod judgment under foot, for he began to go after vanities. (12) Therefore I will be as consternation to Ephraim, and as a goad to the house of Juda. (13) And Ephraim saw his disease, and Judas his pain; then Ephraim went to the Assyrians, and sent ambassadors to king Jarim: but he could not heal you, and your pain shall in nowise cease from you. (14) Wherefore I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to the house of Juda: and I will tear, and go away; and I will take, and there shall be none to deliver. (15) I will go and return to my place, until they are brought to nought, and then shall they seek my face.

6

(1) In their affliction they will seek me early, saying, Let us go, and return to the Lord our God; for he has torn, and will heal us; (2) he will smite, and bind us up. (3) After two days he will heal us: in the third day we shall arise, and live before him, and shall know him: (4) let us follow on to know the Lord: we shall find him ready as the morning, and he will come to us as the early and latter rain to the earth. (5) What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee, Juda? whereas your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that goes away. (6) Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth: and my judgment shall go forth as the light. (7) For I will have mercy rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole-burnt-offerings. (8) But they are as a man transgressing a covenant: (9) there the city Galaad despised me, working vanity, troubling water. (10) And thy strength is that of a robber: the priests have hid the way, they have murdered the people of Sicima; for they have wrought iniquity in the house of Israel. (11) I have seen horrible things there, even the fornication of Ephraim: Israel and Juda are defiled; (12) begin together grapes for thyself, when I turn the captivity of my people.

7

(1) When I have healed Israel, then shall the iniquity of Ephraim be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria; for they have wrought falsehood: and a thief shall come in to him, even a robber spoiling in his way; (2) that they may concert together as men singing in their heart: I remember all their wickedness: now have their own counsels compassed them about; they came before my face. (3) They gladdened kings with their wickedness, and princes with their lies. (4) They are all adulterers, as an oven glowing with flame for hot-baking, on account of the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened. (5) In the days of our kings, the princes began to be inflamed with wine: he stretched out his hand with pestilent fellows. (6) Wherefore their hearts are inflamed as an oven, while they rage all the night: Ephraim is satisfied with sleep; the morning is come; he is burnt up as a flame of fire. (7) They are all heated like an oven, and have devoured their judges: all their kings are fallen; there was not among them one that called on me. (8) Ephraim is mixed among his people; Ephraim became a cake not turned. (9) Strangers devoured his strength, and he knew it not; and grey hairs came upon him, and he knew it not. (10) And the pride of Israel shall be brought down before his face: yet they have not returned to the Lord their God, neither have they diligently sought him for all this. (11) And Ephraim was as a silly dove, not having a heart: he called to Egypt, and they went to the Assyrians. (12) Whenever they shall go, I will cast my net upon them; I will bring them down as the birds of the sky, I will chasten them with the rumor of their coming affliction. (13) Woe to them! for they have started aside from me: they are cowards; for they have sinned against me: yet I redeemed them, but they spoke falsehoods against me. (14) And their hearts did not cry to me, but they howled on their beds: they pined for oil and wine. (15) They were instructed by me, and I strengthened their arms; and they devised evils against me. (16) They turned aside to that which is not, they became as a bent bow: their princes shall fall by the sword, by reason of the unbridled state of their tongue: this is their setting at nought in the land of Egypt.

8

(1) He shall come into their midst as the land, as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and have sinned against my law. (2) They shall soon cry out to me, saying, O God, we know thee. (3) For Israel has turned away from good things; they have pursued an enemy. (4) They have made kings for themselves, but not by me: they have ruled, but they did not make it known to me: of their silver and their gold they have made images to themselves, that they might be destroyed. (5) Cast off thy calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be unable to purge themselves in Israel? (6) Whereas the workman made it, and it is not God; wherefore thy calf, Samaria, was a deceiver: (7) for they sowed blighted seed, and their destruction shall await them, a sheaf of corn that avails not to make meal; and even if it should produce it, strangers shall devour it. (8) Israel is swallowed up: now is he become among the nations as a worthless vessel. (9) For they have gone up to the Assyrians: Ephraim has been strengthened against himself; they loved gifts. (10) Therefore shall they be delivered to the nations: now I will receive them, and they shall cease a little to anoint a king and princes. (11) Because Ephraim has multiplied altars, his beloved altars are become sins to him. (12) I will write down a multitude of commands for him; but his statutes are accounted strange things, even the beloved altars. (13) For if they should offer a sacrifice, and eat flesh, the lord will not accept them: now will he remember their iniquities, and will take vengeance on their sins: they have returned to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things among the Assyrians. (14) And Israel has forgotten him that made him, and they have built fanes, and Juda has multiplied walled cities: but I will send fire on his cities, and it shall devour their foundations.

9

(1) Rejoice not, O Israel, neither make merry, as other nations: for thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God; thou hast loved gifts upon every threshing-floor. (2) The threshing-floor and wine-press knew them not, and the wine disappointed them. (3) They dwelt not in the Lord’s land: Ephraim dwelt in Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things among the Assyrians. (4) They have not offered wine to the Lord, neither have their sacrifices been sweet to him, but as the bread of mourning to them; all that eat them shall be defiled; for their bread for their soul shall not enter into the house of the Lord. (5) What will ye do in the day of the general assembly, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? (6) Therefore, behold, they go forth from the trouble of Egypt, and Memphis shall receive them, and Machmas shall bury them: as for their silver, destruction shall inherit it; thorns shall be in their tents. (7) The days of vengeance are come, the days of thy recompense are come; and Israel shall be afflicted as the prophet that is mad, as a man deranged: by reason of the multitude of thine iniquities thy madness has abounded. (8) The watchman of Ephraim was with God: the prophet is a crooked snare in all his ways: they have established madness in the house of God. (9) They have corrupted themselves according to the days of the hill: he will remember their iniquities, he will take vengeance on their sins. (10) I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness, and I saw their fathers as an early watchman in a fig-tree: they went in to Beel-phegor, and were shamefully estranged, and the abominable became as the beloved. (11) Ephraim has flown away as a bird; their glories from the birth, and the travail, and the conception. (12) For even if they should rear their children, yet shall they be utterly bereaved: wherefore also there is woe to them, though my flesh is of them. (13) Ephraim, even as I saw, gave their children for a prey; yea, Ephraim was ready to bring out his children to slaughter. (14) Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give them? a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts. (15) All their wickedness is in Galgal: for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their practices, I will cast them out of my house, I will not love them any more: all their princes are disobedient. (16) Ephraim is sick, he is dried up at his roots, he shall in no wise any more bear fruit: wherefore even if they should beget children, I will kill the desired fruit of their womb. (17) God shall reject them, because they have not hearkened to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

10

(1) Israel is a vine with goodly branches, her fruit is abundant: according to the multitude of her fruits she has multiplied her altars; according to the wealth of his land, he has set up pillars. (2) They have divided their hearts; now shall they be utterly destroyed: he shall dig down their altars, their pillars shall mourn. (3) Because now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord: (4) and what should a king do for us, speaking false professions as his words? he will make a covenant: judgment shall spring up as a weed on the soil of the field. (5) The inhabitants of Samaria shall dwell near the calf of the house of On; for the people of it mourned for it: and as they provoked him, they shall rejoice at his glory, because he has departed from them. (6) And having bound it for the Assyrians, they carried it away as presents to king Jarim: Ephraim shall receive a gift, and Israel shall be ashamed of his counsel. (7) Samaria has cast off her king as a twig on the surface of the water. (8) And the altars of On, the sins of Israel, shall be taken away: thorns and thistles shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us. (9) From the time the hills existed Israel has sinned: there they stood: war waged against the children of iniquity (10) to chastise them shall not overtake them on the hill, the nations shall be gathered against them, when they are chastened for their two sins, (11) Ephraim is a heifer taught to love victory, but I will come upon the fairest part of her neck: I will mount Ephraim; I will pass over Juda in silence; Jacob shall prevail against him. (12) Sow to yourselves for righteousness, gather in for the fruit of life: light ye for yourselves the light of knowledge; seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you. (13) Wherefore have ye passed over ungodliness in silence, and reaped the sins of it? ye have eaten false fruit; for thou has trusted in thy sins, in the abundance of thy power. (14) Therefore shall destruction rise up among thy people, and all thy strong places shall be ruined: as a prince Solomon departed out of the house of Jeroboam, in the days of battle they dashed the mother to the ground upon the children, (15) thus will I do to you, O house of Israel, because of the unrighteousness of your sins.

11

(1) Early in the morning were they cast off, the king of Israel has been cast off: for Israel is a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt have I called his children. (2) As I called them, so they departed from my presence: they sacrificed to Baalim, and burnt incense to graven images. (3) Yet I bound the feet of Ephraim, I took him on my arm; but they knew not that I healed them. (4) When men were destroyed, I drew them with the bands of my love: and I will be to them as a man smiting another on his cheek: and I will have respect to him, I will prevail with him. (5) Ephraim dwelt in Egypt; and as for the Assyrian, he was his king, because he would not return. (6) And in his cities he prevailed not with the sword, and he ceased to war with his hands: and they shall eat of the fruit of their own devices: (7) and his people shall cleave fondly to their habitation; but God shall be angry with his precious things, and shall not at all exalt him. (8) How shall I deal with thee, Ephraim? how shall I protect thee, Israel? what shall I do with thee? I will make thee as Adama, and as Seboim; my heart is turned at once, my repentance is powerfully excited. (9) I will not act according to the fury of my wrath, I will not abandon Ephraim to be utterly destroyed: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One within thee: and I will not enter into the city. (10) I will go after the Lord: he shall utter his voice as a lion: for he shall roar, and the children of the waters shall be amazed. (11) They shall be amazed and fly as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of the Assyrians: and I will restore them to their houses, saith the Lord. (12) Ephraim has compassed me with falsehood, and the house of Israel and Juda with ungodliness: but now God knows them, and they shall be called God’s holy people.

12

(1) But Ephraim is an evil spirit, he has chased the east wind all the day: he has multiplied empty and vain things, and made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil has gone in the way of traffic into Egypt. (2) And the Lord has a controversy with Juda, in order to punish Jacob: according to his ways and according to his practices will he recompense him. (3) He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his labours he had power with God. (4) And he prevailed with the angel and was strong: they wept, and intreated me: they found me in the house of On, and there a word was spoken to them. (5) But the Lord God Almighty shall be his memorial. (6) Thou therefore shalt return to thy God: keep thou mercy and judgment, and draw nigh to thy God continually. (7) As for Chanaan, in his hand is a balance of unrighteousness: he has loved to tyrannize. (8) And Ephraim said, Nevertheless I am rich, I have found refreshment to myself. None of his labours shall be found available to him, by reason of the sins which he has committed. (9) But I the Lord thy God brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: I will yet cause thee to dwell in tabernacles, according to the days of the feast. (10) And I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the means of the prophets I was represented. (11) If Galaad exists not, then the chiefs in Galaad when they sacrificed were false, and their altars were as heaps on the ground of the field. (12) And Jacob retreated into the plain of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and waited for a wife. (13) And the Lord brought Israel out of the land of Egypt by a prophet, and by a prophet was he preserve. (14) Ephraim was angry and excited, therefore his blood shall be poured out upon him, and the Lord shall recompense to him his reproach.

13

(1) According to the word of Ephraim he adopted ordinances for himself in Israel; and he established them for Baal, and died. (2) And now they have sinned increasingly, and have made for themselves a molten image of their silver, according to the fashion of idols, the work of artificers accomplished for them: they say, Sacrifice men, for the calves have come to an end. (3) Therefore shall they be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as chaff blown away from the threshing-floor, and as a vapor from tears. (4) But I am the Lord thy God that establishes the heaven, and creates the earth, whose hands have framed the whole host of heaven: but I shewed them not to thee that thou shouldest go after them: and I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me; and there is no Saviour beside me. (5) I tended thee as a shepherd in the wilderness, in an uninhabited land. (6) According to their pastures, so they were completely filled; and their hearts were exalted; therefore they forgot me. (7) And I will be to them as a panther, and as a leopard. (8) I will meet them by the way of the Assyrians, as a she-bear excited, and I will rend the caul of their heart, and the lions’ whelps of the thicket shall devour them there; the wild beasts of the field shall rend them in pieces. (9) O Israel, who will aid thee in thy destruction? (10) Where is this thy king? let him even save thee in all thy cities: let him judge thee, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and a prince. (11) And I gave thee a king in mine anger, and kept him back in my wrath. (12) Ephraim has framed a conspiracy of unrighteousness, his sin is hidden. (13) Pains as of a woman in travail shall come upon him: he is thy wise son, because he shall not stay in the destruction of thy children. (14) I will deliver them out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes. (15) Forasmuch as he will cause a division among his brethren, the Lord shall bring upon him an east wind from the desert, and shall dry up his veins and quite drain his fountains: he shall dry up his land, and spoil all his precious vessels.

14

(1) Samaria shall be utterly destroyed: for she has resisted her God; they shall fall by the sword, and their sucklings shall be dashed against the ground, and their women with child ripped up. (2) Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God; for the people have fallen through thine iniquities. (3) Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God: speak to him, that ye may not receive the reward of unrighteousness, but that ye may receive good things: and we will render in return the fruit of our lips. (4) Assur shall never save us; we will not mount on horseback; we will no longer say to the works of our hands, Our gods. He who is in thee shall pity the orphan. (5) I will restore their dwellings, I will love them truly: for he has turned away my wrath from him. (6) I will be as dew to Israel: he shall bloom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Libanus. (7) His branches shall spread, and he shall be as a fruitful olive, and his smell shall be as the smell of Libanus. (8) They shall return, and dwell under his shadow: they shall live and be satisfied with corn, and he shall flower as a vine: his memorial shall be to Ephraim as the wine of Libanus. (9) What has he to do any more with idols? I have afflicted him, and I will strengthen him: I am as a leafy juniper tree. From me is thy fruit found. (10) Who is wise, and will understand these things? or prudent, and will know them? for the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them: but the ungodly shall fall therein.

Amos

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1

(1) The words of Amos which came to him in Accarim out of Thecue, which he saw concerning Jerusalem, in the days of Ozias king of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (2) And he said, The Lord has spoken out of Sion, and has uttered his voice out of Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds have mourned, and the top of Carmel is dried up. (3) And the Lord said, For three sins of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they sawed with iron saws the women with child of the Galaadites. (4) And I will send a fire on the house of Azael, and it shall devour the foundations of the son of Ader. (5) And I will break to pieces the bars of Damascus, and will destroy the inhabitants out of the plain of On, and will cut in pieces a tribe out of the men of Charrhan: and the famous people of Syria shall be led captive, saith the Lord. (6) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away from them; because they took prisoners the captivity of Solomon, to shut them up into Idumea. (7) And I will send forth a fire on the walls of Gaza, and it shall devour its foundations. (8) And I will destroy the inhabitants out of Azotus, and a tribe shall be cut off from Ascalon, and I will stretch out my hand upon Accaron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord. (9) Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they shut up the prisoners of Solomon into Idumea, and remembered not the covenant of brethren. (10) And I will send forth a fire on the walls of Tyre, and it shall devour the foundations of it. (11) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of Idumea, and for four, I will not turn away from them; because they pursued their brother with the sword, and destroyed the mother upon the earth, and summoned up his anger for a testimony, and kept up his fury to the end. (12) And I will send forth a fire upon Thaman, and it shall devour the foundations of her walls. (13) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away from him; because they ripped up the women with child of the Galaadites, that they might widen their coasts. (14) And I will kindle a fire on the walls of Rabbath, and it shall devour her foundations with shouting in the day of war, and she shall be shaken in the days of her destruction: (15) and her kings shall go into captivity, their priests and their rulers together, saith the Lord.

2

(1) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they burnt the bones of the king of Idumea to lime. (2) But I will send forth a fire on Moab, and it shall devour the foundations of its cities: and Moab shall perish in weakness, with a shout, and with the sound of a trumpet. (3) And I will destroy the judge out of her, and slay all her princes with him, saith the Lord. (4) Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of the children of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away from him; because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his ordinances, and their vain idols which they made, which their fathers followed, caused them to err. (5) And I will send a fire on Juda, and it shall devour the foundations of Jerusalem. (6) Thus saith the Lord; for three sins of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away from him; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for sandals, (7) wherewith to tread on the dust of the earth, and they have smitten upon the heads of the poor, and have perverted the way of the lowly: and a son and his father have gone into the same maid, that they might profane the name of their God. (8) And binding their clothes with cords they have made them curtains near the altar, and they have drunk wine gained by extortion in the house of their God. (9) Nevertheless I cut off the Amorite from before them, whose height was as the height of a cedar, and he was strong as an oak; and I dried up his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. (10) And I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you about in the desert forty years, that ye should inherit the land of the Amorites. (11) And I took of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for consecration. Are not these things so, ye sons of Israel? saith the Lord. (12) But ye gave the consecrated ones wine to drink; and ye commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. (13) Therefore, behold, I roll under you, as a waggon full of straw is rolled. (14) And flight shall perish from the runner, and the strong shall not hold fast his strength, and the warrior shall not save his life: (15) and the archer shall not withstand, and he that is swift of foot shall in no wise escape; and the horseman shall not save his life. (16) And the strong shall find no confidence in power: the naked shall flee away in that day, saith the Lord.

3

(1) Hear ye this word, O house of Israel, which the Lord has spoken concerning you, and against the whole family whom I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying, (2) You especially have I known out of all the families of the earth: therefore will I take vengeance upon you for all your sins. (3) Shall two walk together at all, if they do not know one another? (4) Will a lion roar out of his thicket if he has no prey? will a lion’s whelp utter his voice at all out of his lair, if he have taken nothing? (5) Will a bird fall on the earth without a fowler? will a snare be taken up from the earth without having taken anything? (6) Shall the trumpet sound in the city, and the people not be alarmed? shall there be evil in a city which the Lord has not wrought? (7) For the Lord God will do nothing, without revealing instruction to his servants the prophets. (8) A lion shall roar, and who will not be alarmed? the Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy? (9) Proclaim it to the regions among the Assyrians, and to the regions of Egypt, and say, Gather yourselves to the mountain of Samaria, and behold many wonderful things in the midst of it, and the oppression that is in it. (10) And she knew not what things would come against her, saith the Lord, even those that store up wrong and misery in their countries. (11) Therefore thus saith the Lord God; O Tyre, thy land shall be made desolate round about thee; and he shall bring down thy strength out of thee, and thy countries shall be spoiled. (12) Thus saith the Lord; As when a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall be drawn forth the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria in the presence of a foreign tribe, and in Damascus. (13) Hear, O ye priests, and testify to the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God Almighty. (14) For in the day wherein I shall take vengeance of the sins of Israel upon him, I will also take vengeance on the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be broken down, and they shall fall upon the ground. (15) I will crush and smite the turreted-house upon the summer-house; and the ivory-houses shall be destroyed, and many other houses also, saith the Lord.

4

(1) Hear ye this word, ye heifers of the land of Basan that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, and trample on the needy, which say to their masters, Give us that we may drink. (2) The Lord swears by his holiness, that, behold, the days come upon you, when they shall take you with weapons, and fiery destroyers shall cast those with you into boiling caldrons. (3) And ye shall be brought forth naked in the presence of each other; and ye shall be cast forth on the mountain Romman, saith the Lord. (4) Ye went into Bethel, and sinned, and ye multiplied sin at Galgala; and ye brought your meat-offerings in the morning, and your tithes every third day. (5) And they read the law without, and called for public professions: proclaim aloud that the children of Israel have loved these things, saith the Lord. (6) And I will give you dulness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet ye returned not to me, saith the Lord. (7) Also I withheld from you the rain three months before the harvest: and I will rain upon one city, and on another city I will not rain: one part shall be rained upon, and the part on which I shall not rain shall be dried up. (8) And the inhabitants of two or three cities shall be gathered to one city to drink water, and they shall not be satisfied: yet ye have not returned to me, saith the Lord. (9) I smote you with parching, and with blight: ye multiplied your gardens, your vineyards, and your fig-grounds, and the cankerworm devoured your olive-yards: yet not even thus did ye return to me, saith the Lord. (10) I sent pestilence among you by the way of Egypt, and slew your young men with the sword, together with thy horses that were taken captive; and in my wrath against you I set fire to your camps: yet not even thus did ye return to me, saith the Lord. (11) I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodoma and Gomorrha, and ye became as a brand plucked out of the fire: yet not even thus did ye return to me, saith the Lord. (12) Therefore thus will I do to thee, O Israel: nay because I will do thus to thee, prepare to call on thy God, O Israel. (13) For, behold, I am he that strengthens the thunder, and creates the wind, and proclaims to men his Christ, forming the morning and the darkness, and mounting on the high places of the earth, The Lord God Almighty is his name.

5

(1) Hear ye this word of the Lord, even a lamentation, which I take up against you. The house of Israel is fallen; it shall no more rise. (2) The virgin of Israel has fallen upon his land; there is none that shall raise her up. (3) Therefore thus saith the Lord God; The city out of which there went forth a thousand, in it there shall be left a hundred, and in that out of which there went forth a hundred, there shall be left ten to the house of Israel. (4) Wherefore thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live. (5) But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgala, and cross not over to the Well of the Oath: for Galgala shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall be as that which is not. (6) Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live; lest the house of Joseph blaze as fire, and it devour him, and there shall be none to quench it for the house of Israel. (7) It is he that executes judgment in the height above, and he has established justice on the earth: (8) who makes all things, and changes them, and turns darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night: who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth: the Lord is his name: (9) who dispenses ruin to strength, and brings distress upon the fortress. (10) They hated him that reproved in the gates, and abhorred holy speech. (11) Therefore because they have smitten the poor with their fists, and ye have received of them choice gifts; ye have built polished houses, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted desirable vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine of them. (12) For I know your many transgressions, and your sins are great, trampling on the just, taking bribes, and turning aside the judgment of the poor in the gates. (13) Therefore the prudent shall be silent at that time; for it is a time of evils. (14) Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord God Almighty shall be with you, as ye have said, (15) We have hated evil, and loved good: and restore ye judgment in the gates; that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. (16) Therefore thus saith the Lord God Almighty; In all the streets shall be lamentations; and in all the ways shall it be said, Woe, woe! the husbandman shall be called to mourning and lamentation, and to them that are skilled in complaining. (17) And there shall be lamentation in all the ways; because I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the Lord. (18) Woe to you that desire the day of the Lord! what is this day of the Lord to you? whereas it is darkness, and not light. (19) As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he should spring into his house, and lean his hands upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him. (20) Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? and is not this day gloom without brightness? (21) I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell your meat-offerings in your general assemblies. (22) Wherefore if ye should bring me your whole-burnt-sacrifices and meat-offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I have respect to your grand peace-offerings. (23) Remove from me the sound of thy songs, and I will not hear the music of thine instruments. (24) But let judgment roll down as water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent. (25) Have ye offered to me victims and sacrifices, O house of Israel, forty years in the wilderness? (26) Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Raephan, the images of them which ye made for yourselves. (27) And I will carry you away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, the Almighty God is his name.

6

(1) Woe to them that set at nought Sion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria: they have gathered the harvest of the heads of the nations, and they have gone in themselves. (2) O house of Israel, pass by all of you, and see; and pass by thence to Ematrabba; and thence descend to Geth of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, see if their coasts are greater than your coasts. (3) Ye who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths; (4) who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls; (5) who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as abiding, not as fleeting pleasures; (6) who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph. (7) Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim. (8) For the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off his city with all who inhabit it. (9) And it shall come to pass, if there be ten men left in one house, that they shall die. (10) But a remnant shall be left behind, and their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet any one else with thee? (11) And he shall say, No one else. And the other shall say, Be silent, that thou name not the name of the Lord. (12) For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents. (13) Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for ye have turned judgment into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness: (14) ye who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength? (15) For behold, O house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation, saith the Lord of hosts; and they shall afflict you so that ye shall not enter into Æmath, and as it were from the river of the wilderness.

7

(1) Thus has the Lord God shewed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog. (2) And it came to pass when he had finished devouring the grass of the land, that I said, Lord God, be merciful; who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number. (3) Repent, O Lord, for this. And this shall not be, saith the Lord. (4) Thus has the Lord shewed me; and, behold, the Lord called for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and devoured the Lord’s portion. (5) Then I said, O Lord, cease, I pray thee: who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number. Repent, O Lord, for this. (6) This also shall not be, saith the Lord. (7) Thus the Lord shewed me; and behold, he stood upon a wall of adamant, and in his hand was an adamant. (8) And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, An adamant. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I appoint an adamant in the midst of my people Israel: I will not pass by them any more. (9) And the joyful altars shall be abolished, and the sacrifices of Israel shall be set aside; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. (10) Then Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos is forming conspiracies against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land will be utterly unable to bear all his words. (11) For thus says Amos, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land. (12) And Amasias said to Amos, Go, seer, remove thou into the land of Juda, and live there, and thou shalt prophesy there: (13) but thou shalt no longer prophesy at Bethel: for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal house. (14) And Amos answered, and said to Amasias, I was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruits. (15) And the Lord took me from the sheep, and the Lord said to me, Go, and prophesy to my people Israel. (16) And now hear the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not to Israel, and raise not a tumult against the house of Jacob. (17) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be measured with the line; and thou shalt die in an unclean land; and Israel shall be led captive out of his land. Thus has the Lord God shewed me.

8

(1) And behold a fowler’s basket. (2) And he said, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, A fowler’s basket. And the Lord said to me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not pass by them any more. (3) And the ceilings of the temple shall howl in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many a fallen one in every place; I will bring silence upon them. (4) Hear now this, ye that oppress the poor in the morning, and drive the needy ones by tyranny from the earth, (5) saying, When will the month pass away, and we shall sell, and the sabbath, and we shall open the treasure, to make the measure small, and to enlarge the weight, and make the balance unfair? (6) That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for shoes; and we will trade in every kind of fruit. (7) The Lord swears against the pride of Jacob, None of your works shall ever be forgotten. (8) And shall not the land be troubled for these things, and shall not every one who dwells in it mourn? whereas destruction shall come up as a river, and shall descend as the river of Egypt. (9) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that the sun shall go down at noon, and the light shall be darkened on the earth by day: (10) and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; and I will make them as the mourning of a beloved friend, and those with them as a day of grief. (11) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send forth a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. (12) And the waters shall be troubled from sea to sea, and from the north to the east shall men run hither and thither, seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find it. (13) In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst; (14) they who swear by the propitiation of Samaria, and who say, Thy god, O Dan, lives; and, Thy god, O Bersabee, lives; and they shall fall, and shall no more rise again.

9

(1) I saw the Lord standing on the altar: and he said, Smite the mercy-seat, and the porch shall be shaken: and cut through into the heads of all; and I will slay the remnant of them with the sword: no one of them fleeing shall escape, and no one of them, striving to save himself shall be delivered. (2) Though they hid themselves in hell, thence shall my hand drag them forth; and though they go up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. (3) If they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, thence will I search them out and take them; and if they should go down from my presence into the depths of the sea, there will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them. (4) And if they should go into captivity before the face of their enemies, there will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes against them for evil, and not for good. (5) And the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, is he that takes hold of the land, and causes it to shake, and all that inhabit it shall mourn; and its destruction shall go up as a river, and shall descend as the river of Egypt. (6) It is he that builds his ascent up to the sky, and establishes his promise on the earth; who calls the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth; the Lord Almighty is his name. (7) Are not ye to me as the sons of the Ethiopians, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Did I not bring Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Cappadocia, and the Syrians out of the deep? (8) Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the kingdom of sinners, and I will cut it off from the face of the earth; only I will not utterly cut off the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. (9) For I will give commandment, and sift the house of Israel among all the Gentiles, as corn is sifted in a sieve, and yet a fragment shall not in any wise fall upon the earth. (10) All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, Calamities shall certainly not draw near, nor come upon us. (11) In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and will rebuild the ruins of it, and will set up the parts thereof that have been broken down, and will build it up as in the ancient days: (12) that the remnant of men, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, may earnestly seek me, saith the Lord who does all these things. (13) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when the harvest shall overtake the vintage, and the grapes shall ripen at seedtime; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall be planted. (14) And I will turn the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities, and shall inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and shall drink the wine from them; and they shall form gardens, and eat the fruit of them. (15) And I will plant them on their land, and they shall no more be plucked up from the land which I have given them, saith the Lord God Almighty.

Micah

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1

(1) And the word of the Lord came to Michaeas the son of Morasthi, in the days of Joatham, and Achaz, and Ezekias, kings of Juda, concerning what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem. (2) Hear these words, ye people; and let the earth give heed, and all that are in it: and the Lord God shall be among you for a testimony, the Lord out of his holy habitation. (3) For, behold, the Lord comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and will go upon the high places of the earth. (4) And the mountains shall be shaken under him, and the valleys shall melt like wax before the fire, and as water rushing down a declivity. (5) All these calamities are for the transgression of Jacob, and for the sin of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what is the sin of the house of Juda? is it not Jerusalem? (6) Therefore I will make Samaria as a store-house of the fruits of the field, and as a planting of a vineyard: and I will utterly demolish her stones, and I will expose her foundations. (7) And they shall cut in pieces all the graven images, and all that she has hired they shall burn with fire, and I will utterly destroy all her idols: because she has gathered of the hires of fornication, and of the hires of fornication has she amassed wealth. (8) Therefore shall she lament and wail, she shall go barefooted, and being naked she shall make lamentation as that of serpents, and mourning as of the daughters of sirens. (9) For her plague has become grievous; for it has come even to Juda; and has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. (10) Ye that are in Geth, exalt not yourselves, and ye Enakim, do not rebuild from the ruins of the house in derision: sprinkle dust in the place of your laughter. (11) The inhabitant of Sennaar, fairly inhabiting her cities, came not forth to mourn for the house next to her: she shall receive of you the stroke of grief. (12) Who has begun to act for good to her that dwells in sorrow? for calamities have come down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem, (13) even a sound of chariots and horsemen: the inhabitants of Lachis, she is the leader of sin to the daughter of Sion: for in thee were found the transgressions of Israel. (14) Therefore shall he cause men to be sent forth as far as the inheritance of Geth, even vain houses; they are become vanity to the kings of Israel; (15) until they bring the heirs, O inhabitant of Lachis: the inheritance shall reach to Odollam, even the glory of the daughter of Israel. (16) Shave thine hair, and make thyself bald for thy delicate children; increase thy widowhood as an eagle; for thy people are gone into captivity from thee.

2

(1) They meditated troubles, and wrought wickedness on their beds, and they put it in execution with the daylight; for they have not lifted up their hands to God. (2) And they desired fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed families, and spoiled a man and his house, even a man and his inheritance. (3) Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I devise evils against this family, out of which ye shall not lift up your necks, neither shall ye walk upright speedily: for the time is evil. (4) In that day shall a parable be taken up against you, and a plaintive lamentation shall be uttered, saying, We are thoroughly miserable: the portion of my people has been measured out with a line, and there was none to hinder him so as to turn him back; your fields have been divided. (5) Therefore thou shalt have no one to cast a line for the lot. (6) Weep not with tears in the assembly of the Lord, neither let any weep for these things; for he shall not remove the reproaches, (7) who says, The house of Jacob has provoked the Spirit of the Lord; are not these his practices? Are not the Lord’s words right with him? and have they not proceeded correctly? (8) Even beforetime my people withstood him as an enemy against his peace; they have stripped off his skin to remove hope in the conflict of war. (9) The leaders of my people shall be cast forth from their luxurious houses; they are rejected because of their evil practices; draw ye near to the everlasting mountains. (10) Arise thou, and depart; for this is not thy rest because of uncleanness: ye have been utterly destroyed; (11) ye have fled, no one pursuing you: thy spirit has framed falsehood, it has dropped on thee for wine and strong drink. But it shall come to pass, that out of the dropping of this people, (12) Jacob shall be completely gathered with all his people: I will surely receive the remnant of Israel; I will cause them to return together, as sheep in trouble, as a flock in the midst of their fold: they shall rush forth from among men through the breach made before them: (13) they have broken through, and passed the gate, and gone out by it: and their king has gone out before them, and the Lord shall lead them.

3

(1) And he shall say, Hear now these words, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and ye remnant of the house of Israel; is it not for you to know judgment? (2) who hate good, and seek evil; who tear their skins off them, and their flesh off their bones: (3) even as they devoured the flesh of my people, and stripped their skins off them, and broke their bones, and divided them as flesh for the caldron, and as meat for the pot, (4) thus they shall cry to the Lord, but he shall not hearken to them; and he shall turn away his face from them at that time, because they have done wickedly in their practices against themselves. (5) Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that lead my people astray, that bit with their teeth, and proclaim peace to them; and when nothing was put into their mouth, they raised up war against them: (6) therefore there shall be night to you instead of a vision, and there shall be to you darkness instead of prophecy; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark upon them. (7) And the seers of night-visions shall be ashamed, and the prophets shall be laughed to scorn: and all the people shall speak against them, because there shall be none to hearken to them. (8) Surely I will strengthen myself with the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of power, to declare to Jacob his transgressions, and to Israel his sins. (9) Hear now these words, ye chiefs of the house of Jacob, and the remnant of the house of Israel, who hate judgment, and pervert all righteousness; (10) who build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. (11) The heads thereof have judged for gifts, and the priests thereof have answered for hire, and her prophets have divined for silver: and yet they have rested on the Lord, saying, Is not the Lord among us? no evil shall come upon us. (12) Therefore on your account Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a storehouse of fruits, and the mountain of the house as a grove of the forest.

4

(1) And at the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and the peoples shall hasten to it. (2) And many nations shall go, and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and they shall shew us his way, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Sion shall go forth a law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (3) And he shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles; and nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more. (4) And every one shall rest under his vine, and every one under his fig-tree; and there shall be none to alarm them: for the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these words. (5) For all other nations shall walk everyone in his own way, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. (6) In that day, saith the Lord, I will gather her that is bruised, and will receive her that is cast out, and those whom I rejected. (7) And I will make her that was bruised a remnant, and her that was rejected a mighty nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Sion from henceforth, even for ever. (8) And thou, dark tower of the flock, daughter of Sion, on thee the dominion shall come and enter in, even the first kingdom from Babylon to the daughter of Jerusalem. (9) And now, why hast thou known calamities? was there not a king to thee? or has thy counsel perished that pangs as of a woman in travail have seized upon thee? (10) Be in pain, and strengthen thyself, and draw near, O daughter of Sion, as a woman in travail: for now thou shalt go forth out of the city, and shalt lodge in the plain, and shalt reach even to Babylon: thence shall the Lord thy God deliver thee, and thence shall he redeem thee out of the hand of thine enemies. (11) And now have many nations gathered against thee, saying, We will rejoice, and our eyes shall look upon Sion. (12) But they know not the thought of the Lord, and have not understood his counsel: for he has gathered them as sheaves of the floor. (13) Arise, and thresh them, O daughter of Sion: for I will make thine horns iron, and I will make thine hoofs brass: and thou shalt utterly destroy many nations, and shalt consecrate their abundance to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth.

5

(1) Now shall the daughter of Sion be completely hedged in: he has laid siege against us: they shall smite the tribes of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. (2) And thou, Bethleem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Juda; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity. (3) Therefore shall he appoint them to wait till the time of her that travails: she shall bring forth, and then the remnant of their brethren shall return to the children of Israel. (4) And the Lord shall stand, and see, and feed his flock with power, and they shall dwell in the glory of the name of the Lord their God: for now shall they be magnified to the ends of the earth. (5) And she shall have peace when Assur shall come into your land, and when he shall come up upon your country; and there shall be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight attacks of men. (6) And they shall tend the Assyrian with a sword, and the land of Nebrod with her trench: and he shall deliver you from the Assyrian, when he shall come upon your land, and when he shall invade your coasts. (7) And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples, as dew falling from the Lord, and as lambs on the grass; that none may assemble nor resist among the sons of men. (8) And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many nations, as a lion in the forest among cattle, and as a lion’s whelp among the flocks of sheep, even as when he goes through, and selects, and carries off his prey, and there is none to deliver. (9) Thine hand shall be lifted up against them that afflict thee, and all thine enemies shall be utterly destroyed. (10) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will utterly destroy the horses out of the midst of thee, and destroy thy chariots; (11) and I will utterly destroy the cities of thy land, and demolish all thy strong-holds: (12) and I will utterly destroy thy sorceries out of thine hands; and there shall be no soothsayers in thee. (13) And I will utterly destroy thy graven images, and thy statues out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt never any more worship the works of thine hands. (14) And I will cut off the groves out of the midst of thee, and I will abolish thy cities. (15) and I will execute vengeance on the heathen in anger and wrath, because they hearkened not.

6

(1) Hear now a word: the Lord God has said; Arise, plead with the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. (2) Hear ye, O mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and ye valleys even the foundations of the earth: for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and will plead with Israel. (3) O my people, what have I done to thee? or wherein have I grieved thee? or wherein have I troubled thee? answer me. (4) For I brought tee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, and sent before thee Moses, and Aaron, and Mariam. (5) O my people, remember now, what counsel Balac king of Moab took against thee, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from the reeds to Galgal; that the righteousness of the Lord might be known. (6) Wherewithal shall I reach the Lord, and lay hold of my God most high? shall I reach him by whole-burnt-offerings, by calves of a year old? (7) Will the Lord accept thousands of rams, or ten thousands of fat goats? should I give my first-born for ungodliness, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (8) Has it not been told thee, O man, what is good? or what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justice, and love mercy, and be ready to walk with the Lord thy God? (9) The Lord’s voice shall be proclaimed in the city, and he shall save those that fear his name: hear, O tribe; and who shall order the city? (10) Is there not fire, and the house of the wicked heaping up wicked treasures, and that with the pride of unrighteousness? (11) Shall the wicked be justified by the balanced, or deceitful weights in the bag, (12) whereby they have accumulated their ungodly wealth, and they that dwell in the city have uttered falsehoods, and their tongue has been exalted in their mouth? (13) Therefore will I begin to smite thee; I will destroy thee in thy sins. (14) Thou shalt eat, and shalt not be satisfied; and there shall be darkness upon thee; and he shall depart from thee, and thou shalt not escape; and all that shall escape shall be delivered over to the sword. (15) Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt press the olive, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with oil; and shalt make wine, but ye shall drink no wine: and the ordinances of my people shall be utterly abolished. (16) For thou hast kept the statues of Zambri, and done all the works of the house of Achaab; and ye have walked in their ways, that I might deliver thee to utter destruction, and those that inhabit the city to hissing: and ye shall bear the reproach of nations.

7

(1) Alas for me! for I am become as one gathering straw in harvest, and as one gathering grape-gleanings in the vintage, when there is no cluster for me to eat the first-ripe fruit: alas my soul! (2) For the godly is perished from the earth; and there is none among men that orders his way aright: they all quarrel even to blood: they grievously afflict every one his neighbour: (3) they prepare their hands for mischief, the prince asks a reward, and the judge speaks flattering words; it is the desire of their soul: (4) therefore I will take away their goods as a devouring moth, and as one who acts by a rigid rule in a day of visitation. Woe, woe, thy times of vengeance are come; now shall be their lamentations. (5) Trust not in friends, and confide not in guides: beware of thy wife, so as not to commit anything to her. (6) For the son dishonours his father, the daughter will rise up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: those in his house shall be all a man’s enemies. (7) But I will look to the Lord; I will wait upon God my Saviour: my God will hearken to me. (8) Rejoice not against me, mine enemy; for I have fallen yet shall arise; for though I should sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me. (9) I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he make good my cause: he also shall maintain my right, and shall bring me out to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. (10) And she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shall clothe herself with shame, who says, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall look upon her: now shall she be for trampling as mire in the ways. (11) It is the day of making of brick; that day shall be thine utter destruction, and that day shall utterly abolish thine ordinances. (12) And thy cities shall be levelled, and parted among the Assyrians; and thy strong cities shall be parted from Tyre to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. (13) And the land shall be utterly desolate together with them that inhabit it, because of the fruit of their doings. (14) Tend thy people with thy rod, the sheep of thine inheritance, those that inhabit by themselves the thicket in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed in the land of Basan, and in the land of Galaad, as in the days of old. (15) And according to the days of thy departure out of Egypt shall ye see marvellous things. (16) The nations shall see and be ashamed; and at all their might they shall lay their hands upon their mouth, their ears shall be deafened. (17) They shall lick the dust as serpents crawling on the earth, they shall be confounded in their holes; they shall be amazed at the Lord our God, and will be afraid of thee. (18) Who is a God like thee, cancelling iniquities, and passing over the sins of the remnant of his inheritance? and he has not kept his anger for a testimony, for he delights in mercy. (19) He will return and have mercy upon us; he will sink our iniquities, and they shall be cast into the depth of the sea, even all our sins. (20) He shall give blessings truly to Jacob, and mercy to Abraam, as thou swarest to our fathers, according to the former days.

Joel

1 2 3

1

(1) The word of the Lord which came to Joel the son of Bathuel. (2) Hear these words, ye elders, and hearken all ye that inhabit the land. Have such things happen in your days, or in the days of your fathers? (3) Tell your children concerning them, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. (4) The leavings of the caterpillar has the locust eaten, and the leavings of the locust has the palmerworm eaten, and the leavings of the palmerworm has the cankerworm eaten. (5) Awake, ye drunkards, from your wine, and weep: mourn, all ye that drink wine to drunkenness: for joy and gladness and removed are from your mouth. (6) For a strong and innumerable nation is come up against my land, their teeth are lion’s teeth, and their back teeth those of a lion’s whelp. (7) He has ruined my vine, and utterly broken my fig-trees: he has utterly searched my vine, and cast it down; he has peeled its branches. (8) Lament to me more than a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. (9) The meat-offering and drink-offering are removed from the house of the Lord: mourn, ye priests that serve at the altar of the Lord. (10) For the plains languish: let the land mourn, for the corn languishes; the wine is dried up, the oil becomes scarce; (11) the husbandmen are consumed: mourn your property on account of the wheat and barley; for the harvest has perished from off the field. (12) The vine is dried up, and the fig-trees are become few; the pomegranate, and palm-tree, and apple, and all trees of the field are dried up: for the sons of men have have abolished joy. (13) Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests: mourn, ye that serve at the altar: go in, sleep in sackcloths, ye that minister to God: for the meat-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God. (14) Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord, (15) Alas, Alas, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is nigh, and it will come as trouble upon trouble. (16) Your meat has been destroyed before your eyes, joy and gladness from out of the house of your God. (17) The heifers have started at their mangers, the treasures are abolished, the wine-presses are broken down; for the corn is withered. (18) What shall we store up for ourselves? the herds of cattle have mourned, because they had no pasture; and the flocks of sheep have been utterly destroyed. (19) To thee, O Lord, will I cry: for fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burnt up all the trees of the field. (20) And the cattle of the field have looked up to thee: for the fountains of waters have been dried up, and fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness.

2

(1) Sound the trumpet in Sion, make a proclamation in my holy mountain, and let all the inhabitants of the land be confounded: for the day of the Lord is near; (2) for a day of darkness and gloominess is near, a day of cloud and mist: a numerous and strong people shall be spread upon the mountains as the morning; there has not been from the beginning one like it, and after it there shall not be again even to the years of many generations. (3) Before them is a consuming fire, and behind them is a flame kindled: the land before them is as a paradise of delight, and behind them a desolate plain: and there shall none of them escape. (4) Their appearance is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they pursue. (5) As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, and as the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble, and as a numerous and strong people setting themselves in array for battle. (6) Before them shall the people be crushed: every face shall be as the blackness of a caldron. (7) As warriors shall they run, and as men of war shall they mount on the walls; and each shall move in his right path, and they shall not turn aside from their tracks: (8) and not one shall stand aloof from his brother: they shall go on weighed down with their arms, and they fall upon their weapons, yet shall they in no wise be destroyed. (9) They shall seize upon the city, and run upon the walls, and go up upon the houses, and enter in through the windows as thieves. (10) Before them the earth shall be confounded, and the sky shall be shaken: the sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light. (11) And the Lord shall utter his voice before his host: for his camp is very great: for the execution of his words is mighty: for the day of the Lord is great, very glorious, and who shall be able to resist it? (12) Now therefore, saith the Lord your God, turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation: (13) and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and repents of evils. (14) Who knows if he will return, and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord your God? (15) Sound the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service: (16) gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants at the breast: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. (17) Between the porch and the altar let the priests that minister to the Lord weep, and say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them, lest they should say among the heathen, Where is their God? (18) But the Lord was jealous of his land, and spared his people. (19) And the Lord answered and said to his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied with them: and I will no longer make you a reproach among the Gentiles. (20) And I will chase away from you the northern adversary, and will drive him away into a dry land, and I will sink his face in the former sea, and his back parts in the latter sea, and his ill savour shall come up, and his stink come up, because he has wrought great things. (21) Be of good courage, O land; rejoice and be glad: for the Lord has done great things. (22) Be of good courage, ye beasts of the plain, for the plains of the wilderness have budded, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded their strength. (23) Rejoice then and be glad, ye children of Sion, in the Lord your God: for he has given you food fully, and he will rain on you the early and the latter rain, as before. (24) And the floors shall be filled with corn, and the presses shall overflow with wine and oil. (25) And I will recompense you for the years which the locust, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, and the cankerworm have eaten, even my great army, which I sent against you. (26) And ye shall eat abundantly, and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the Lord your God for the things which he has wrought wonderfully with you: and my people shall not be ashamed for ever. (27) And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and that there is none else beside me; and my people shall no more be ashamed for ever. (28) And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (29) And on my servants and on my handmaids in those days will I pour out of my Spirit. (30) And I will shew wonders in heaven, and upon the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord come. (32) And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved: for in mount Sion and in Jerusalem shall the saved one be as the Lord has said, and they that have glad tidings preached to them, whom the Lord has called.

3

(1) For, behold, in those days and at that time, when I shall have turned the captivity of Juda and Jerusalem, (2) I will also gather all the Gentiles, and bring them down to the valley of Josaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and my heritage Israel, who have been dispersed among the Gentiles; and these Gentiles have divided my land, (3) and cast lots over my people, and have given their boys to harlots, and sold their girls for wine, and have drunk. (4) And what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles? do ye render me a recompense? or do ye bear malice against me? quickly and speedily will I return your recompense on your own heads: (5) because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and ye have brought my choice ornaments into your temples; (6) and ye have sold the children of Juda and the children of Jerusalem to the children of the Greeks, that ye might expel them from their coasts. (7) Therefore, behold, I will raise them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and I will return your recompense on your own heads. (8) And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Juda, and they shall sell them into captivity to a far distant nation: for the Lord has spoken it. (9) Proclaim these things among the Gentiles; declare war, arouse the warriors, draw near and go up, all ye men of war. (10) Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your sickles into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. (11) Gather yourselves together, and go in, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves there; let the timid become a warrior. (12) Let them be aroused, let all the nations go up to the valley of Josaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the Gentiles round about. (13) Bring forth the sickles, for the vintage is come: go in, tread the grapes, for the press is full: cause the vats to overflow; for their wickedness is multiplied. (14) Noises have resounded in the valley of judgment: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of judgment. (15) The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light. (16) And the Lord shall cry out of Sion, and shall utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heaven and the earth shall be shaken, but the Lord shall spare his people, and shall strengthen the children of Israel. (17) And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwell in Sion my holy mountain: and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall not pass through her anymore. (18) And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the fountains of Juda shall flow with water, and a fountain shall go forth of the house of the Lord, and water the valley of flags. (19) Egypt shall be a desolation, and Idumea shall be a desolate plain, because of the wrongs of the children of Juda, because they have shed righteous blood in their land. (20) But Judea shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem to all generations. (21) And I will make inquisition for their blood, and will by no means leave it unavenged: and the Lord shall dwell in Sion.

Obadiah

1

(1) The vision of Obdias. Thus saith the Lord God to Idumea; I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent forth a message to the nations. (2) Arise ye, and let us rise up against her to war. (3) Behold, I have made thee small among the Gentiles: thou art greatly dishonoured. The pride of thine heart has elated thee, dwelling as thou dost in the holes of the rocks, as one that exalts his habitation, saying in his heart, Who will bring me down to the ground? (4) If thou shouldest mount up as the eagle, and if thou shouldest make thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. (5) If thieves came in to thee, or robbers by night, where wouldest thou have been cast away? would they not have stolen just enough for themselves? and if grape-gatherers went in to thee, would they not leave a gleaning? (6) How has Esau been searched out, and how have his hidden things been detected? (7) They sent thee to thy coasts: all the men of thy covenant have withstood thee; thine allies have prevailed against thee, they have set snares under thee: they have no understanding. (8) In that day, saith the Lord, I will destroy the wise men out of Idumea, and understanding out of the mount of Esau. (9) And thy warriors from Thaeman shall be dismayed, to the end that man may be cut off from the mount of Esau. (10) Because of the slaughter and the sin committed against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. (11) From the day that thou stoodest in opposition to him, in the days when foreigners were taking captive his forces, and strangers entered into his gates, and cast lots on Jerusalem, thou also wast as one of them. (12) And thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day of strangers; nor shouldest thou have rejoiced against the children of Juda in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have boasted in the day of their affliction. (13) Neither shouldest thou have gone into the gates of the people in the day of their troubles; nor yet shouldest thou have looked upon their gathering in the day of their destruction, nor shouldest thou have attacked their host in the day of their perishing. (14) Neither shouldest thou have stood at the opening of their passages, to destroy utterly those of them that were escaping; neither shouldest thou have shut up his fugitives in the day of affliction. (15) For the day of the Lord is near upon all the Gentiles: as thou have done, so shall it be done to thee: thy recompense shall be returned on thine own head. (16) For as thou hast drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink wine; they shall drink, and go down, and be as if they were not. (17) But on mount Sion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be a sanctuary; and the house of Jacob shall take for an inheritance those that took them for an inheritance. (18) And the house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau shall be for stubble; and Israel shall flame forth against them, and shall devour them, and there shall not be a corn-field left to the house of Esau; because the Lord has spoken. (19) And they that dwell in the south shall inherit the mount of Esau, and they in the plain the Philistines: and they shall inherit the mount of Ephraim, and the plain of Samaria, and Benjamin, and the land of Galaad. (20) And this shall be the domain of the captivity of the children of Israel, the land of the Chananites as far as Sarepta; and the captives of Jerusalem shall inherit as far as Ephratha; they shall inherit the cities of the south. (21) And they that escape shall come up from mount Sion, to take vengeance on the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Jonah

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1

(1) Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas the son of Amathi, saying, (2) Rise, and go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it; for the cry of its wickedness is come up to me. (3) But Jonas rose up to flee to Tharsis from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid his fare, and went up into it, to sail with them to Tharsis from the presence of the Lord. (4) And the Lord raised up a wind on the sea; and there was a great storm on the sea, and the ship was in danger of being broken. (5) And the sailors were alarmed, and cried every one to his god, and cast out the wares that were in the ship into the sea, that it might be lightened of them. But Jonas was gone down into the hold of the ship, and was asleep, and snored. (6) And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, Why snorest thou? arise, and call upon thy God, that God may save us, and we perish not. (7) And each man said to his neighbour, Come, let us cast lots, and find out for whose sake this mischief is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas. (8) And they said to him, Tell us what is thine occupation, and whence comest thou, and of what country and what people art thou? (9) And he said to them, I am a servant of the Lord; and I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea, and the dry land. (10) Then the men feared exceedingly, and said to him, What is this that thou hast done? for the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them. (11) And they said to him, What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea rose, and lifted its wave exceedingly. (12) And Jonas said to them, Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. (13) And the men tried hard to return to the land, and were not able: for the sea rose and grew more and more tempestuous against them. (14) And they cried to the Lord, and said, Forbid it, Lord: let us not perish for the sake of this man’s life, and bring not righteous blood upon us: for thou, Lord, hast done as thou wouldest. (15) So they took Jonas, and cast him out into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging. (16) And the men feared the Lord very greatly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and vowed vows.

2

(1) Now the Lord had commanded a great whale to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. (2) And Jonas prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the whale, (3) and said, I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he hearkened to me, even to my cry out of the belly of hell: thou heardest my voice. (4) Thou didst cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and the floods compassed me: all thy billows and thy waves have passed upon me. (5) And I said, I am cast out of thy presence: shall I indeed look again toward thy holy temple? (6) Water was poured around me to the soul: the lowest deep compassed me, my head went down (7) to the clefts of the mountains; I went down into the earth, whose bars are the everlasting barriers: yet, O Lord my God, let my ruined life be restored. (8) When my soul was failing me, I remembered the Lord; and may my prayer come to thee into thy holy temple. (9) They that observe vanities and lies have forsaken their own mercy. (10) But I will sacrifice to thee with the voice of praise and thanksgiving: all that I have vowed I will pay to thee, the Lord of my salvation. (11) And the whale was commanded by the Lord, and it cast up Jonas on the dry land.

3

(1) And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time, saying, (2) Rise, go to Nineve, the great city, and preach in it according to the former preaching which I spoke to thee of. (3) And Jonas arose, and went to Nineve, as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineve was an exceeding great city, of about three days’ journey. (4) And Jonas began to enter into the city about a day’s journey, and he proclaimed, and said, Yet three days, and Nineve shall be overthrown. (5) And the men of Nineve believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloths, from the greatest of them to the least of them. (6) And the word reached the king of Nineve, and he arose from off his throne, and took off his raiment from him, and put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. (7) And proclamation was made, and it was commanded in Nineve by the king an by his great men, saying, Let not men, or cattle, or oxen, or sheep, taste any thing, nor feed, nor drink water. (8) So men and cattle were clothed with sackcloths, and cried earnestly to God; and they turned every one from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands, saying, (9) Who knows if God will repent, and turn from his fierce anger, and so we shall not perish? (10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did it not.

4

(1) But Jonas was very deeply grieved, and he was confounded. (2) And he prayed to the Lord, and said, O Lord, were not these my words when I was yet in my land? therefore I made haste to flee to Tharsis; because I knew that thou are merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness, and repentest of evil. (3) And now, Lord God, take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (4) And the Lord said to Jonas, Art thou very much grieved? (5) And Jonas went out from the city, and sat over against the city; and he made for himself there a booth, and he sat under it, until he should perceive what would become of the city. (6) And the Lord God commanded a gourd, and it came up over the head of Jonas, to be a shadow over his head, to shade him from his calamities: and Jonas rejoiced with great joy for the gourd. (7) And God commanded a worm the next morning, and it smote the gourd, and it withered away. (8) And it came to pass at the rising of the sun, that God commanded a burning east wind; and the sun smote on the head of Jonas, and he fainted, and despaired of his life, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. (9) And God said to Jonas, Art thou very much grieved for the gourd? And he said, I am very much grieved, even to death. (10) And the Lord said, Thou hadst pity on the gourd, for which thou has not suffered, neither didst thou rear it; which came up before night, and perished before another night: (11) and shall not I spare Nineve, the great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of human beings, who do not know their right hand or their left hand; and also much cattle?

Nahum

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1

(1) The burden of Nineve: the book of the vision of Naum the Elkesite. (2) God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges with wrath; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he cuts off his enemies. (3) The Lord is long-suffering, and his power is great, and the Lord will not hold any guiltless: his way is in destruction and in the whirlwind, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (4) He threatens the sea, and dries it up, and exhausts all the rivers: the land of Basan, and Carmel are brought low, and the flourishing trees of Libanus have come to nought. (5) The mountains quake at him, and the hills are shaken, and the earth recoils at his presence, even the world, and all that dwell in it. (6) Who shall stand before his anger? and who shall withstand in the anger of his wrath? his wrath brings to nought kingdoms, and the rocks are burst asunder by him. (7) The Lord is good to them that wait on him in the day of affliction; and he knows them that reverence him. (8) But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end: darkness shall pursue those that rise up against him and his enemies. (9) What do ye devise against the Lord? he will make a complete end: he will not take vengeance by affliction twice at the same time. (10) For the enemy shall be laid bare even to the foundation, and shall be devoured as twisted yew, and as stubble fully dry. (11) Out of thee shall proceed a device against the Lord, counselling evil things hostile to him. (12) Thus saith the Lord who rules over many waters, Even thus shall they be sent away, and the report of thee shall not be heard any more. (13) And now will I break his rod from off thee, and will burst thy bonds. (14) And the Lord shall give a command concerning thee; there shall no more of thy name be scattered: I will utterly destroy the graven images out of the house of thy god, and the molten images: I will make thy grave; for they are swift. (15) Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings glad tidings, and publishes peace! O Juda, keep thy feasts, pay thy vows: for they shall no more pass through thee to thy decay.

2

(1) It is all over with him, he has been removed, one who has been delivered from affliction has come up panting into thy presence, watch the way, strengthen thy loins, be very valiant in thy strength. (2) For the Lord has turned aside the pride of Jacob, as the pride of Israel: for they have utterly rejected them, and have destroyed their branches. (3) They have destroyed the arms of their power from among men, their mighty men sporting with fire: the reins of their chariots shall be destroyed in the day of his preparation, and the horsemen shall be thrown into confusion (4) in the ways, and the chariots shall clash together, and shall be entangled in each other in the broad ways: their appearance is as lamps of fire, and as gleaming lightnings. (5) And their mighty men shall bethink themselves and flee by day; and they shall be weak as they go; and they shall hasten to her walls, and shall prepare their defences. (6) The gates of the cities have been opened, and the palaces have fallen into ruin, (7) and the foundation has been exposed; and she has gone up, and her maid-servants were led away as doves moaning in their hearts. (8) And as for Nineve, her waters shall be as a pool of water: and they fled, and staid not, and there was none to look back. (9) They plundered the silver, they plundered the gold, and there was no end of their adorning; they were loaded with it upon all their pleasant vessels. (10) There is thrusting forth, and shaking, and tumult, and heart-breaking, and loosing of knees, and pangs on all loins; and the faces of all are as the blackening of a pot. (11) Where is the dwelling-place of the lions, and the pasture that belonged to the whelps? where did the lion go, that the lion’s whelp should enter in there, and there was none to scare him away? (12) The lion seized enough prey for his whelps, and strangled for his young lions, and filled his lair with prey, and his dwelling-place with spoil. (13) Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will burn up thy multitude in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy lions; and I will utterly destroy thy prey from off the land, and thy deeds shall no more at all be heard of.

3

(1) O city of blood, wholly false, full of unrighteousness; the prey shall not be handled. (2) The noise of whips, and the noise of the rumbling of wheels, and of the pursuing horse, and of the bounding chariot, (3) and of the mounting rider, and of the glittering sword, and of the gleaming arms, and of a multitude of slain, and of heavy falling: and there was no end to her nations, but they shall be weak in their bodies (4) because of the abundance of fornication: she is a fair harlot, and well-favoured, skilled in sorcery, that sells the nations by her fornication, and peoples by her sorceries. (5) Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord God Almighty, and I will uncover thy skirts in thy presence, and I will shew the nations thy shame, and the kingdoms thy disgrace. (6) And I will cast abominable filth upon thee according to thine unclean ways, and will make thee a public example. (7) And it shall be that every one that sees thee shall go down from thee, and shall say, Wretched Nineve! who shall lament for her? whence shall I seek comfort for her? (8) Prepare thee a portion, tune the chord, prepare a portion for Ammon: she that dwells among the rivers, water is round about her, whose dominion is the sea, and whose walls are water. (9) And Ethiopia is her strength, and Egypt; and there was no limit of the flight of her enemies; and the Libyans became her helpers. (10) Yet she shall go as a prisoner into captivity, and they shall dash her infants against the ground at the top of all her ways: and they shall cast lots upon all her glorious possessions, and all her nobles shall be bound in chains. (11) And thou shalt be drunken, and shalt be overlooked; and thou shalt seek for thyself strength because of thine enemies. (12) All thy strong-holds are as fig-trees having watchers: if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater. (13) Behold, thy people within thee are as women: the gates of thy land shall surely be opened to thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. (14) Draw thee water for a siege, and well secure thy strong-holds: enter into the clay, and be thou trodden in the chaff, make the fortifications stronger than brick. (15) There the fire shall devour thee; the sword shall utterly destroy thee, it shall devour thee as the locust, and thou shalt be pressed down as a palmerworm. (16) Thou hast multiplied thy merchandise beyond the stars of heaven: the palmerworm has attacked it, and has flown away. (17) Thy mixed multitude has suddenly departed as the grasshopper, as the locust perched on a hedge in a frosty day; the sun arises, and it flies off, and knows not its place: woe to them! (18) Thy shepherds have slumbered, the Assyrian king has laid low thy mighty men: thy people departed to the mountains, and there was none to receive them. (19) There is no healing for thy bruise; thy wound has rankled: all that hear the report of thee shall clap their hands against thee; for upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?

Habakkuk

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1

(1) The burden which the prophet Ambacum saw. (2) How long, O Lord, shall I cry out, and thou wilt not hearken? how long shall I cry out to thee being injured, and thou wilt not save? (3) Wherefore hast thou shown me troubles and griefs to look upon, misery and ungodliness? judgment is before me, and the judge receives a reward. (4) Therefore the law is frustrated, and judgment proceeds not effectually, for the ungodly man prevails over the just; therefore perverse judgment will proceed. (5) Behold, ye despisers, and look, and wonder marvelously, and vanish: for I work a work in your days, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare it to you. (6) Wherefore, behold, I stir up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, that walks upon the breadth of the earth, to inherit tabernacles not his own. (7) He is terrible and famous; his judgment shall proceed of himself, and his dignity shall come out of himself. (8) And his horses shall bound more swiftly than leopards, and they are fiercer than the wolves of Arabia: and his horsemen shall ride forth, and shall rush from far; and they shall fly as an eagle hasting to eat. (9) Destruction shall come upon ungodly men, resisting with their adverse front, and he shall gather the captivity as the sand. (10) And he shall be at his ease with kings, and princes are his toys, and he shall mock at every strong-hold, and shall cast a mound, and take possession of it. (11) Then shall he change his spirit, and he shall pass through, and make an atonement, saying, This strength belongs to my god. (12) Art not thou from the beginning, O Lord God, my Holy One? and surely we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast established it for judgment, and he has formed me to chasten with his correction. (13) His eye is too pure to behold evil doings, and to look upon grievous afflictions: wherefore dost thou look upon despisers? wilt thou be silent when the ungodly swallows up the just? (14) And wilt thou make men as the fishes of the sea, and as the reptiles which have no guide? (15) He has brought up destruction with a hook, and drawn one with a casting net, and caught another in his drags: therefore shall his heart rejoice and be glad. (16) Therefore will he sacrifice to his drag, and burn incense to his casting-net, because by them he has made his portion fat, and his meats choice. (17) Therefore will he cast his net, and will not spare to slay the nations continually.

2

(1) I will stand upon my watch, and mount upon the rock, and watch to see what he will say by me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. (2) And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and that plainly on a tablet, that he that reads it may run. (3) For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should tarry, wait for him; for he will surely come, and will not tarry. (4) If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith. (5) But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples. (6) Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke. (7) For suddenly there shall arise up those that bite him, and they that plot against thee shall awake, and thou shalt be a plunder to them. (8) Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the nations that are left shall spoil thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. (9) Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evils. (10) Thou hast devised shame to thy house, thou hast utterly destroyed many nations, and thy soul has sinned. (11) For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beetle out of the timber shall speak. (12) Woe to him that builds a city with blood, and establishes a city by unrighteousness. (13) Are not these things of the Lord Almighty? surely many people have been exhausted in the fire, and many nations have fainted. (14) For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; it shall cover them as water. (15) Woe to him that gives his neighbour to drink the thick lees of wine, and intoxicates him, that he may look upon their secret parts. (16) Drink thou also thy fill of disgrace instead of glory: shake, O heart, and quake, the cup of the right hand of the Lord has come round upon thee, and dishonour has gathered upon thy glory. (17) For the ungodliness of Libanus shall cover thee, and distress because of wild beasts shall dismay thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. (18) What profit it the graven image, that they have graven it? one has made it a molten work, a false image; for the maker has trusted in his work, to make dumb idols. (19) Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake, arise; and to the stone, Be thou exalted! whereas it is an image, and this is a casting of gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. (20) But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth fear before him.

3

(1) A PRAYER OF THE PROPHET AMBACUM, WITH A SONG. (2) O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid: I considered thy works, and was amazed: thou shalt be known between the two living creatures, thou shalt be acknowledged when the years draw nigh; thou shalt be manifested when the time is come; when my soul is troubled, thou wilt in wrath remember mercy. (3) God shall come from Thaeman, and the Holy One from the dark shady mount Pharan. Pause. (4) His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness shall be as light; there were horns in his hands, and he caused a mighty love of his strength. (5) Before his face shall go a report, and it shall go forth into the plains, (6) the earth stood at his feet and trembled: he beheld, and the nations melted away: the mountains were violently burst through, the everlasting hills melted at his everlasting going forth. (7) Because of troubles I looked upon the tents of the Ethiopians: the tabernacles also of the land of Madiam shall be dismayed. (8) Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the rivers? or was thy wrath against the rivers, or thine anger against the sea? for thou wilt mount on thine horses, and thy chariots are salvation. (9) Surely thou didst bend they bow at scepters, saith the Lord. Pause. The land of rivers shall be torn asunder. (10) The nations shall see thee and be in pain, as thou dost divide the moving waters: the deep uttered her voice, and raised her form on high. (11) The sun was exalted, and the moon stood still in her course: thy darts shall go forth at the light, at the brightness of the gleaming of thine arms. (12) Thou wilt bring low the land with threatening, and in wrath thou wilt break down the nations. (13) Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, to save thine anointed: thou shalt bring death on the heads of transgressors; thou has brought bands upon their neck. Pause. (14) Thou didst cut asunder the heads of princes with amazement, they shall tremble in it; they shall burst their bridles, they shall be as a poor man devouring in secret. (15) And thou dost cause thine horses to enter the sea, disturbing much water. (16) I watched, and my belly trembled at the sound of the prayer of my lips, and trembling entered into my bones, and my frame was troubled within me; I will rest in the day of affliction, from going up to the people of my sojourning. (17) For though the fig-tree shall bear no fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall produce no food: the sheep have failed from the pasture, and there are no oxen at the cribs; (18) yet I will exult in the Lord, I will joy in God my Saviour. (19) The Lord God is my strength, and he will perfectly strengthen my feet; he mounts me upon high places, that I may conquer by his song.

Zephaniah

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1

(1) The word of the Lord which came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amorias, the son of Ezekias, in the days of Josias son of Amon, king of Juda. (2) Let there be an utter cutting off from the face of the land, saith the Lord. (3) Let man and cattle be cut off; let the birds of the air and the fishes of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly shall fail, and I will take away the transgressors from the face of the land, saith the Lord. (4) And I will stretch out mine hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests; (5) and them that worship the host of heaven upon the house-tops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and them that swear by their king; (6) and them that turn aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them that cleave not to the Lord. (7) Fear ye before the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has sanctified his guests. (8) And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will take vengeance on the princes, and on the king’s house, and upon all that wear strange apparel. (9) And I will openly take vengeance on the porches in that day, on the men that fill the house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit. (10) And there shall be in that day, saith the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling from the second gate, and a great crashing from the hills. (11) Lament, ye that inhabit the city that has been broken down, for all the people has become like Chanaan; and all that were exalted by silver have been utterly destroyed. (12) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will search Jerusalem with a candle, and will take vengeance on the men that despise the things committed to them; but they say in their hearts, The Lord will not do any good, neither will he do any evil. (13) And their power shall be for a spoil, and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build houses, but shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them. (14) For the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh. (15) A mighty day of wrath is that day, a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation and destruction, a day of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapour, (16) a day of the trumpet and cry against the strong cities, and against the high towers. (17) And I will greatly afflict the men, and they shall walk as blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; therefore he shall pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung. (18) And their silver and their gold shall in nowise be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealously; for he will bring a speedy destruction on all them that inhabit the land.

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(1) Be ye gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation; (2) before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you. (3) Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord. (4) For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up. (5) Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of your dwelling-place. (6) And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep. (7) And the sea cost shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity. (8) I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts. (9) Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus shall be left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them. (10) This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty. (11) The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him every one from his place, even all the islands of the nations. (12) Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword. (13) And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, even as a desert. (14) And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was as as cedar. (3:1) This is the scornful city that dwells securely, that says in her heart, I am, and there is no longer any to be after me: how is she become desolate, a habitation of wild beasts! every one that passes through her shall hiss, and shake his hands.

3

Alas the glorious and ransomed city. (2) The dove hearkened not to the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord, and she drew not near to her God. (3) Her princes within her were as roaring lions, her judges as the wolves of Arabia; they remained not till the morrow. (4) Her prophets are light and scornful men: her priests profane the holy things, and sinfully transgress the law. (5) But the just Lord is in the midst of her, and he will never do an unjust thing: morning by morning he will bring out his judgment to the light, and it is not hidden, and he knows not injustice by extortion, nor injustice in strife. (6) I have brought down the proud with destruction; their corners are destroyed: I will make their ways completely waste, so that none shall go through: their cities are come to an end, by reason of no man living or dwelling in them. (7) I said, But do ye fear me, and receive instruction, and ye shall not be cut off from the face of the land for all the vengeance I have brought upon her: prepare thou, rise early: all their produce is spoilt. (8) Therefore wait upon me, saith the Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness: because my judgment shall be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to me kings, to pour out upon them all my fierce anger: for the whole earth shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy. (9) For then will I turn to the peoples a tongue for her generation, that all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke. (10) From the boundaries of the rivers of Ethiopia will I receive my dispersed ones; they shall offer sacrifices to me. (11) In that day thou shalt not be ashamed of all thy practices, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then will I take away from thee thy disdainful pride, and thou shalt no more magnify thyself upon my holy mountain. (12) And I will leave in thee a meek and lowly people; (13) and the remnant of Israel shall fear the name of the Lord, and shall do no iniquity, neither shall they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them. (14) Rejoice, O daughter of Sion; cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight thyself with all thine heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. (15) The Lord has taken away thine iniquities, he has ransomed thee from the hand of thine enemies: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. (16) At that time the Lord shall say to Jerusalem, Be of good courage, Sion; let not thine hands be slack. (17) The Lord thy God is in thee; the Mighty One shall save thee: he shall bring joy upon thee, and shall refresh thee with his love; and he shall rejoice over thee with delight as in a day of feasting. (18) And I will gather thine afflicted ones. Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her? (19) Behold, I will work in thee for thy sake at that time, saith the Lord: and I will save her that was oppressed, and receive her that was rejected; and I will make them a praise, and honoured in all the earth. (20) And their enemies shall be ashamed at that time, when I shall deal well with you, and at the time when I shall receive you: for I will make you honoured and a praise among all the nations of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before you, saith the Lord.

Haggai

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(1) In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the firs day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Aggaeus, saying, Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord Almighty, saying, This people say, The time is not come to build the house of the Lord. (3) And the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Aggaeus, saying, (4) Is it time for you to dwell in your ceiled houses, whereas our house is desolate? (5) And now thus saith the Lord Almighty; Consider your ways, I pray you. (6) Ye have sown much, but brought in little; ye have eaten, and are not satisfied; ye have drunk, and are not satisfied with drink, ye have clothed yourselves, and have not become warm thereby: and he that earns wages has gathered them into a bag full of holes. (7) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Consider your ways. (8) Go up to the mountain, and cut timber; build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and be glorified, saith the Lord. (9) Ye looked for much, and there came little; and it was brought into the house, and I blew it away. Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty, Because my house is desolate, and ye run everyone into his own house; (10) therefore shall the sky withhold dew, and the earth shall keep back her produce. (11) And I will bring a sword upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and all that the earth produces, and upon the men, and upon the cattle, and upon all the labours of their hands. (12) And Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people, hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of the prophet Aggaeus, according as the Lord their God had sent him to them, and the people feared before the Lord. (13) And Aggaeus the Lord’s messenger spoke among the messengers of the Lord to the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. (14) And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of all the people; and they went in, and wrought in the house of the Lord Almighty their God,

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(1:14A) on the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (1) In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the Lord spoke by Aggaeus the prophet, saying, (2) Speak now to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying, (3) Who is there of you that saw this house in her former glory? and how do ye now look upon it, as it were nothing before your eyes? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zorobabel, saith the Lord; and strengthen thyself, O Jesus the high priest, the son of Josedec; and let all the people of the land strengthen themselves, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord Almighty; (5) and my Spirit remains in the midst of you; be of good courage. (6) For thus saith the Lord Almighty; Yet once I will shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) and I will shake all nations, and the choice portions of all the nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord Almighty. (8) Mine is the silver, and mine the gold, saith the Lord Almighty. (9) For the glory of this house shall be great, the latter more than the former, saith the Lord Almighty: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord Almighty, even peace of soul for a possession to every one that builds, to raise up this temple. (10) On the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Aggaeus the prophet, saying, (11) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Inquire now of the priest concerning the law, saying, (12) If a man should take holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and the skirt of his garment should touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. (13) And Aggaeus said, If a defiled person who is unclean by reason of a dead body, touch any of these, shall it be defiled? And the priests answered and said, It shall be defiled. (14) And Aggaeus answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so are all the works of their hands: and whosoever shall approach them, shall be defiled [because of their early burdens: they shall be pained because of their toils; and ye have hated him that reproved in the gates]. (15) And now consider, I pray you, from this day and beforetime, before they laid a stone on a stone in the temple of the Lord, what manner of men ye were. (16) When ye cast into the corn-bin twenty measures of barley, and there were only ten measures of barley: and ye went to the vat to draw out fifty measures, and there were but twenty. (17) I smote you with barrenness, and with blasting, and all the works of your hands with hail; yet ye returned not to me, saith the Lord. (18) Set your hearts now to think from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day when the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid; (19) consider in your hearts, whether this shall be known on the corn-floor, and whether yet the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-trees that bear no fruit are with you: from this day will I bless you. (20) And the word of the Lord came the second time to Aggaeus the prophet, on the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, (21) Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, saying, I shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (22) and I will overthrow the thrones of kings, and I will destroy the power of the kings of the nations; and I will overthrow chariots and riders; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword striving against his brother. (23) In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will take thee, O Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, my servant, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a seal: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah

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(1) In the eighth month, in the second year of the reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying, (2) The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. (3) And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Turn to me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts. (4) And be ye not as your fathers, whom the prophets before charged, saying, Thus saith the Lord Almighty: Turn ye from your evil ways, and from your evil practices: but they hearkened not, and attended not to hearken to me, saith the Lord. (5) Where are your fathers, and the prophets? Will they live for ever? (6) But do ye receive my words and mine ordinances, all that I command by my Spirit to my servants the prophets, who lived in the days of your fathers; and they answered and said, As the Lord Almighty determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so has he done to us. (7) On the twenty-fourth day in the eleventh month, this is the month Sabat, in the second year of the reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying, (8) I saw by night, and behold a man mounted on a red horse, and he stood between the shady mountains; and behind him were red horses, and grey, and piebald, and white. (9) And I said, What are these, my lord? And the angel spoke with me said to me, I will shew thee what these things are. (10) And the man that stood between the mountains answered, and said to me, These are they whom the Lord has sent forth to go round the earth. (11) And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood between the mountains, and said, We have gone round all the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest. (12) Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord Almighty, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, which thou has disregarded these seventy years? (13) And the Lord Almighty answered the angel that spoke with me good words and consolatory sayings. (14) And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry out and say, Thus saith the Lord Almighty; I have been jealous for Jerusalem and Sion with great jealousy. (15) And I am very angry with the heathen that combine to attack her: forasmuch as I indeed was a little angry, but they combined to attack her for evil. (16) Therefore thus saith the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; and my house shall be rebuilt in her, saith the Lord Almighty, and a measuring line shall yet be stretched out over Jerusalem. (17) And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry yet, and say, Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Yet shall cities be spread abroad through prosperity; and the Lord shall yet have mercy upon Sion, and shall choose Jerusalem. (18) And I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold four horns. (19) And I said to the angel that spoke with me, What are these things, my lord? And he said to me, These are the horns that have scattered Juda, and Israel, and Jerusalem. (20) And the Lord shewed me four artificers. (21) And I said, What are these coming to do? And he said, These are the horns that scattered Juda, and they broke Israel in pieces, and none of them lifted up his head: and these are come forth to sharpen them for their hands, even the four horns, the nations that lifted up the horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it.

2

(1) And I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man, and in his hand a measuring line. (2) And I said to him, Whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth of it, and what is the length of it. (3) And, behold, the angel that spoke with me stood by, and another angel went forth to meet him, (4) and spoke to him, saying, Run and speak to that young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be fully inhabited by reason of the abundance of men and cattle in the midst of her. (5) And I will be to her, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be for a glory in the midst of her. (6) Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I will gather you from the four winds of heaven, saith the Lord, (7) even to Sion: deliver yourselves, ye that dwell with the daughter of Babylon. (8) For thus saith the Lord Almighty; After the glory has he sent me to the nations that spoiled you: for he that touches you is as one that touches the apple of his eye. (9) For, behold, I bring my hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to them that serve them: and ye shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. (10) Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Sion: for, behold, I come, and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. (11) And many nations shall flee for refuge to the Lord in that day, and they shall be for a people to him, and they shall dwell in the midst of thee: and thou shalt know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to thee. (12) And the Lord shall inherit Juda his portion in the holy land, and he will yet choose Jerusalem. (13) Let all flesh fear before the Lord: for he has risen up from his holy clouds.

3

(1) And the Lord shewed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the Devil stood on his right hand to resist him. (2) And the Lords said to the Devil, (3) The Lord rebuke thee, O Devil, even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: behold! is not this as a brand plucked from the fire? (4) Now Jesus was clothed in filthy raiment, and stood before the angel. (5) And the Lord answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy raiment from him: and he said to him, Behold, I have taken away thine iniquities: and clothe ye him with a long robe, (6) and place a pure mitre upon his head. So they placed a pure mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments: and the angel of the Lord stood by. (7) And the angel of the Lord testified to Jesus, saying, (8) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and take heed to my charges, then shalt thou judge my house: and if thou wilt diligently keep my court, then will I give thee men to walk in the midst of these that stand here. (9) Hear now, Jesus the high priest, thou, and thy neighbours that are sitting before thee: for they are diviners, for, behold, I bring forth my servant The Branch. (10) For as for the stone which I have set before the face of Jesus, on the one stone are seven eyes: behold, I am digging a trench, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will search out all the iniquity of that land in one day. (11) In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, ye shall call together every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.

4

(1) And the angel that talked with me returned, and awakened me, as when a man is awakened out of his sleep. (2) And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its bowl upon it, and seven lamps upon it, and seven oil funnels to the lamps upon it: (3) and two olive-trees above it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on the left. (4) And I inquired, and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these things, my lord? (5) And the angel that talked with me answered, and spoke to me, saying, Knowest thou not what these things are? And I said, No, my lord. (6) And he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the Lord to Zorobabel, saying, not by mighty power, nor by strength, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord Almighty. (7) Who art thou, the great mountain before Zorobabel, that thou shouldest prosper? whereas I will bring out the stone of the inheritance, the grace of it the equal of my grace. (8) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (9) The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it: and thou shalt know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to thee. (10) For who has despised the small days? surely they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet of tin in the hand of Zorobabel: these are the seven eyes that look upon all the earth. (11) And I answered, and said to him, What are these two olive-trees, which are on the right and left hand of the candlestick? (12) And I asked the second time, and said to him, What are the two branches of the olive-trees that are by the side of the two golden pipes that pour into and communicate with the golden oil funnels? (13) And he said to me, Knowest thou not what these are? and I said, No, my lord. (14) And he said, These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

5

(1) And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked and behold a flying sickle. (2) And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I see a flying sickle, of the length of twenty cubits, and of the breadth of ten cubits. (3) And he said to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every thief shall be punished with death on this side, and every false swearer shall be punished on that side. (4) And I will bring it forth, saith the Lord Almighty, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it shall rest in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, and the timber of it, and the stones of it. (5) And the angel that talked with me went forth, and said to me, Lift up thine eyes, and see this that goes forth. (6) And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the measure that goes forth. And he said, This is their iniquity in all the earth. (7) And behold a talent of lead lifted up: and behold a woman sat in the midst of the measure. (8) And he said, This is iniquity. And he cast it into the midst of the measure, and cast the weight of lead on the mouth of it. (9) And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, two women coming forth, and the wind was in their wings; and they had stork’s wings: and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the sky. (10) And I said to the angel that spoke with me, Whither do these carry away the measure? (11) And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Babylon, and to prepare a place for it; and they shall set it there on its own base.

6

(1) And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, four chariots coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were brazen mountains. (2) In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; (3) and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot piebald and ash-coloured horses. (4) And I answered and said to the angel that talked with me, What are these, my Lord? (5) And the angel that talked with me answered and said, These are the four winds of heaven, and they are going forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth. (6) As for the chariot in which were the black horses, they went out to the land of the north; and the white went out after them; and the piebald went out to the land of the south. (7) And the ash-coloured went out, and looked to go and compass the earth: and he said, Go, and compass the earth. And they compassed the earth. (8) And he cried out and spoke to me, saying, Behold, these go out to the land of the north, and they have quieted mine anger in the land of the north. (9) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (10) Take the things of the captivity from the chief men, and from the useful men of it, and from them that have understood it; and thou shalt enter in that day into the house of Josias the son of Sophonias that came out of Babylon. (11) And thou shalt take silver and gold, and make crowns, and thou shalt put them upon the head of Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest; (12) and thou shalt say to him, Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall spring up from his stem, and build the house of the Lord. (13) And he shall receive power, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and there shall be a priest on his right hand, and a peaceable counsel shall be between them both. (14) And the crown shall be to them that wait patiently, and to the useful men of the captivity, and to them that have known it, and for the favour of the son of Sophonias, and for a psalm in the house of the Lord. (15) And they that are far from them shall come and build in the house of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you: and this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God.

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(1) And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of the Lord came to Zacharias on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chaseleu. (2) And Sarasar and Arbeseer the king and his men sent to Bethel, and that to propitiate the Lord, (3) speaking to the priests that were in the house of the Lord Almighty, and to the prophets, saying, The holy offering has come in hither in the fifth month, as it has done already many years. (4) And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, (5) Speak to the whole people of the land, and to the priests, saying, Though ye fasted or lamented in the fifth or seventh months (yea, behold, these seventy years) have ye at all fasted to me? (6) And if ye eat or drink, do ye not eat and drink for yourselves? (7) Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round about her, and the hill country and the low country was inhabited? (8) And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying, (9) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Judge righteous judgment, and deal mercifully and compassionately every one with his brother: (10) and oppress not the widow, or the fatherless, or the stranger, or the poor; and let not one of you remember in his heart the injury of his brother. (11) But they refused to attend, and madly turned their back, and made their ears heavy, so that they should not hear. (12) And they made their heart disobedient, so as not to hearken to my law, and the words which the Lord Almighty sent forth by his Spirit by the former prophets: so there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty. (13) And it shall come to pass, that as he spoke, and they hearkened not, so they shall cry, and I will not hearken, saith the Lord Almighty. (14) And I will cast them out among all the nations, whom they know not; and the land behind them shall be made utterly destitute of any going through or returning: yea they have made the choice land a desolation.

8

(1) And the word of the Lord Almighty came, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Sion with great jealousy, and I have been jealous for her with great fury. (3) Thus saith the Lord; I will return to Sion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a true city, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty a holy mountain. (4) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; There shall yet dwell old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, every one holding his staff in his hand for age. (5) And the broad places of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. (6) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; If it shall be impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible in my sight? saith the Lord Almighty. (7) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and the west country; (8) and I will bring them in, and cause them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God, in truth and in righteousness. (9) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words out of the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the house of the Lord Almighty was founded, and from the time that the temple was built. (10) For before those days the wages of men could not be profitable, and there could be no hire of cattle, and there could be no peace by reason of the affliction to him that went out or to him that came in: for I would have let loose all men, every one against his neighbour. (11) But now I will not do to the remnant of this people according to the former days, saith the Lord Almighty. (12) But I will shew peace: the vine shall yield her fruit, and the land shall yield her produce, and the heaven shall give its dew: and I will give as an inheritance all these things to the remnant of my people. (13) And it shall come to pass, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Juda, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: be of good courage, and strengthen your hands. (14) For thus saith the Lord Almighty; As I took counsel to afflict you when your fathers provoked me, saith the Lord Almighty, and I repented not: (15) so have I prepared and taken counsel in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Juda: be ye of good courage. (16) These are the things which ye shall do; speak truth every one with his neighbour; judge truth and peaceable judgment in your gates: (17) and let none of you devise evil in his heart against his neighbour; and love not a false oath: for all these things I hate, saith the Lord Almighty. (18) And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying, (19) Thus saith the Lord Almighty, The fourth fast, and the fifth fast, and the seventh fast, and the tenth fast, shall be to the house of Juda for joy and gladness, and for good feasts; and ye shall rejoice; and love ye the truth and peace. (20) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Yet shall many peoples come, and the inhabitants of many cities; (21) and the inhabitants of five cities shall come together to one city, saying, Let us go to make supplication to the Lord, and to seek the face of the Lord Almighty; I will go also. (22) And many peoples and many nations shall come to seek earnestly the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, and to obtain favour of the Lord. (23) Thus saith the Lord Almighty; In those days my word shall be fulfilled if ten men of all the languages of the nations should take hold—even take hold of the hem of a Jew, saying, We will go with thee; for we have heard that God is with you.

9

(1) The burden of the word of the Lord, in the land of Sedrach, and his sacrifice shall be in Damascus; for the Lord looks upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel. (2) And in Emath, even in her coasts, are Tyre and Sidon, because they were very wise. (3) And Tyrus built strong-holds for herself, and heaped up silver as dust, and gathered gold as the mire of the ways. (4) And therefore the Lord will take them for a possession, and will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be consumed with fire. (5) Ascalon shall see, and fear; Gaza also, and shall be greatly pained, and Accaron; for she is ashamed at her trespass; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited. (6) And aliens shall dwell in Azotus, and I will bring down the pride of the Philistines. (7) And I will take their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth; and these also shall be left to our God, and they shall be as a captain of a thousand in Juda, and Accaron as a Jebusite. (8) And I will set up a defence for my house, that they may not pass through, nor turn back, neither shall there any more come upon them one to drive them away: for now have I seen with mine eyes. (9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, the King is coming to thee, just, and a Saviour; he is meek and riding on an ass, and a young foal. (10) And he shall destroy the chariots out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be utterly destroyed; and there shall be abundance and peace out of the nations; and he shall rule over the waters as far as the sea, and the rivers to the ends of the earth. (11) And thou by the blood of thy covenant has sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit that has no water. (12) Ye shall dwell in strongholds, ye prisoners of the congregation: and for one day of thy captivity I will recompense thee double. (13) For I have bent thee, O Juda, for myself as a bow, I have filled Ephraim; and I will raise up thy children, O Sion, against the children of the Greeks, and I will handle thee as the sword of a warrior. (14) And the Lord shall be over them, and his arrow shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord Almighty shall blow with the trumpet; and shall proceed with the tumult of his threatening. (15) The Lord Almighty shall protect them, and they shall destroy them, and overwhelm them with sling-stones; and they shall swallow them down as wine, and fill the bowls as the altar. (16) And the Lord their God shall save them in that day, even his people as a flock; for holy stones are rolled upon his land. (17) For if he has anything good, and if he has anything fair, the young men shall have corn, and there shall be fragrant wine to the virgins.

10

(1) Ask ye of the Lord rain in season, the early and the latter: the Lord has given bright signs, and will give them abundant rain, to every one grass in the field. (2) For the speakers have uttered grievous things, and the diviners have seen false visions, and they have spoken false dreams, they have given vain comfort: therefore have they fallen away like sheep, and been afflicted, because there was no healing. (3) Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit the lambs; and the Lord God Almighty shall visit his flock, the house of Juda, and he shall make them as his goodly horse in war. (4) And from him he looked, and from him he set the battle in order, and from him came the bow in anger, and from him shall come forth every oppressor together. (5) And they shall be as warriors treading clay in the ways in war; and they shall set the battle in array, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame. (6) And I will strengthen the house of Juda, and save the house of Joseph, and I will settle them; because I have loved them: and they shall be as if I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them. (7) And they shall be as the warriors of Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as with wine: and their children also shall see it, and be glad; and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. (8) I will make a sign to them, and gather them in; for I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied according to their number before. (9) And I will sow them among the people; and they that are afar off shall remember me: they shall nourish their children, and they shall return. (10) And I will bring them again from the land of Egypt, and I will gather them in from among the Assyrians; and I will bring them into the land of Galaad and to Libanus; and there shall not even one of them be left behind. (11) And they shall pass through a narrow sea, they shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deep places of the rivers shall be dried up: and all the pride of the Assyrians shall be taken away, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be removed. (12) And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God; and they shall boast in his name, saith the Lord.

11

(1) Open thy doors, O Libanus, and let the fire devour thy cedars. (2) Let the pine howl, because the cedar has fallen; for the mighty men have been greatly afflicted: howl, ye oaks of the land of Basan; for the thickly planted forest has been torn down. (3) There is a voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is brought low: a voice of roaring lions; for the pride of Jordan is brought down. (4) Thus saith the Lord Almighty, Feed the sheep of the slaughter; (5) which their possessors have slain, and have not repented: and they that sold them said, Blessed be the Lord; for we have become rich: and their shepherds have suffered no sorrow for them. (6) Therefore I will no longer have mercy upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, behold, I will deliver up the men every one into the hand of his neighbour, and into the hand of his king; and they shall destroy the land, and I will not rescue out of their hand. (7) And I will tend the flock of slaughter in the land of Chanaan: and I will take for myself two rods; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Line; and I will tend the flock. (8) And I will cut off three shepherds in one month; and my soul shall grieve over them, for their souls cried out against me. (9) And I said, I will not tend you: that which dies, let it die; and that which falls off, let it fall off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of his neighbour. (10) And I will take my beautiful staff, and cast it away, that I may break my covenant which I made with all the people. (11) And it shall be broken in that day; and the Chananites, the sheep that are kept for me, shall know that it is the word of the Lord. (12) And I will say to them, If it be good in your eyes, give me my price, or refuse it. And they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. (13) And the Lord said to me, Drop them into the furnace, and I will see if it is good metal, as I was proved for their sakes. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them into the furnace in the house of the Lord. (14) And I cast away my second rod, even Line, that I might break the possession between Juda and Israel. (15) And the Lord said to me, Take yet to thee shepherd’s implements belonging to an unskillful shepherd. (16) For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd against the land: he shall not visit that which is perishing, and he shall not seek that which is scattered, and he shall not heal that which is bruised, nor guide that which is whole: but he shall devour the flesh of the choice ones, and shall dislocate the joints of their necks. (17) Alas for the vain shepherds that have forsaken the sheep! the sword shall be upon the arms of such a one, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be completely withered, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

12

(1) The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. (2) Behold, I will make Jerusalem as trembling door-posts to all the nations round about, and in Judea there shall be a siege against Jerusalem. (3) And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Jerusalem a trodden stone to all the nations: every one that tramples on it shall utterly mock at it, and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. (4) In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness: but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Juda, and I will smite all the horses of the nations with blindness. (5) And the captains of thousands of Juda shall say in their hearts, We shall find for ourselves the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God. (6) In that day I will make the captains of thousands of Juda as a firebrand among wood, and as a torch of fire in stubble; and they shall devour on the right hand and on the left all the nations round about: and Jerusalem shall dwell again by herself, even in Jerusalem. (7) And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda as at the beginning, that the boast of the house of David, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not magnify themselves against Juda. (8) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the weak one among them in that day shall be as David, and the house of David as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (9) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (10) And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn son. (11) In that day the lamentation in Jerusalem shall be very great, as the mourning for the pomegranate grove cut down in the plain. (12) And the land shall lament in separate families, the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; (13) the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Symeon by itself, and their wives by themselves; (14) all the families that are left, each family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

13

(1) In that day every place shall be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for removal and for separation. (2) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will utterly destroy the names of the idols from off the land, and there shall be no longer any remembrance of them: and I will cut off the false prophets and the evil spirit from the land. (3) And it shall come to pass, if a man will yet prophesy, that his father and his mother which gave birth to him shall say to him, Thou shalt not live; for thou has spoken lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother who gave him birth shall bind him as he is prophesying. (4) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision when he prophesies; and they shall clothe themselves with a garment of hair, because they have lied. (5) And one shall say, I am not a prophet, for I am a tiller of the ground, for a man brought me up thus from my youth. (6) And I will say to him, What are these wounds between thine hands? and he shall say, Those with which I was wounded in my beloved house. (7) Awake, O sword, against my shepherds, and against the man who is my citizen, saith the Lord Almighty: smite the shepherds, and draw out the sheep: and I will bring mine hand upon the little ones. (8) And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts thereof shall be cut off and perish; but the third shall be left therein. (9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and I will try them as silver is tried, and I will prove them as gold is proved: they shall call upon my name, and I will hear them, and say, This is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

14

(1) Behold, the days of the Lord come, and thy spoils shall be divided in thee. (2) And I will gather all the Gentiles to Jerusalem to war, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, but the rest of my people shall not be utterly cut off from the city. (3) And the Lord shall go forth, and fight with those Gentiles as when he fought in the day of war. (4) And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave asunder, half of it toward the east and the west, a very great division; and half the mountain shall lean to the north, and half of it to the south. (5) And the valley of my mountains shall be closed up, and the valley of the mountains shall be joined on to Jasod, and shall be blocked up as it was blocked up in the days of the earthquake, in the days of Ozias king of Juda; and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him. (6) And it shall come to pass in that day that there shall be no light, (7) and there shall be for one day cold and frost, and that day shall be known to the Lord, and it shall not be day nor night: but towards evening it shall be light. (8) And in that day living water shall come forth out of Jerusalem; half of it toward the former sea, and half of it toward the latter sea: and so shall it be in summer and spring. (9) And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one, (10) compassing all the earth, and the wilderness from Gabe unto Remmon south of Jerusalem. And Rama shall remain in its place. From the gate of Benjamin to the place of the first gate, to the gate of the corners, and to the tower of Anameel, as far as the king’s winepresses, (11) they shall dwell in the city; and there shall be no more any curse, and Jerusalem shall dwell securely. (12) And this shall be the overthrow with which the Lord will smite all the nations, as many as have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they are standing upon their feet, and their eyes shall melt out of their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. (13) And there shall be in that day a great panic from the Lord upon them; and they shall lay hold every man of the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall be clasped with the hand of his neighbour. (14) Juda also shall fight in Jerusalem; and God shall gather the strength of all the nations round about, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. (15) And this shall be the overthrow of the horses, and mules, and camels, and asses, and all the beasts that are in those camps, according to this overthrow. (16) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall be left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem, shall even come up every year to worship the king, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (17) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever of all the families of the earth shall not come up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord Almighty, even these shall be added to the others. (18) And if the family of Egypt shall not go up, nor come; then upon them shall be the overthrow with which the Lord shall smite all the nations, whichever of them shall not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (19) This shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all the nations, whosoever shall not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (20) In that day there shall be upon the bridle of every horse Holiness to the Lord Almighty; and the caldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as bowls before the altar. (21) And every pot in Jerusalem and in Juda shall be holy to the Lord Almighty: and all that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and shall seethe meat in them: and in that day there shall be no more the Chananite in the house of the Lord Almighty.

Malachi

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1

(1) The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of his messenger. Lay it, I pray you, to heart. (2) I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, (3) and hated Esau and laid waste his borders, and made his heritage as dwellings of the wilderness? (4) Because one will say, Idumea has been overthrown, but let us return and rebuild the desolate places; thus saith the Lord Almighty, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall be called The borders of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord has set himself for ever. (5) And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord has been magnified upon the borders of Israel. (6) A son honours his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honour? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord Almighty. Ye the priests are they that despise my name: yet ye said, Wherein have we despised thy name? (7) In that ye bring to mine altar polluted bread; and ye said, Wherein have ye polluted it? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, and that which was set thereon ye have despised. (8) For if ye bring a blind victim for sacrifices, is it not evil? and if ye bring the lame or the sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy ruler, and see if he will receive thee, if he will accept thy person, saith the Lord Almighty. (9) And now intreat the face of your God, and make supplication to him. These things have been done by your hands; shall I accept you? saith the Lord Almighty. (10) Because even among you the doors shall be shut, and one will not kindle the fire of mine altar for nothing, I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice at your hands. (11) For from the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof my name has been glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord Almighty. (12) But ye profane it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, and his meats set thereon are despised. (13) And ye said, These services are troublesome: therefore I have utterly rejected them with scorn, saith the Lord Almighty: and ye brought in torn victims, and lame, and sick: if then ye should bring an offering, shall I accept them at your hands? saith the Lord Almighty. (14) And cursed is the man who had the power, and possessed a male in his flock, and whose vow is upon him, and who sacrifices a corrupt thing to the Lord: for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty, and my name is glorious among the nations.

2

(1) And now, O priests, this commandment is to you. (2) If ye will not hearken, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, saith the Lord Almighty, then I will send forth the curse upon you, and I will bring a curse upon your blessing: yea, I will curse it, and I will scatter your blessing, and it shall not exist among you, because ye lay not this to heart. (3) Behold, I turn my back upon you, and I will scatter dung upon your faces, the dung of your feasts, and I will carry you away at the same time. (4) And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with the sons of Levi, saith the Lord Almighty. (5) My covenant of life and peace was with him, and I gave it him that he might reverently fear me, and that he might be awe-struck at my name. (6) The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked before me directing his way in peace, and he turned many from unrighteousness. (7) For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. (8) But ye have turned aside from the way, and caused many to fail in following the law: ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord Almighty. (9) And I have made you despised and cast out among all the people, because ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. (10) Have ye not all one father? Did not one God create you? why have ye forsaken every man his brother, to profane the covenant of your fathers? (11) Juda has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Juda has profaned the holy things of the Lord, which he delighted in, and has gone after other gods. (12) The Lord will utterly destroy the man that does these things, until he be even cast down from out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and from among them that offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty. (13) And these things which I hated, ye did: ye covered with tears the altar of the Lord, and with weeping and groaning because of troubles: is it meet for me to have respect to your sacrifice, or to receive anything from your hands as welcome? (14) Yet ye said, Wherefore? Because the Lord has borne witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, whom thou has forsaken, and yet she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant. (15) And did he not do well? and there was the residue of his spirit. But ye said, What does God seek but a seed? But take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake not the wife of thy youth. (16) But if thou shouldest hate thy wife and put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts, saith the Lord Almighty: therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake them not, (17) ye that have provoked God with your words. But ye said, Wherein have we provoked him? In that ye say, Every one that does evil is a pleasing object in the sight of the Lord, and he takes pleasure in such; and where is the God of justice?

3

(1) Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the angel of the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord Almighty. (2) And who will abide the day of his coming? or who will withstand at his appearing? for he is coming in as the fire of a furnace and as the herb of fullers. (3) He shall sit to melt and purify as it were silver, and as it were gold: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they shall offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. (4) And the sacrifice of Juda and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord, according to the former days, and according to the former years. (5) And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by my name, and against them that keep back the hireling’s wages, and them that oppress the widow, and afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord Almighty. (6) For I am the Lord your God, and I am not changed: (7) but ye, the sons of Jacob, have not refrained from the iniquities of your fathers: ye have perverted my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, saith the Lord Almighty. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? (8) Will a man insult God? for ye insult me. But ye say, Wherein have we insulted thee? In that the tithes and first-fruits are with you still. (9) And ye do surely look off from me, and ye insult me. (10) The year is completed, and ye have brought all the produce into the storehouses; but there shall be the plunder thereof in its house: return now on this behalf, saith the Lord Almighty, see if I will not open to you the torrents of heaven, and pour out my blessing upon you, until ye are satisfied. (11) And I will appoint food for you, and I will not destroy the fruit of your land; and your vine in the field shall not fail, saith the Lord Almighty. (12) And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a desirable land, saith the Lord Almighty. (13) Ye have spoken grievous words against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye said, Wherein have we spoken against thee? (14) Ye said, He that serves God labours in vain: and what have we gained in that we have kept his ordinances, and in that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty? (15) And now we pronounce strangers blessed; and all they who act unlawfully are built up; and they have resisted God, and yet have been delivered. (16) Thus spoke they that feared the Lord, every one to his neighbour: and the Lord gave heed, and hearkened, and he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them that feared the Lord and reverenced his name. (17) And they shall be mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son that serves him. (18) Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, and between him that serves God, and him that serves him not.

4

(1) For, behold, a day comes burning as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, saith the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch. (2) But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing shall be in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds. (3) And ye shall trample the wicked; for they shall be ashes underneath your feet in the day which I appoint, saith the Lord Almighty. (5) And, behold, I will send to you Elias the Thesbite, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes; (6) who shall turn again the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his neighbour, lest I come and smite the earth grievously. (4) Remember the law of my servant Moses, accordingly as I charged him with it in Choreb for all Israel, even the commandments and ordinances.

Gospel of St. Matthew

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1

(1) The birth-book of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraam. (2) And Abraam begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brothers. (3) And Judas begat Phares and Zara from Tamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram. (4) And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Nasson; and Nasson begat Salmon. (5) And Salmon begat Boes from Rechab; and Boes begat Jubed; and Jubed begat Jesse. (6) And Jesse begat David, and David begat Solomon from the wife of Urias. (7) And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asaph. (8) And Asaph begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias. (9) And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias. (10) And Ezekias begat Manasse; and Manasse begat Amos; and Amos begat Josias. (11) And Josias begat Jechonias and his brothers, at the time of the migration to Babylon. (12) After the migration to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel. (13) And Zorobabel begat Abiud: and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor. (14) And Azor begat Sadok; and Sadok begat Achin; and Achin begat Eliud. (15) And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthewthan; and Matthewthan begat Jacob. (16) And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, who bare Jesus who is called Christ. (17) All the generations from Abraam to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the migration to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the migration to Babylon to Christ fourteen generations. (18) The birth of Jesus Christ was thus: Mary his mother having been betrothed to Joseph, before they knew each other she was found with child from the Holy Spirit. (19) And Joseph her husband was righteous, and not wishing to make her a public example, he intended to put her away secretly. (20) And he having thought about these things, behold an angel of the Lord manifested himself to Joseph in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary, thy wife: for he whom she will bear is from the Holy Spirit. (21) And she shall bear a son; thou shalt call his name "Jesus;" for he will save his people from their sins.' (22) And all this happened that it might be fulfilled which, the Lord said by the prophet, saying: (23) Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, they shall call his name "Emmanuel," which 'is interpreted "God with us."' (24) And Joseph having risen from the sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took to him Mary his wife. (25) And he knew her not until she bare the son; and he called his name Jesus.'

2

(1) And Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, (2) saying: 'Where is he who is born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, we are come that we may worship him.' (3) And king Herod, having heard, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (4) And having assembled all the chief-priests and the scribes of the people, he was asking of them 'where will Christ be born?' (5) And they said to him: In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus is written by the prophet (6) And thou Bethlehem, land of Juda, thou art not little among the princedoms of Juda: for from thee shall come a governor who will rule my people Israel." (7) Then Herod called the Magi secretly, he enquired from them about the time of the star which appeared. (8) And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying: Go, ask carefully concerning the child. And if ye find him, tell me that I may come also and worship him.' (9) And they, having obeyed the king, went. And behold, the star which they saw in the east, was going before them, until it came and stood over the place in which the child was. (10) And having seen the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. (11) And having come to the house they saw the child with Mary his mother; and having thrown themselves down they worshipped him; and having opened their treasures they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (12) And having been told in a dream not to return to Herod, by another road they went to their country. (13) And they having gone, Behold, and angel of the Lord manifested to Joseph in a dream, saying: 'Arise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be there until I tell thee: for Herod will seek for the child to destroy him.' (14) And he arose, he took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt. (15) And he was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which. the Lord said by the prophet, saying: 'I called my son from Egypt.' (16) Then Herod having seen that the Magi mocked him, was very angry, and he sent, he slew every child that was in Bethlehem and in all her boundaries, from two years old and under, according to the time which he enquired from the Magi. (17) Then was fulfilled that which he said by Jeremias the prophet, saying: (18) A voice was heard in Rama, Rachel weeping for her sons; and would not be comforted, because they are not. (19) And Herod having died, behold, an angel of the Lord manifested himself to Joseph in a dream in Egypt, saying: (20) Arise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel; for they are dead who sought for the life of the child.' (21) And he, having arisen, took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. (22) And having heard that Archelaos is king of Judea instead of Herod his father, he feared to go thither; and having been told in a dream, he went to the parts of Galilee. (23) And he came, he dwelt in a city called 'Nazareth:' that it might be fulfilled which he said by his prophets: 'He shall be called "the Nazarene." '

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(1) And in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the desert of Judea, (2) saying: 'Repent; for the kingdom of the heavens is come near. (3) For this is he of whom, he spake by Esaias the prophet, saying: "The voice of him who crieth in the desert: 'Prepare the road of the Lord, make straight his paths.' (4) And he, John, his raiment was of camel's hair, and he was girt with a girdle of skin upon his loins, and his food was locust and honey of the field. (5) Then came forth to him the people of Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan; (6) and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (7) And having seen a multitude of the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: 'Offspring of vipers, who told you to flee from the anger which cometh? (8) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance; (9) and think not in yourselves to say: " We have our father Abraam; " for I say unto you: " God has power to raise up from these stones sons unto Abraam. (10) The axe is now at the root of the trees: every tree which will not bring forth good fruit will be cut down, and cast into the fire. (11) For I indeed baptize you with water to repentance: but he who cometh after me is stronger than I, whose shoe I am not worthy to carry: he shall baptize you with [the] Holy Spirit and fire. (12) And he--his fan in his hand--will cleanse his floor; and will gather his wheat into the garner, but will burn the chaff with fire unquenchable." (13) Then came Jesus from Galilee upon the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. (14) And John was forbidding him, saying: I have need to be baptized by thee, and thou comest to me.' (15) And Jesus answered, he said to him: Permit it now: thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' Then he permitted him. (16) And having been baptized, Jesus immediately came up from the water; and lo, the heavens opened to him, and he saw a Spirit of God coming down as a dove, coming to him; (17) and lo, there was a voice from the heavens, saying: This is my Son, my Beloved in whom I am well pleased.'

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(1) Then Jesus--the Spirit took him away to (the) desert for the devil to tempt him,. (2) And having fasted forty days and forty nights, at last he hungered. (3) And the tempter came, he said to him: If thou be (the) Son of God, command that these stones become bread.' (4) And he answered, he said to him: It is written, that the man was not to live by bread alone, but upon every word which cometh from the mouth of God.' (5) Then the devil took him away to the holy city, and made him, stand upon (the) wing of the temple; (6) and said to him: If thou be the Son of God, throw thyself down from here: for it is written, that he will order his angels concerning thee, and they shall bear thee upon their hands, lest haply thou dash against a stone thy foot.' (7) Jesus answered him: It is written again, that thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' (8) Again, the devil took him away up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory: (9) and said to him: All these I will give thee, if thou shouldst throw thyself down and worship me.' (10) Then said Jesus to him: Go, Satan; for it is written, that the Lord thy God is he whom thou shalt worship, and he alone whom thou shalt serve. (11) Then the devil left him, and lo, angels came and ministered to him. (12) Now having heard that John was delivered (up), he went to Galilee; (13) and he left Nazareth; he came, he dwelt in Kapharnaum, which is by (the) sea, in the boundaries of Zabulon and Nephthalim (14) That it might be fulfilled which he said by Esaias the prophet, saying: (15) (The) land of Zabulon and (the) land of Nephthalim, the road of (the) sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations: (16) the people who sit in (the) darkness saw a great light, and upon them who sit in (the) region and (the) shadow of death light sprang up.' (17) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens approached.' (18) And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called 'Peter,' and Andrew his brother, throwing a net into (the) sea, for they were fishers. (19) And he said to them: Come, walk after me, that I may make you fishers, catchers of men.' (20) And they immediately left their nets, and walked after him. (21) And having passed on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, being on the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. (22) And they immediately left the ship and Zebedee their father, they walked after him. (23) And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness which was among the people. (24) And his fame went forth in all Syria, and they brought to him all who were afflicted with their sicknesses and their pains in many ways, them with whom were the demons, and them who were epileptic, and them who were paralysed, and he healed them. (25) And great multitudes walked after him from Galilee and the ten cities and Jerusalem and Judea and beyond the Jordan.

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(1) And having seen the multitudes he went up upon the mountain; and having sat down his disciples came to him. (2) And having opened his mouth he was teaching them, saying: (3) Blessed are the poor of spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. (4) Blessed are they who mourn now, because they will be comforted. (5) Blessed are the meek, because they will inherit the earth. (6) Blessed are they who hunger and they who thirst after righteousness, because they will be satisfied. (7) Blessed are the pitiful, because they will be pitied. (8) Blessed are they who are pure in their heart, because they will see God. (9) Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called "the sons of God." (10) Blessed are they who were persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. (11) Blessed are ye if they should persecute you and revile you and say all evil at you, speaking falsely against you because of me. (12) Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in the heavens. For thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (13) And ye (are the) salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? it is no longer good for anything, but to be cast out, and trodden upon by men. (14) Ye are (the) light of the world: it is not possible that a city be hid, being set upon a mountain; (15) nor do they light a lamp and put it under a, measure, but they put it on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to every one who is in the house. (16) Thus let your light give light before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. (17) Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy them, but to fulfil them. (18) For verily I say to you, that until (the) heaven and (the) earth pass away, an iota or a point shall not pass away from the law until all these things be accomplished. (19) He, then, who will destroy one of these little commandments, and teach men thus, shall be called "the little in the kingdom of the heavens." But he who will do and teach, this (one) shall be called" great in the kingdom of the heavens." (20) For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the 'Pharisees, ye shall not come into the kingdom of the heavens. (21) Ye hear that it was said to them of old time: "Thou shalt not kill; and he who will kill shall be in danger of the judgement." (22) But I say to you, that every one who will be angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgement. He who will say to his brother "Raka" shall be in danger of the council. And he who will say to his brother "[the] fool" shall be in danger of the Geenna of the fire. (23) If, then, thou wilt offer up thy gift upon the altar, and remember there that willthere is a quarrel between thee and thy brother (24) Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. (26) Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. (27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (29) And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (30) And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (31) It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: (32) But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. (33) Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: (34) But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: (35) Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. (36) Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. (37) But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. (38) Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: (39) But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (40) And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. (41) And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. (42) Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. (43) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. (44) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (45) That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (46) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (47) And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? (48) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

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(1) And give heed to your gift: do it not before [the] men to cause them to see you: (thus) ye have no reward from your Father who is in the heavens. (2) If then thou wilt do alms, sound not a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the market places that men may glorify them. Verily I say to you, that they have already received their reward. (3) But thou going to do alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (4) that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall give to thee. (5) And if ye will pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites; because they love to stand in the synagogues and the corners of the streets and pray, that they may appear to men. Verily I say to you, that they have already received their reward. (6) But thou going to pray, go into thy chamber; shut thy door upon thee, and pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall give to thee. (7) And ye going to pray, do not make a multitude of words as the Gentiles. For they think that they will be heard in their multitude of words. (8) Be not then like to them: for your Father knoweth the things which ye have need of before ye pray him concerning them. (9) Pray ye then thus. Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in (the) heaven so upon the earth. (11) Give us our bread of to-morrow to-day. (12) And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. (13) And bring us not into temptation: but save us from the evil. (14) For if ye forgive [the] men their trespasses your Father who is in the heavens shall forgive your trespasses. (15) But if ye do not forgive [the] men, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. (16) And if ye fast ye shall not be as the hypocrites, who make sad their face: for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to [the] men (as) fasting. Verily I say to you, that they have already received their reward. (17) But thou, fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face; (18) that thou appear not to [the] men (as) fasting, but (to) thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee. (19) Throw not in for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where (the) rust and (the) moth destroy them, and where the thieves break through for them and steal them. (20) But throw in for yourselves treasures in (the) heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroy them, and the thieves break not through for them and steal them. (21) For the place in which thy treasure is, there shall be thy heart also. (22) (The) lamp of the body is the eye: if then thine eye is single, thy whole body shall be shining. (23) But if thine eye is evil, thy whole body shall be dark. If then the light which is in thee is darkness, how great the darkness? (24) It is not possible that any man should serve two lords: for either (it is) that he hates one, and loves one; or that he accepts one, and despises the other. It is not possible for you to serve God and mamon. (25) Therefore I say to you: "Do not take care about your life: viz. what will ye eat or what will ye drink: nor about your body: viz. with what will ye clothe yourselves." Is not the life better than the food, and the body than the raiment? (26) Consider the birds of (the) heaven that they sow not, nor reap, nor put into barn; and your Father who is in the heavens feedeth them. Are not ye much better than they? (27) And for which of you by taking care is it possible to add (lit. put upon) a cubit to his stature? (28) And why take ye care for raiment? consider the flowers of (the) field how they grow, they toil not, nor spin: (29) and I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as one of these. (30) And if God thus robes the grass of (the) field (which) to-day is and to-morrow they (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

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(1) Judge not, that ye may not be judged: (2) for ye are to be judged with the judgement which ye will give: and in the measure which ye will measure, it is to be measured to you. (3) Wherefore seest thou the mote in thy brother's eye; and the beam which is in thine eye thou considerest it not?' (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: "Let me cast the mote from thine eye;" and behold the beam is in thine eye? (5) Hypocrite, first cast the beam from thine eye; and then thou shalt see clearly to cast the mote from thy brother's eye. (6) Give not the holy to the dogs: nor cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample on them with their feet, and turn and rend you. (7) Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. (8) For every one who asketh receiveth; and he who seeketh findeth; and to him who knocketh they open. (9) Or what man who is among you, whose son will ask him for a loaf, will he give him a stone? (10) Or who will ask him for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (11) If then ye being evil, know how to give the good gifts to your sons, how much more then shall your Father which is in the heavens give the good things to those who will ask him? (12) And all things which ye wish that men should do to you, do ye also thus to them; for this is the law and the prophets. (13) Enter by the narrow gate; because wide is the gate and broad is the road which leadeth to destruction; and many are they who will go in by it. (14) Because narrow is the gate and straitened is the road which leadeth to (the) life; and few will find it. (15) And beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's raiment: but inside of them they are ravening wolves. (16) By their fruits ye shall know them. Do they gather grapes off thorns; or do they gather figs off the thistles? (17) Thus every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) It is not possible for a good tree to produce evil fruit; nor an evil tree to produce good fruit. (19) Every tree which will not produce a good fruit will be cut down and cast to the fire. (20) So then by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one who saith to me, "Lord, Lord," will come into the kingdom of the heavens: but he who doeth the will of my Father who is in the heavens. (22) For there will be many saying to me in that day: "Lord, Lord, prophesied we not in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name did many mighty works?" (23) And then I shall profess unto them: "I never knew you; go from me, [the] workers of iniquity." (24) Every one, then, who heareth these my words, and (is) doing them, I shall liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. (25) And the rain came down; the rivers came and struck that house, and it fell not; for its foundation was established upon the rock. (26) And every one who heareth these my words, and (is) doing them not, I shall liken him to a foolish man, this (one) who built his house upon the sand. (27) And the rain descended; the rivers came; the winds blew; they struck that house, and it fell; and its fall was great.' (28) And it came to pass (that), Jesus having finished these words, the multitudes were wondering at his teaching: (29) for he was teaching them as having authority, and not as their scribes.

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(1) And having come down from upon the mountain, great multitudes walked after him. (2) And lo, a leper came to him: he worshipped him, saying: My Lord, if thou shouldst wish, it is possible for thee to cleanse me.' (3) And having stretched out his hand, he touched him, saying: I wish, be cleansed.' And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (4) And Jesus said to him: 'See, tell it not to any one, but go shew thyself to the priest, and offer thy gift which Moses commanded for a witness to them.' (5) And having come into Capernaum a centurion came to him, beseeching him, (6) saying: My Lord, my servant (lit. child) lieth in my house being paralysed and afflicted greatly.' (7) And he said to him: 'I will come and heal him.' (8) And the centurion answered, he said: My Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come in under (the) roof of my house. But only say with (the) word and my servant (lit. child) shall be cured. (9) For I also am a man set under authority, having (lit. being) soldiers under me: if I should say to this (one), "Go," he goeth; another, "Come," he cometh; and my servant," Do this," he doeth it.' (10) And Jesus having heard, wondered, and said to them who were walking after him: Verily I say to you that I found not faith of this degree from any in Israel. (11) And I say to you that many shall come from [the] east and (the) west, and shall sit down to meat with Abram and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. (12) And the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out to the outer darkness, the place in which will be (the) weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.' (13) And Jesus said to the centurion, Go: as thou believedst, it shall be done to thee.' And the servant (lit. child) was cured in that hour. (14) And Jesus having come into (the) house of Peter, saw his wife's mother lying, and sick of a fever. (15) He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them. (16) And evening having come, they brought to him multitudes having (lit. being) demons with them, and he was casting out the spirits with (the) word, and he healed all who were afflicted. (17) That it might be fulfilled which he spake by Esaias the prophet, saying: He took our sicknesses, and carried our diseases.' (18) And Jesus having seen the multitudes who were around him, commanded to go across. (19) And a scribe having come to him, said to him: Teacher, let me walk after thee whither thou wentest.' (20) And Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of (the) heaven have nests; but (the) Son of (the) man hath not where to lay his head.' (21) And another of his disciples said to him: My Lord, give me authority first to go and bury my father.' (22) But Jesus said to him: Walk after me; and leave the dead, let them bury their dead.' (23) And (he) having entered into (the) ship, his disciples walked after him. (24) And lo, there was a great storm in (the) sea, so that the waves covered the ship. And he was sleeping. (25) And they woke him, saying: Lord, save us; we shall perish.' (26) And he said to them: Wherefore are ye doubtful, (ye) of [the] little faith?'Then having risen he rebuked the winds and (the) sea; and there was a great calm. (27) And the men were wondering, saying: What manner (of man) is this, because the winds and (the) sea obey him!' (28) And having come across to (the) country of (the) Gergesenes, two men came out to meet him having (lit. being) the demons with them, coming out of the sepulchres, very fierce so that no one could pass by that way. (29) And lo, they cried out, saying: What (hast) thou with us, Son of God? Camest thou hither to destroy us before that it is our time?' (30) And there was a herd of many swine at a distance from them feeding. (31) And the demons were beseeching him, saying: If thou wilt cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.' (32) And he said to them: Go.' And they having come out, went into the swine. And behold the whole herd of swine went with a rush by the precipice down to (the) sea, and they died in the waters. (33) And they who fed them fled; and having gone to the city they told them everything, and concerning them who [had] the demons with them. (34) And lo, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And having seen him, they were beseeching him that he should go away from their boundaries.

9

(1) And having entered into (the) ship he came across; he came into his city. (2) And lo, they brought to him one paralysed and prostrate upon a bed, and Jesus having seen their faith, said to him who was paralysed: 'Be of good cheer, my son; thy sins are forgiven thee.' (3) And lo, some of the scribes said within themselves: This (man) blasphemeth.' (4) And Jesus having seen their thoughts said: Wherefore think ye evil things in your hearts? (5) For what is easy to say: "Thy sins are forgiven thee;" or to say: "Rise, and walk?" (6) But that ye may know that (the) Son of (the) man hath authority to forgive sin upon the earth;'then he said to him who was paralysed: 'Rise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house.' (7) And he arose, he went to his house. (8) And the multitudes having seen, feared: and they glorified God, who gave authority thus to [the] men. (9) And Jesus passed from there, he saw a man sitting at a custom-house, whose name is Matthew; and he said to him: Walk after me.' And he arose, he walked after him. (10) And (as he is) sitting at meat in (the) house of Simon, lo, publicans came, they sat down to meat with Jesus and his disciples. (11) And the Pharisees having seen, were saying to his disciples: Wherefore eateth your Teacher with the publicans and the sinners?' (12) But Jesus having heard, said to them: They who are strong have not need of the physician, but they who are diseased. (13) But go, learn what it is--pity I wish for, and not sacrifice: for I came not to invite the righteous, but the sinners.' (14) Then came to him the disciples of John, saying: 'Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast many (times), but thy disciples--they fast not?' (15) And Jesus said to them: Is it possible for the sons of the bridegroom to mourn while the bridegroom is with them? but days come whenever the bridegroom shall be taken from them: then they shall fast. (16) No one taketh up a piece of new cloth and putteth it on a torn garment; for (the new cloth) draweth away its filling up from the garment, and a rent becometh greater. (17) Neither do they put new wine into old bottles: otherwise the bottles are rent, and the wine is poured out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and they support one another.' (18) And (as he is) saying these (things), lo, a ruler came, he worshipped him, saying:'My daughter died now: but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.' (19) And Jesus arose, he walked after him and his disciples. (20) And lo, a woman, having an issue of blood twelve years, came forth behind him, she touched (the) hem of his garment: (21) for she said in herself: I should only touch (the) hem of his garment, I shall be saved.' (22) But Jesus having turned himself and having seen her, said: Be of good cheer, my daughter; thy faith saved thee.' And the woman was cured from that hour. (23) And Jesus having come into (the) house of the ruler, saw the singers, and the multitudes making a tumult. (24) [For] he was saying: Come from there; for the child died not, but slept.' And they were mocking him. (25) But when he (had) put forth the multitude, he went in, he laid hold on her hand, and the child arose. (26) And her fame went out over all that land. (27) And Jesus coming from there, two blind men walked after him, crying out, saying: Pity us, Son of David.' (28) And (he) having come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus said to them: Believe ye that it is possible for me to do this? They said to him: Yea, our Lord.' (29) Then he touched their eyes, saying: 'According to your faith it shall be done to you.' (30) And their eyes opened: and Jesus ordered them, saying: See! let no one know (it).' (31) But they having come out, spread his fame abroad in all that land. (32) And (as he is) coming from there, lo, they brought to him a dumb (man) having (lit. being) a demon with him. (33) And (he) having cast out the demon, the dumb spake: and the multitudes were wondering, saying: 'Nothing ever appeared (lit. manifested him) thus in Israel.' (34) But the Pharisees were saying, that by (lit. in) (the) ruler of the demons he cast out the demons. (35) And Jesus was going round all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease. (36) But having seen the multitudes he had compassion upon them, because they were going astray and were being scattered as sheep not having a shepherd. (37) Then he said to his disciples The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. (38) Pray, then, (the) Lord of the harvest that he send labourers forth to his harvest.'

10

(1) And having called the twelve disciples, he gave authority to them over the unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every sickness and every disease. (2) Now the names (lit. name) of the twelve apostles are these: the first is Simon, who is called Peter,' and Andrew his brother; James (the) son of Zebedee, and John his brother; (3) Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James (the) son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; (4) Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who will deliver him (up). (5) These (lit, the) twelve Jesus sent, having ordered them, saying: Go not to (the) road of the Gentiles, nor enter city of the Samaritans. (6) But go ye rather to the stray sheep of (the) house of Israel. (7) And (as ye are) walking, preach, saying that the kingdom of the heavens approached. (8) Them who are sick, heal; the dead, raise; the lepers, cleanse; the demons, cast out: ye received freely, give freely. (9) Put not gold for you, nor silver, nor brass in your girdles; (10) nor (take) scrip for you on (the) road, nor two coats, nor shoe, nor staff: for the labourer is worthy of his food. (11) And the city which ye will go into or the village,--ask in it who is worthy; and abide there until ye go thence. (12) Being about to go into the house salute it. (13) And if indeed the house is worthy of your peace, it shall come upon it; but if it is not worthy, your peace shall return to you. (14) And he who will not receive you to him, and who will not hearken to your words, coming out of the house or that city or the village, shake off (the) dust of your feet. (15) Verily I say to you, that they shall spare (the) land of Sodom and Gomorra in the day of the judgement than that city. (16) Lo, I send you as sheep in (the) midst of wolves: become, then, wise as the serpents, but harmless as the doves. (17) But beware of [the] men: for they will deliver you to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; (18) and they shall bring you to the kings and the governors because of me, for a witness to them and the Gentiles. (19) But if they should deliver you (up) take no care either how or what ye will say: for it will be given you in that day whit ye will speak. (20) For it is not ye who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father which will speak in you. (21) And brother shall deliver brother to (the) death, and father shall deliver (up) son: and sons, rising upon their fathers, shall kill them. (22) And ye shall become hated by all because of my name: but he who will hold on until the end (lit. out), this (one) will be saved. (23) But if they should persecute you in this city, flee to another: verily I say to you, that ye shall not attain to pass through the cities of Israel, until (the) Son of (the) man come. (24) A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a servant greater than his lord. (25) It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant that he be as his lord. If they called the owner of the house "Belzeboul," how much more (shall they call) his household? (26) Fear not then them: for there is not that which is covered, (except) that it will be revealed; nor hidden, (except) that it will be known. (27) That which I say to you in darkness, say in light: and that which ye hear in your ears, preach upon your housetops. (28) And fear not him who will kill your body, while it is not possible for them to kill your soul: but fear that one for whom it is possible to destroy the soul and the body in the Geenna. (29) Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall upon the earth without the will of your Father who is in the heavens: (30) but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) Fear not, then, for ye are better than many sparrows. (32) Every one who will confess me before men, I shall confess him also before my Father who is in the heavens. (33) But he who will deny me before men, I shall deny him also before my Father who is in the heavens. (34) Think not that I came to send (lit. cast) peace on the earth: I came not to send (lit. cast) peace, but a sword. (35) For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: (36) and the man's foes are his household. (37) He who loveth his father or his mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loveth his son or his daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (38) He who will not take up his cross and walk after me, is not worthy of me. (39) He who found his life shall lose it; he who will lose his life because of me shall find it. (40) He who receiveth you, received me, and he who receiveth me received him who sent me. (41) He who receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receiveth a righteous (man) in the name of a righteous (man) shall receive a righteous (man's) reward. (42) And he who will give to drink to one of these little (ones) a cup of cold water only, in (the) name of a disciple, verily I say to you, that his reward shall not perish.'

11

(1) And it came to pass (that) Jesus having finished commanding his twelve disciples went away from there to teach and preach in their cities. (2) Now John having heard, being in the prison, concerning the works of Christ, sent two of his disciples. (3) He said to him: Art thou he who cometh, or look we for another?' (4) And Jesus having answered, said to them: Go, tell John the things which ye see and the' things which ye hear: (5) that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have good tidings preached to them. (6) And blessed is he who will not be offended in me.' (7) And these being about to go, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:'What came ye out to the wilderness to see? a reed--the wind shaking it? (8) But what came ye out to see? a man clothed (lit. being) in soft clothes? Behold, those with soft garments are in the houses of the kings. (9) But wherefore came ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say to you, more than a prophet. (10) For this is he concerning whom it is written: "Lo, I will send (the) messenger before thee, and he shall prepare in front of thee." (11) Verily, I say to you, that no one rose among them that are born of women greater than John the Baptist; but the lesser than he in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. (12) And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens suffereth violence, and (the) violent take it by force. (13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14) And if ye wish to receive him, he is Elias who cometh. (15) He who hath an ear to hear, let him hear. (16) But to whom am I to liken this generation? It is like to children sitting in the market-places, these who call to one another, (17) saying, "We sang to you, and ye danced not; we wept, and ye wailed not." (18) For John came, not eating and not drinking; they said that there is a demon with him. (19) And (the) Son of (the) man came eating and drinking; they said: "Lo, a man gluttonous and (a) winebibber, (he) is (the) friend of the publicans and the sinners!" And [the] wisdom was justified from her works.' (20) Then he began to upbraid the cities in which most of his mighty works were done, and they repented not. (21) Woe to thee, Chorazin woe to thee, Bethsaida! because if these mighty works (had) been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, long ago they would (have) repented in sackcloth and ashes. (22) But I say to you, that they shall spare Tyre and Sidon in (the) day of the judgement rather than you. (23) And thou, Kapharnaum, wilt thou be exalted up to (the) heaven? thou shalt be humiliated down to Amenti: because if in Sodom (had) been done these mighty works which were done in thee, how would they not (have) remained until to-day! (24) But I say to you, that they shall spare (the) land of Sodom in (the) day of the judgement rather than thee.' (25) And at that time Jesus answered and said: I thank thee, Father, Lord of (the) heaven and the earth, because thou hiddest these (things) from (the) wise and understanding, and revealedst them to little children. (26) Yea, Father, because this is the good pleasure which was before thee. (27) All things hath (the) Father given me: and no one knoweth (the) Son except (the) Father, nor doth any one know (the) Father except (the) Son, and he to whom (the) Son willeth to reveal (him). (28) Come to me, all who toil and are laden under their burdens, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; because I (am) meek and I am humble in my heart: and ye shall find a resting-place for your souls. (30) For my yoke (is) sweet, and my burden (is) light.'

12

(1) And at that time Jesus went on (the) Sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples had hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn to eat. (2) But the Pharisees having seen, said to him: Lo, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on (the) Sabbath.' (3) But he said to them: Did ye not read what David did, having hungered, and they who were with him; (4) how he went into (the) house of God, and ate the shewbread, of which it was not right for him to eat, nor for them who were with him, but only for the priests? (5) Or did ye not read in the law, that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and no sin attaches to them? (6) But I say to you, that lo, (one) greater than the temple (is) in this place. (7) If ye were knowing what this meaneth, pity is what I wish for, and not sacrifice, ye would not have judged the sinless. (8) For the lord of (the) Sabbath is (the) Son of (the) man.' (9) And having gone away from there, he came into their synagogue: (10) and lo, (there was) a man whose hand was (lit. is) withered, and they asked him, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'that they might accuse him. (11) And he said to them: What man who is among you, having a sheep, and (if) this fall into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not lay hold on it and raise it up? (12) How much better then is a man than a sheep! So that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths.' (13) Then he said to the man: Stretch forth thy hand.' And he stretched it forth, and it was cured as the other. (14) The Pharisees having come forth, took counsel against him, that they might destroy him. (15) And Jesus having known, went away from there; and great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all. (16) He charged them that they should not make him known: (17) that it might be fulfilled which he spake by Esaias the prophet, saying: (18) Behold my servant (lit. child), who was pleasing to me; my beloved, in whom my soul was well pleased: I shall put my Spirit upon him, he shall declare judgement to the Gentiles. (19) He shall not strive, nor shall he cry out; nor shall any one hear his voice in the streets. (20) A bruised reed he shall not break, smoking flax he shall ot quench, until he send forth the judgement to victory. (21) And the Gentiles shall hope in his name.' (22) Then they brought to him a blind man having (lit. being) a demon with him, and being dumb: and he healed him, so that the dumb spake and saw. (23) But the multitudes were all amazed; they were saying: Is this (the) son of David?' (24) But the Pharisees having heard said: This man was not casting out the demons by (lit. in, and thus again) any but by Belzeboul (the) ruler of the demons.' (25) And having perceived their thoughts he said to them: Every kingdom, if it should be divided against itself, is brought to desolation; and every city or every house, if they should be divided against themselves, cannot stand: (26) and. if Satan cast out Satan, or was divided against himself, how then will his kingdom be able to stand? (27) And if I by Belzeboul cast out the demons, by whom did your sons cast out? therefore they shall be judges to you. (28) But if by the (lit a) Spirit of God I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God reached you. (29) Or how is it possible that one enter (the) house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, unless he bound the strong man first, and then spoiled his house? (30) He who is not with me was against me; and he who gathereth not with me scattereth me away. (31) Therefore I say to you, that every sin and every blasphemy shall be forgiven to [the] men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. (32) And he who will say a word at (the) Son of (the) man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who will speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in that which cometh. (33) Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree evil, and its fruit evil: for from the fruit they know the tree (34) [The] offspring of the vipers, how is it possible for you to speak good things, being evil? for out of (the) abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (35) The good man out of his good treasure sendeth forth the good (thing): and the man who is evil, out of his treasure which is evil, sendeth forth (things) which are evil. (36) And I say to you, that all vain words which [the] men will say, they will give account about them in (the) day of the judgement. (37) For out of thy words thou shalt be justified, and out of thy words thou shah be judged.' (38) Then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered him, saying: Teacher, we wish to see a sign from thee.' (39) But he answered, he said to them: The generation which is evil and adulterous seeketh for a sign; and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jona the prophet. (40) For as Jona, who was in (the) belly of the whale three days and three nights; thus also (the) Son of (the) man shall be three days and three nights in (the) heart of (the) earth. (41) The men of Ninevê shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall judge it: because they repented at (the) preaching of Jona; and lo, greater than Jona (is) here. (42) The queen of (the) south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation and shall judge it: because she came from (the) ends of (the) earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and lo, greater than Solomon (is) here. (43) But if the unclean spirit come out of the man, he goeth forth to dry places, seeking for (a) resting-place, and findeth not. (44) Then he saith: "I shall return into my house, the place from which I came; "and if he should come, and find it empty, swept and garnished. (45) Then he goeth, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and he cometh and dwelleth there: and the last (states) of that man are worse for him than his first. Thus it will be for this generation which is evil.' (46) And while he is speaking with the multitudes, lo, his mother and his brothers were standing outside. seeking to speak with him. (47) And one of the disciples said to him: Behold thy mother and thy brothers outside seek for thee.' (48) But he answered, he said to him who told him: Who is my mother? or who are my brothers?' (49) And he stretched out his hand upon his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brothers! (50) For every one who will do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother and my sister and my mother.'

13

(1) On that day Jesus having come out of the house was sitting by (the) sea. (2) And great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into (the) ship, and sat; and the whole multitude was standing on (the) sea (shore). (3) And he was speaking with them many (things) in parables, saying: Lo, the sower came forth to sow. (4) And in (the) sowing some indeed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate them: (5) and others fell upon the rocky place, the place in which there was not depth of earth: and they grew up immediately, because they had not depth of earth: (6) and (the) sun having risen, they were scorched; and because they had not root there, they withered away. (7) And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them: (8) and others fell upon the good earth, and yielded fruit; one indeed produced a hundred, and another produced sixty, and another produced thirty. (9) He who hath an ear to hear let him hear.' (10) And his disciples having come to him, said to him:'Wherefore speakest thou with them in parables?' (11) And he answered, he said: To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given. (12) For to him who hath shall be given, and it shall be exceeding to him: but he who hath not, that which he hath shall be taken away from him. (13) Therefore I speak with them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (14) And the prophecy of Esaias shall be fulfilled upon them, which saith: By hearing (lit. in a voice) ye shall hear and shall not understand; and by (lit. in) seeing ye shall see and shall not see. (15) For (the) heart of this people thickened, and they were heavy in their ears for (the) hearing, and they shut their eyes; lest haply they should see with their eyes, and hear in their ears, and understand in their heart, and return, and I should cure them." (16) But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. (17) Verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous (men) desired to see the things which ye see, and they saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and they heard them not. (18) Hear ye then the parable of the sower. (19) When any one (lit. every one who) heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, the evil (one) cometh and snatcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who was sown by the road. (20) And he who was sown upon the rocky place, this is he who heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy. (21) He hath no root in him, but is (only) for a time; and if there should be tribulation or persecution because of the word, immediately he is offended. (22) And he who was sown upon the thorns, this is he who heareth the word; and (the) care of this age, and the deceit of [the] riches, choke the word in him, and he becometh unfruitful. (23) And he who fell upon the good earth, this is he who heareth the word, and who understandeth it; and this (one) yieldeth fruit; and one indeed produceth a hundred; and one produceth sixty; and one produceth thirty.' (24) He set before them another parable, saying: The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, who sowed good seed in his field. (25) But the men having slept, his enemy came, he sowed tares in (the) midst of the wheat, and went (away). (26) But when the wheat grew up, and yielded fruit, then the tares also appeared. (27) And the servants of the owner-of-the-field came and said: "Our lord, sowedst thou not good seed in thy field? whence (lit. where) then found they these tares also?" (28) And he said to them: "A man (that is) an enemy did this." And they said to him: "Wishest thou that we go and gather them up?" (29) But he said: "Nay, lest haply gathering up the tares, ye pluck up also the wheat with them. (30) Rather leave them, let them grow up together until (the) time of (the) harvest: and in (the) time of (the) harvest I shall say to the reapers: Gather up the tares first, and bind them in bundles for (the) burning them in the fire: but gather the wheat into my barn.'"' (31) He set before them another parable, saying: The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed; which a man took, he sowed it in his field: (32) which indeed is small among all seeds; but if it should be grown, it is greatest of the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of (the) heaven come and lodge upon its branches.' (33) Another parable he spake to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took, she hid it in three measures of meal, until all the dough was leavened.' (34) All these things said Jesus to the multitudes in parables; and without parable he was not speaking with them: (35) that it might be fulfilled which he spake by the prophet, saying: I am to open my mouth in parables; and speak the things which were hidden from (the) foundation of the world.' (36) Then he sent away the multitudes, he came into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying: Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.' (37) And he answered, he said: He who sowed the good seed is (the) Son of (the) man; (38) and the field is the world; the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil (one); (39) and the enemy who sowed them is the devil: and the harvest (the) end of this age; and the reapers the angels. (40) As, then, they gather up the tares first, and burn them in the fire; thus it will be in (the) end of this age. (41) (The) Son of (the) man shall send his angels, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the offences, and them who do [the] iniquity; (42) and shall cast them to the furnace of fire: the place in which will be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of the teeth. (43) not listed (44) The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hid in a field; which a man found, he hid it; and for [the] joy he went, he sold what he had, and bought that field. (45) Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchantman seeking for good pearls: (46) having found a pearl of great price, he went, he sold what he had, and bought it. (47) Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net, which was cast into (the) sea, and it gathered of every kind: (48) which having been filled, they drew to the shore, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. (49) This is as it will be in (the) end of this age: the angels shall come forth, and shall separate the wicked from (the) midst of the good: (50) and shall cast them down to the furnace of fire: the place in which will be (the) weeping and the gnashing of the teeth. (51) Understood ye all these things?' They said to him: Yea, Lord.' (52) He said to them:'Therefore every scribe who is instructed for the kingdom of the heavens is like an owner-of-a-field, who bringeth forth from his treasure things new and old.' (53) And it came to pass (that) Jesus having quite finished these parables, went away from there. (54) And having come into his city, he was teaching them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: 'Whence found this (man) this teaching, and these mighty works? (55) Is this (the) son of the carpenter? Is not his mother Mary? and his brothers James, and Josê, and Simon, and Judas? (56) And his sisters, are not they all with us? Whence then found this (man) all these things? ' (57) And they were offended in him. But Jesus said to them: There is not a prophet despised in any place except in his city and his house.' (58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

14

(1) And at that time Herod the tetrarch heard of (the) fame of Jesus (2) and said to his servants (lit. children): This is John the Baptist; for he rose from the dead; and therefore the powers work in him.' (3) For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, he put him in the prison because of Herodias, (the) wife of Philip his brother. (4) For John was saying to him: It is not lawful for thee to take her.' (5) And wishing to kill him, he feared the multitude, because he was to them as a prophet. (6) And Herod's birthday having come, the daughter of Herodias danced in (the) midst, and was pleasing to Herod. (7) Thereupon he took an oath, promising to give her what she will ask. (8) And she,--her mother instructed her,--said: Give to me (the) head of John the Baptist in a dish.' (9) And (the) heart of (the) king was grieved, but because of the oaths, and them who sat at meat with him, he commanded to give it. (10) And he sent, he took off (the) head of John in the prison. (11) And it was brought in the dish, it was given to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. (12) And his disciples came, they took up the corpse, they buried it; and they went, they told Jesus. (13) And Jesus having heard, went from there in a ship to a desert place: and the multitudes having heard, followed him, they walked on foot from the cities. (14) And having come forth, he saw a great multitude, and he had compassion upon them; and he healed them who were sick among them. (15) And evening having come, his disciples came to him, saying: The place is desert, and the hour passed away; send the multitudes then away, that they may go to the villages, and buy victuals for themselves.' (16) And he said: They have not need to go: give ye to them; let them eat.' (17) And they said to him: We have not here but five loaves, and two fishes.' (18) And he said to them: Bring them to me hither.' (19) And he commanded the multitudes to sit down to meat upon the grass; and having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to (the) heaven, he blessed them, and brake them, and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. (20) And they all ate, and were satisfied; and they took up that which remained over of the fragments, they filled twelve baskets full. (21) And they who ate were five thousand men, without children and women. (22) And immediately he constrained his disciples to enter into (the) ship, and to go (lit. draw) before him across, until he sent away the multitude. (23) And having sent away the multitudes, he went up on a mountain apart alone to pray: and evening having come, he was there alone. (24) But the ship was at a distance from the land about twenty-five stadia, the waves being against it, for the wind was against it. (25) And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking upon (the) sea. (26) And having seen him walking upon (the) sea, they were troubled, saying: It is an apparition.' And they cried out for [the] fear. (27) But immediately he spoke with them, saying: of good cheer (lit. find courage); it is I; fear not.' (28) And Peter answered, he said to him: Lord, if it is thou, command me to come to thee upon the waters.' (29) And he said: Come.' And Peter having come down from the ship, walked upon the waters, to come to Jesus. (30) But he saw the wind, he feared, and having begun to sink, he cried out, saying: `Lord, save me.' (31) And immediately Jesus having stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him: (Thou) of [the] little faith, wherefore doubtedst thou. (lit. makest two hearts)?' (32) And he having entered into the ship, the wind ceased. (33) And they who were in the ship worshipped him, saying: Truly thou art (the) Sou of God.' (34) And having crossed over, they came into (the) land of Gennesareth. (35) And the men of that place having known him, sent forth in all that region round about; and they brought to him all who were afflicted; (36) and they were beseeching him that they might only touch (the) hem of his garments: and all who touched were saved.

15

(1) Then came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying: (2) Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? for they wash not their hands, being about to eat bread.' (3) And he said to them: Wherefore do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? (4) For God said: "Honour thy father and thy mother: and he who will say an evil word at his father and his mother, he shall die (the) death." (5) But ye say that he who will say to his father or his mother: "A gift, thou wilt gain it by me;" (6) he shall not honour his father and his mother. And ye made void the word of God because of your traditions. (7) [The] hypocrites, well prophesied about you Esaias the prophet, saying:" (8) This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart (is) far away from me. (9) They shall worship me in vain, teaching for doctrines orders of men."' (10) And having called the multitude, he said to them: Hear, and understand: (11) that which goeth into the mouth of the man (is) not that which defileth him; but that which cometh from the mouth, this is that which defileth the man.' (12) Then came to him his disciples, they said to him: Knowest thou that the Pharisees having heard this word were offended?' (13) But he answered, he said: All trees which my Father, who is in the heavens, planted not, will be cut off with their root. (14) Leave them: they are blind guides: for a blind man guiding a blind man, they both Fall into a pit.' (15) And Peter answered, he said to him Exlpain the parable to us.' (16) And he said: (Are) ye also even yet without understanding? (17) Know ye not yet, that all things which go into the mouth of the man, go to the belly, and are cast to the draught? (18) But the things which come out of the mouth, came out of the heart; these are (they) which defile the man. (19) For out of the heart come the evil reasonings, the murders, the adulteries, the fornications, the thefts, the false witnessings, the blasphemies: (20) these are they which defile the man; but the eating without washing thyself defileth not the man.' (21) And Jesus having come from there, went to the parts of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And lo, a Canaanitish woman came out of those boundaries, she was crying out, saying: Pity me, my Lord, (the) son of David; my daughter (is) afflicted, there is a demon with her.' (23) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came, they besought him, saying: Send this woman away; because she crieth out behind us.' (24) But he answered, he said: I was not sent to any except the stray sheep of (the) house of Israel.' (25) But she worshipped him, saying My Lord, help me.' (26) And he answered, he said: It is not good to take away (the) bread of the sons, to give it to the dogs.' (27) But she said: Yea, my Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the table of their masters.' (28) Then Jesus answered, he said to her: O [the] woman, great is thy faith: it shall be to thee as thou wishest.' And her daughter was cured from that hour. (29) And Jesus having gone away from there, came by (the) sea of Galilee; and he went upon a mountain, he was sitting there. (30) And great multitudes came to him, having (lit. being) with them lame and blind and deaf and maimed and many others; they threw them down at his feet, and he healed them: (31) so that the multitudes wondered, seeing the dumb speaking, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and the deaf hearing; and they were glorifying (the) God of Israel. (32) And Jesus having called to his disciples, said to them: I have compassion upon this multitude, because lo, three days they are here with me, and there is not that which they will eat; and I wish not to send them away without eating; that they shall not faint on the road.' (33) The disciples said: Whence are we to find this number of loaves on this desert place, so as to satisfy this multitude? ' (34) And Jesus said to them: How many loaves have ye? And they said: Seven, and a, few fishes.' (35) And he ordered the multitudes to sit down to meat upon the ground. (36) He took the seven loaves and the fishes, and having blessed them, he brake them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. (37) And they all ate, they were satisfied: and they took up that which remained over of the fragments, they filled seven baskets. (38) And they who were eating were four thousand men, without children and women. (39) And having sent away the multitude, he entered into the ship, and came to the boundaries of Magdalan.

16

(1) And the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, tempting him, they were asking him to show them a sign from (the) heaven. (2) But he answered, he said to them: 'If evening should come ye say, that (the) heaven (will be) calm, being red. (3) And in the morning ye say, that to-day (will be the) storm, because of the redness of (the) heaven and its gloom. [The] hypocrites, ye know how to discern (the) heaven; and (the) peace of this time ye know not.' (4) And he answered, he said to them: The generation which is evil and adulterous seeketh for a sign; and a sign shall not be given it, except the sign of Jona the prophet.' And having left them, he went (away). (5) And his disciples having come across, forgot to take bread for them. (6) And Jesus said to them: Take heed and beware of (the) leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.' (7) And they were reasoning in themselves, saying: We took not bread with us.' (8) And Jesus having known (it), said to them: Wherefore reason ye among yourselves, ye of the little faith, because ye have not bread? (9) Know ye not yet, nor remember ye the five loaves of the five thousand, (and) that ye took how many baskets? (10) Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, (and) that ye took how many baskets? (11) How understand ye not that I was speaking to you not concerning (the) bread? but beware of (the) leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.' (12) Then they understood that he said not to them: Beware of (the) leaven of the loaves; but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.' (13) Now Jesus having come to the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples: Who, said [the] men, is (the) Son of (the) man?' (14) And they said: Some indeed, "John the Baptist:" and others, "Elias:" and others, "Jeremias or one from the prophets."' (15) He said to them: But whom (are) ye saying that I (am)?' (16) Simon Peter answered, he said: Thou (art) Christ, (the) Son of (the) living God.' (17) Jesus answered, he said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood revealed not this to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens. (18) I say to thee, that thou art Peter, I shall build my church upon this rock: and the gates of Amenti shall not have power against it. (19) I shall give thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens: that which thou wilt bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens: and that which thou wilt loose upon the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.' (20) Then he ordered his disciples that they should not say to any one that he is Jesus Christ. (21) From that time Jesus Christ began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise. (22) And Peter laid hold on him, he began to rebuke him, saying: (God) have mercy on thee, my Lord: this shall not be to thee.' (23) But he said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan: because thou art an offence to me: because thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of [the] men.' (24) Then said Jesus to his disciples: He who wisheth to walk after me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and walk after me. (25) For he who wisheth to save his life (lit. soul, thus again) shall destroy it: and he who will destroy his life because of me shall find it. (26) For what will [the] man gain, if he should gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? otherwise, what will [the] man give in exchange for his soul? (27) For (the) Son of (the) man (is) coming in (the) glory of his Father and his angels: then he will give to each one according to his works. (28) Verily I say to you, that there are some among them who stand here, (who) will not taste of (the) death, until they see (the) Son of (the) man coming in (the) glory of his Father.'

17

(1) And after six days Jesus, having taken away Peter, and James, and John his brother, led them upon a high mountain apart alone: (2) and he changed himself in form before them: and his face gave light as (the) sun, and his clothes were white as the light. (3) And lo, Moses and Elias manifested themselves to them, speaking to him. (4) Peter answered, he said to Jesus: 'My Lord, it is good for us that we are here: wishest thou that we make three tabernacles here? one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.' (5) When he (is) speaking, lo, a cloud of light shadowed over them: and lo, there was a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my son, my beloved, he, in whom my soul was well pleased; hearken to him.' (6) And the disciples having heard (it), fell upon their face, and feared greatly. (7) And Jesus came to them, he touched them, he said: Rise, fear not.' (8) And having lifted up their eyes they saw not any one except Jesus alone. (9) And (as they are) coining down from upon the mountain, Jesus ordered them, saying: Tell not any one the vision, until (the) Son of (the) man rise from the dead.' (10) And the disciples asked him, saying: Wherefore say the scribes that Elias cometh first?' (11) And he answered, he said: `Elias indeed (is) coming, and will shew you everything: (12) but I say to you, that Elias already came, and they knew him not, but did to him everything which they willed. Thus also (the) Son of (the) man will receive pain from them.' (13) Then his disciples understood that he spake to them concerning John the Baptist. (14) And they having come to the multitude, a man came to him, throwing himself upon his knees, (15) and saying: Pity my son: because he is epileptic and is afflicted greatly: for many times he falleth into the fire, and many times he falleth into (the) water. (16) And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not heal him.' (17) Then Jesus answered he said to him: O [the] faithless generation and which is perverse, how long will I be with you? how long will I have patience with you? bring him to me hither.' (18) And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon came out of him: and the child was cured from that hour. (19) Then the disciples came to Jesus apart alone, and said to him: Wherefore could we not cast him out?' (20) And he said to them: Because of your little faith: verily I say to you, that if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say to this mountain, "Go away from here thither," and it shall go away; and nothing shall be impossible for you.' (21) (22) And they having returned up to Galilee, Jesus said to them: (The) Son of (the) man will be given into (the) hands of [the] men; (23) and they will kill him, and after three days he shall rise.' And their heart was greatly grieved. (24) And having come up to Kapharnaum, they who received tribute came to Peter, and said to him: Doth not your master pay tribute?' (25) He said: Yea.' And having come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What thinkest thou, Simon? the kings of (the) earth--from whom (are) they taking toll or tax? from the sons, or from the strangers?' And he said: From the strangers.' (26) And he having said: From the strangers,' Jesus answered him: The sons then are free. (27) That ye may not offend them, go to (the) sea, cast thy hook, and the first fish which will come up, take it; and if thou should open the mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take it, give it to them for me and thee.'

18

(1) And in that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who then is the great in the kingdom of the heavens?' (2) And he called a little child, and made him stand in their midst, (3) and said: Verily I say to you, that unless ye turn yourselves, and become as this child, ye shall not come into the kingdom of the heavens. (4) He then who will humiliate himself as this child, this is the great in the kingdom of the heavens. (5) And he who will to him such a child in my name receiveth me: (6) but he who will offend one of these little ones who believe me, it is profitable for him that a millstone be hanged to him, and that he be drowned in (the) sea. (7) Woe to the world because of the offences! for it is necessary that the offences come; but woe to the man by whom the offence cometh! (8) If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, cast them from thee: it is good for thee that thou come into the life being lame or being maimed, than having two hands or two feet that thou be cast into the eternal fire. (9) And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, cast it from thee: for it is good for thee that thou come into the life having (one) eye, than having two eyes that thou be cast into the Gehenna of [the] fire. (10) Take heed then! despise not one of these little (ones); for I say to you, that their angels in the heavens always see (the) face of my Father who is in the heavens. (11) (12) And what think ye? if a man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them go astray, leaveth he not the ninety-nine upon the mountain, and goeth, and seeketh for that which went astray? (13) And if it should happen that he find it, verily I say to you, that he rejoiceth over it more than the ninety-nine which go not astray. (14) Thus it is not (the) wish of my Father, who is in the heavens, that one of these little (ones) perish. (15) And if thy brother should sin against thee, go and convict him between thee and him alone: if he should willhearken to thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. (16) But if he should not hearken to thee, take another or two also with thee, that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses all words may be established. (17) And if he should not hearken to them, tell it to the church: and if he should not hearken to the church, he shall be to thee as a Gentile and a publican. (18) Verily I say to you, that the things which ye will bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens: and the things which ye will loose upon the earth shall be loosed in the heavens. (19) Again I say to you, that if two among you should agree upon the earth concerning all things which they ask for, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in the heavens. (20) For the place in which two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.' (21) Then Peter came to him, he said to him: My Lord, if my brother should sin against me, and I forgive him, until how many times? until seven times?' (22) Jesus said to him: say to thee not until seven times, but seven seventy times. (23) Therefore the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a king who wished to reckon with his servants. (24) And having begun to reckon, one was brought to him, who owed many talents. (25) But he hath not (wherewith) to give them; and his lord commanded to sell him, and his wife, and his sons, and everything which he had, and to pay them. (26) Having thrown himself down then, that servant was worshipping him, saying: "My lord, (have) patience with me, and I will pay them to thee all." (27) And the lord of that servant having compassion released him, and forgave him all his debt. (28) But that servant having come forth, found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred staters: and having laid hold on him, he took him by the throat, saying: "Give (me) thy debt." (29) Having thrown him-elf down then, his fellow-servant was beseeching him, saying: "(Have) patience with me, and I will pay them to thee all." (30) And he wished not: but he went, he threw him to the prison, until he gave his debt. (31) So his fellow-servants having seen the things which were done, their heart was greatly grieved, and having come, they told their lord all things which were done. (32) Then his lord called him, he said to him: "[The] wicked servant, I forgave thee all thy debt, because thou besoughtest me. (33) Was it not right that thou shouldest have pity upon thy fellow-servant, as they had pity for thee?" (34) And having been angry, his lord gave him to the tormentors, until he should pay all his debt. (35) Thus will my Father which is in the heavens do to you, unless each of you forgive his brother with his whole heart.'

19

(1) And it came to pass (that) Jesus having finished these sayings, went away from Galilee, he came to the boundaries of Judea beyond the Jordan; (2) and great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. (3) And Pharisees came to him, tempting him, saying: 'Is it lawful for the man to put away his wife for every sin?' (4) And he said: Did ye not read, from (the) beginning male and female he created them.' (5) And he said: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall join himself to his wife: and they two shall become one flesh. (6) So that they are no longer two, but it is one flesh. That then which God joined, let not (the) man separate.' (7) They said to him: Wherefore then did Moses order to give (a) writing of divorcement, and to put them away?' (8) He said to them: Because of your hardness of heart did Moses command you to put away your wives: but from (the) beginning it was not thus. (9) And I say to you, that he who will put away his wife, without word of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and he who will marry her who is put away committeth adultery.' (10) His disciples said to him: If thus is (the) case of the man with the wife, it is profitable not to marry.' (11) But he said to them It is not every one (who) receiveth this word, but only they to whom it is given. (12) For there are eunuchs, who were born from their mother's womb: there are other eunuchs, whom [the] men made eunuchs: and there are other eunuchs, who made themselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of the heavens. He for whom it is possible to receive (it) to him, let him receive (it).' (13) Then they brought to him children, that he should lay hand upon them, and pray over (lit. upon) them: and the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus said to them: Permit the children, forbid them not to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of the heavens.' (15) And having laid hand upon them, he went from there. (16) And lo, one came to him, he said to him: (The) teacher, what good (thing) wilt I do, that I may inherit eternal life? (17) And he said to him: ':Wherefore askest thou me concerning the good? one is the good, God: but if thou wishest to come into the life, keep the commandments.' (18) He said to him: What are (they)?'And Jesus said to him: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. (19) Honour thy father and thy mother: and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' (20) The young man said to him: All these I kept from my youth, what further lack I? (21) Jesus answered him: If thou wishest to be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, give them to the poor, and thou shalt get for thee a treasure in (the) heaven: and come, follow me.' (22) But the young man having heard the word went (away with) his heart grieving: for he had many possessions. (23) And Jesus said to his disciples: Verily I say to you, that it is difficult that a rich man come into the kingdom of the heavens. (24) Again I say to you, that it is easier that a camel enter in (the) eye of a needle, than that a rich man enter into the kingdom of God.' (25) And the disciples having heard, wondered greatly, saying: For whom then is it possible to be saved?' (26) And Jesus having looked (upon them), said to them: 'For men impossible is this; but for God everything is possible.' (27) Then Peter answered, he said to him: we left everything and we followed thee: what then will be to us?' (28) And Jesus said to them: Verily I say to you, that ye of those who walked after me, in the re-creation if (the) Son of (the) man should sit on (the) throne of his glory, they shall seat you also on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (29) And every one who left brother, or sister, or father, or mother, or wife, or son, or land, or house, because of my name, shall receive a hundredfold, and he shall inherit the eternal life. (30) For there are many first about to be last; and last about to be first.

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(1) The kingdom of the heavens is like a man,--owner of land,--who came out in the morning to hire labourers to his vineyard. (2) And he settled with the labourers to give to them on the day a stater for each, and he sent them to his vineyard. (3) And having come out at (the) third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle; (4) he said to these others: "Go ye also to (the) vineyard, and that which is right I will give to you." And they went. (5) Again he came out at (the) sixth hour and (the) ninth hour, he did again thus. (6) And having come out at (the) eleventh hour, he found others standing; and he said to them: "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" (7) They said to him: "Because no one hired us for (the) hire." He said to them: Go ye also to (the) vineyard." (8) And evening having come, the lord of (the) vineyard said to his steward: "Call the labourers, give their hire to them, having begun from the last unto the first (9) And they of the eleventh hour having come, received a stater for each. (10) And the first having come, were thinking that they will receive more; and they also received a stater for each. (11) And having received, they murmured at the owner of land, (12) saying. "These last did (but) an hour of work, and thou madest them equal with us (being) of them, who bore (the) burden of the day, and the scorching heat." (13) But he answered, he said to one of them: "My friend, I treat thee not with violence: was it not a stater which I settled with thee? (14) Take that which is thine (and) go: and I wish to give to this last, as to thee. (15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with (lit. in) the things which are mine? Is thine eye evil because I am good?" (16) Thus the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.' (17) Jesus, being about to go up to Jerusalem, took to him the twelve by (lit. between him and them) themselves, and said to them on the road: (18) Lo, we will go up to Jerusalem; and (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered into (the) hands of the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn him to (the) death, (19) and they will deliver him to the Gentiles to mock him, and they will scourge him and crucify him: and after three days he shall rise.' (20) Then came to him (the) mother of the (sons) of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking him for a thing. (21) And he said to her: What wishest thou?' She said to him: Command, that my two sons may sit, one of them on thy right hand, one of them on thy left hand, in thy kingdom.' (22) But Jesus answered, he said: Ye know not concerning what ye asked. Is it possible for you to drink the cup which I will drink?'They said to him It is possible for us.' (23) And Jesus said to them: The cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand or my left hand is not mine to give, but it belongs to them for whom my Father, who is in the heavens, prepared it.' (24) And the ten other disciples having heard, murmured because of the two brothers. (25) But Jesus called, he said to them: Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles are lords of them, and their great (ones) also are in authority over them. (26) And thus it will not be among you; but he who wishes to be great among you shall be minister to you; (27) and he who wishes to be first among you shall be servant to you: (28) as also (the) Son of (the) man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many.' (29) And (as he is) coming out of Jericho, a great multitude walked after him. (30) And lo, two blind men sat by the road; having heard that Jesus will pass by, they cried out, saying: Our Lord, pity us, Jesus, (the) son of David.' (31) And the multitude was rebuking them, that they should hold their peace: but they cried out more, saying: Our Lord, pity us, (the) son of David.' (32) And Jesus having stood, called them, and said to them:'What will ye wish that I should do to you?' (33) They said to him: Our Lord, that our eyes may open.' (34) And Jesus having compassion, touched their eyes: immediately they saw, and followed him.

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(1) And when they approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage, at the mountain of the Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, (2) saying to them: Go to this village which is in front of you, and ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, bring them to me. (3) And if any one should speak to you, say, that the Lord has need of them; and he will send them immediately.' (4) Now this was done, that it might be fulfilled which he spoke by the prophet, saying: (5) Say to (the) daughter of Sion, that lo, thy King cometh, being meek, mounted on an ass, and a colt (the) foal of an ass.' (6) And his disciples having gone, and having done according as Jesus commanded them, (7) brought the ass, and the colt, and placed on them their garments; and made him sit above them. (8) And the most part of the multitudes spread their garments on the road; others cut branches from the trees, they spread them on the road. (9) And the multitudes walked before him, and they who were walking after him, were crying out, saying: Osanna, (the) son of David, blessed is he who cometh in (the) name of the Lord; Osanna in the highest.' (10) And having come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying: Who is this?' (11) And the multitudes said, that this is the prophet. Jesus, the Nazarene of Galilee.' (12) And Jesus went into the temple, and cast out all who sold in the temple and them who bought, and the tables of the money-changers he overthrew, and the seats of them who sold doves, (13) and he said to them: It is written, that my house shall be called "a house of prayer;" but ye make it a den of robbers.' (14) And blind and lame having come to him in the temple, he healed them. (15) And the chief priests and the scribes having seen the wonders which he did, and the children who cried out in the temple, saying: Osanna, (the) son of David,' murmured, (16) and said to him: Hearest thou not what these say?' And Jesus said to them: Yea: did ye never read in the Scriptures, that out of the mouths of little children and sucklings thou preparedst the praise?' (17) And having left them, he came outside of the city to Bethany; he slept there. (18) Now morning having come, he returned to the city, he hungered. (19) And having seen a fig-tree on the road, and having come to it, he found not anything upon it except leaves only: and he said to it: Fruit shall not come from thee for ever.' And the fig-tree withered away from that hour. (20) And the disciples having seen, wondered, saying: How this fig-tree withered away in this hour !' (21) And Jesus answered, he said to them: Verily I say to you, that if ye have faith, and doubt not, not only will ye do this which is done to this fig-tree, but if ye should say to this mountain, "Lift thyself up, and go into the sea," it shall be done. (22) And everything which ye will ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.' (23) And he having come to the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him teaching, saying: With what authority didst thou these things? and who gave to thee this authority? ' (24) Jesus answered, he said to them: I will also ask of you a word: if ye should tell me it, I also will tell you with what authority I did these things. (25) The baptism of John, whence was it from? from (the) heaven or from [the] men is it?'And they reasoned in themselves, saying: If we should say, that it is from (the) heaven, he will say to us: "Wherefore did ye not believe him?" (26) But if we should say, that (it is) from [the] men; we fear the multitude; for John is to them as a prophet.' (27) And they answered, they said to Jesus: We know not.' And he said to them: Neither will I also tell you with what authority I did these things. (28) But what think ye? There was a man who had two sons: he came to the first, he said to him: "My son, go to-day, work in the vineyard." (29) And he answered, he said: "I (go), my lord." And he went not. (30) He came to the second, he said to him again thus. And he answered, he said: "I wish not:" but at last having repented, he went. (31) Which of the two did the will of his father?'They said: The last.' Jesus said to them: Verily I say to you, that the publicans and the harlots will go before you into the kingdom of God. (32) For John came to you in the road of [the] righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye saw, and ye did not repent at last for (the) believing him. (33) Hear another parable. There was a man, an owner of land, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge round it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower in it, and delivered it to husbandmen, and went into (the) foreign (land). (34) And when (the) time of the fruits approached, he sent his servants to the husbandmen to receive his fruits. (35) And the husbandmen took his servants, one indeed they beat, and another they killed, and another they stoned. (36) Again, he sent other servants 'more in number than the first: and they did to them again thus. (37) But at last he sent his son to them, saying: "They will reverence my son." (38) But the husbandmen having seen the son, said in themselves: "This is the heir; come, let is kill him, and take his inheritance." (39) And they took him, they cast him outside of the vineyard, and killed him. (40) If the lord of the vineyard should come, what will he do to those husbandmen?' (41) They said to him: He shall miserably destroy the miserable men, and he shall deliver the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will give his fruits to him in their time.' (42) And Jesus said to them: Did ye never read in the Scriptures, that the stone which the builders rejected, this was made for completion of (the) corner: this having been done by the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes? (43) Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to another nation, which will produce its fruits. (44) And he who will fall upon this stone, it shall break him to pieces; and he indeed upon whom it will fall, it shall scatter him as dust.' (45) And the chief priests and the Pharisees having heard his parables, knew that he spoke (lit. said it) concerning them. (46) And they were seeking to lay hold on him, they feared the multitude, because he was to them as a prophet.

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(1) And Jesus answered them in parables, saying: (2) The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a king, who made a marriage feast for his son, (3) and sent his servants to call for them who were invited into the marriage feast: and they wished not to come. (4) Again he sent servants. saying: "Say to them who were invited, that, lo, I prepared my dinner: my calves and the fatlings are killed. all (things) are prepared: come into the marriage feast.' (5) But they having made light (of it), went, one indeed to his land; and another to his merchandise: (6) and (the) rest laid hold on his servants, they reviled them, and killed them. (7) But the king was angry; and sent his army, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city with [the] fire. (8) Then he said to his servants: "The marriage feast indeed is prepared, but they who were invited were not worthy: (9) but go forth to the crossings (lit. places of walking) of the roads, and them whom ye will find invite into the marriage feast." (10) And those servants having come forth on the roads, gathered all whom they found, them who were bad and them who were good: and the marriage feast was filled with the guests. (11) But the king having come in to see the guests, saw a man there not clothed with (the) raiment of the marriage feast: (12) and he said to him: "My friend, how camest thou in hither, not clothed with (the) raiment of the marriage feast?" And he was speechless. (13) Then the king said to the ministers: "Bind this (one), hand and foot, cast him to the outer darkness; the place in which will be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of the teeth." (14) For there are many invited; few are the chosen.' (15) Then the Pharisees went, they took counsel against him, that they might ensnare him by word. (16) And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying: (The) teacher, we know that thou (art) true, and the road of God thou (art) teaching in truth, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not (the) person of men. (17) Say then to us, what thinkest thou? is it lawful to give tax to (the) king or not?' (18) But Jesus having known their wickedness, said: Wherefore tempt ye me, [the] hypocrites? (19) Shew me (the) coin of the tax.' And they brought to him a stater. (20) And Jesus said to them: Whose is this image and these writings?' (21) They said to him: (The) king's are they.' Then he said to them: Give (the) king's (things) to (the) king, and give God's (things) to God.' (22) And having heard they wondered, and they left him, they went (away). (23) And in that day came to him Sadducees, who say that there is not to be resurrection: and they asked him, (24) saying. (The) teacher, Moses said to us, that if one should die, having no son, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. (25) There were, then, seven brothers with us: and the first, having taken (a wife), died, and he had no seed, he left his wife to his brother; (26) thus again the second, and the third, unto the seventh. (27) And at (the) end of them all, died the woman also. (28) In the resurrection, then, of whom is she to be wife among the seven? for they all took her.' (29) But Jesus answered, he said to them: Ye err, ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God. (30) For in the resurrection they take not, nor are taken (to wife), but they are to be as the angels of God in (the) heaven. (31) But concerning the resurrection of the dead, did ye not read that which was said to you by God, saying:" (32) I am God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob?" God is not (the God) of the dead, but of the living.' (33) And the multitudes indeed having heard, wondered at his teaching. (34) But the Pharisees having heard that he put the Sadducees to silence, gathered together. (35) And one of them being a lawyer, asked him, tempting him: (36) (The) teacher, what is the great commandment which is in. the law?' (37) And he said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy thoughts. (38) This is the great and first commandment. (39) The second is like to this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments the law and the prophets were hung.' (41) And the Pharisees having gathered together, Jesus asked them:' (42) What think ye concerning Christ? of whom is he (the) son?'They said to him:'(The) son of David.' (43) Jesus said to them: How then doth David in the Spirit call him "my Lord," saying:" (44) The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou on my right hand, until I put thine enemies below thy feet?'" (45) If then David call him "my Lord," how is he his son?' (46) And no one could answer him a word, nor did any one venture to ask him (a question) from that day.

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(1) Then Jesus spake to the multitudes and his disciples, saying: (2) The scribes and the Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses. (3) All things which they will say to you, do them, and keep them: but do not according to their works; for they say them, and they do them not. (4) Yea, they bind heavy burdens and place them upon (the) shoulder of [the] men; but they (themselves) wish not to move them with their finger. (5) But all their works they do that [the] men may see them: for they broaden their phylacteries, and they make (the) hems of their garments to be enlarged, (6) and they love the first places in the feasts, and the first places on the seats in the synagogues, (7) and the salutations in the market-places, that [the] men may call them "Rabbi." (8) But be not ye called "Rabbi:" for one is your teacher, and ye all are brothers. (9) And call not (any) as father to you upon the earth: for one is your father, who is in the heavens. (10) Nor call (any) scribe to you: for one is your scribe, Christ. (11) But the great (one) who is among you shall be minister to you. (12) And he who will exalt himself will be humiliated, and he who will humiliate himself will be exalted. (13) (14) And woe to you [the] scribes and [the] Pharisees, [the] hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of the heavens before [the] men: for ye come not in (yourselves), nor they who come, do you permit them to come in. * So through out (15) Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye go round (the) sea, and that which is dry, to make a proselyte; and if he should be made, ye make him son of Geenna twofold (more) than yourselves. (16) Woe to you, [the] blind guides, who say, that he who will swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he who will swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. (17) [The] fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which halloweth the gold? (18) And he who will swear by the altar, it is nothing; but he who will swear by the gift which is upon it, he is a debtor. (19) [The] fools and blind: for what is greater, the gift, or the altar which halloweth the gift? (20) He, then, who sweareth by the altar, swore by it, and everything which is upon it. (21) And he who sweareth by the temple, swore by it, and him who dwelleth in it. (22) And he who sweareth by (the) heaven, swore by the throne of God, and him who sitteth upon it (23) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye give (the) tithe of the mint and the anise and the cummin, and ye left (out) the weighty things of the law --[the] judgement and [the] pity and [the] faith: these it was right that ye should do, and the others that ye should not leave (out). (24) [The] blind guides, who strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel. (25) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites Because ye cleanse outside of the cup and the platter, but inside of them (is) full of extortion and uncleanness. (26) [The] blind Pharisee, cleanse inside of the cup first, and the platter, that outside of them may be cleansed. (27) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites Ye are like to sepulchres smeared with lime: outside of them, indeed, they appear beautiful, but inside of them (is) full of bones of dead (men) and all uncleanness. (28) Thus ye also, outside of you, indeed, ye appear before [the] men as righteous, but inside of you (is) full of hypocrisy and all iniquity. (29) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and ye garnish the caves of the righteous, (30) and ye say, that if we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (31) So that ye bear witness against yourselves, that ye (are the) sons of them who slew the prophets. (32) And ye also, fill (ye) up (the) measure of your fathers. (33) [The] serpents, offspring of [the] vipers! How will ye be able to flee from the judgement of the Geenna? (34) Therefore lo, I will send to you prophets and wise scribes: and ye shall kill (some) of them; and ye shall crucify (them), scourging them in your synagogues, and ye shall persecute them from city to city: (35) that all righteous blood which was shed upon the earth may come upon you, from (the) blood of Abel the righteous, unto (the) blood of Zacharias (the) son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (36) Verily I say to you, that all these things shall come upon this generation. (37) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killeth the prophets, and who stoneth them who were sent to her! Many times I wished to gather thy sons as a bird gathereth in his brood under his wings, and ye wished not. (38) Lo, I will leave your house to you. (39) For I say to you, that ye shall not see me from now, until ye say, that blessed is he who cometh in (the) name of the Lord.'

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(1) And Jesus having come out of the temple was walking (away); and his disciples came to him, shewing him the buildings of the temple. (2) But he answered, he said to them: Ye see all these things: verily I say to you, that a stone shall not be left upon a stone here, (which) will not be pulled down.' (3) And (as he is) sitting upon the mountain of the Olives, his disciples came to him apart alone, saying:'Say to us, when these things shall be? and what is the sign of thy coining, and (the) end of this age?' (4) And Jesus answered, he said to them: Take heed, let it not (be) that one lead you astray. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying, that I am Christ; and shall lead many astray. (6) And ye hearing of wars and rumours of war, take heed, be not troubled: for it is necessary that they happen; but (the) end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise upon nation, and kingdom upon kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes and famines and deaths in different places. (8) But all these things are (the) beginning of the pangs. (9) Then shall they deliver you into tribulation, and they shall kill you: and ye shall become hated by all the nations because of my name. (10) Then shall many be deserted, and they shall deliver (up) one another, and they shall hate one another. (11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall lead many astray. (12) And because of (the) abundance of [the] iniquity (the) love of many shall be weighed down. (13) But he who will hold on until the end (lit. out), this (one) will be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations; then shall come the end. (15) And if ye see the abomination of (the) desert, which he said by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place--he who readeth, let him understand (16) then they who are in Judea, let them flee upon the mountains: (17) and he who is upon (the) housetop, make him not come down to take away the things which are in his house: (18) and he who is in (the) field, make him not return back to take away his garment. (19) But woe to them who are with child, and them who give suck in those days! (20) And pray that your flight may not be in (the) winter, nor on (the) sabbath. (21) For there (shall) be great tribulation in that time: there was not like it from (the) beginning of the world until now, nor shall there be again. (22) And except that those days became few no flesh would have been saved: but because of the chosen those days shall become few. (23) Then if one should say to you that, lo, Christ is here, or he is there, believe them not. (24) For false Christs shall rise, and false prophets, and they shall show (lit. give) great signs and wonders: so that, if it were possible, even my chosen might be led astray. (25) Behold, I said to you before. (26) If, then, they should say to you that, lo, he is in (the) desert, go not forth: lo, he is in the chambers, believe them not. (27) For as the lightning which cometh forth in the east, and manifesteth itself in the west, this is as (the) coming of (the) Son of (the) man. (28) The place in which the carcase is, the eagles assemble thither. (29) But immediately after the tribulation of those days, (the) sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give his light, and the stars shall fall down from (the) heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (30) Then shall appear the sign of (the) Son of (the) man in (the) heaven: and then all the tribes of (the) earth shall wail, and they shall see (the) Son of (the) man coming upon the clouds of (the) heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end (lit. their ends) of the heavens unto the other (lit. their ends). (32) From the fig-tree learn the parable: if now her branches are tender, and her leaves unloose, ye know that the summer approacheth; (33) thus ye also, if ye should see all these things, know that it approacheth at the doors. (34) Verily I say to you, that this generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished. (35) (The) heaven and the earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (36) Concerning that day and the hour no one knoweth, nor the angels of the heavens, except (the) Father alone. (37) For as the days of Noe, thus will it be in (the) coming of (the) Son of (the) man. (38) For as they were in the days which were before the flood: eating and drinking, taking wives and taking husbands, until the day in which Noe went into the ark, (39) and they knew not until the flood came, and took away every one: thus will it be in (the) coining of (the) Son of (the) man. (40) Then two being in (the) field; one shall be taken away, and one shall be left. (41) Two women grinding in a mill: one shall be taken away, and one shall be left. (42) Watch then: because ye know not in what day your Lord shall come. (43) But this know, that if the owner-of-a-house had known in what hour the robber is coining to him, he would have watched, that he should not permit him to take his house. (44) Therefore be ye also prepared, because in the hour which ye know not the Son of man is coining. (45) Who then is the faithful servant and wise, whom his Lord will set over his servants, to give to them their food in (the) time of giving it? (46) Blessed is that servant, if his Lord should come and find him doing thus. (47) Verily I say to you, that he will set him over all which he hath. (48) If that wicked servant should say in his heart: "My Lord will delay;" (49) and he begin to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunken: (50) the Lord of that servant shall come in the day which he expects not, and in the hour which he knows not, (51) and he shall cut him asunder, and he shall set his portion with the hypocrites, the place in which will be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of the teeth.

25

(1) Then the kingdom of the heavens is like to ten virgins, who took their lamps, they came forth to meet the bridegroom. (2) And there were five foolish among them, and five wise. (3) For the foolish having taken their lamps took not away oil with them: (4) but the wise took away oil in their vessels with their lamps. (5) Now the bridegroom having delayed, they all slumbered and they slept. (6) But midnight having come, there was a cry: "Lo, the bridegroom! Rise, come forth to meet him." (7) Then all those virgins rose and they trimmed their lamps. (8) And the foolish said to the wise: "Give to us of your oil, otherwise our lamps will be quenched." (9) But the wise answered, saying: (Not so), lest haply it should not suffice for us and you: go ye rather to them who sell, and buy for yourselves." (10) And having gone that they might buy, the bridegroom came; and they who were prepared went with him into the marriage feast: and the door was shut. (11) And at last came (the) rest of the virgins, saying:"Our Lord, our Lord, open to us." (12) But he answered, he said: "Verily I say to you, that I know you not." (13) Watch then, because ye know not the day, nor the hour. (14) For as a man being about to go to (the) foreign (land), called his servants, and delivered what he had to them. (15) To one indeed he gave five talents, and to one he gave two, and to another he gave one; each according to his power; and he went to (the) foreign (land). (16) And he who received the five talents went, he worked with them, and got other five. (17) Thus again he who received the two got other two. (18) But he who received the one, having gone, dug the (lit. an) earth, and hid (the) silver of his Lord. (19) Now after a long time came the Lord of those servants, and reckoned with them. (20) And he who received the five talents came, he brought other five talents, saying: "my Lord, thou gavest to me five talents: lo, I got other five talents." (21) And his Lord said to him: "Well, [the] good and faithful servant, since thou wast faithful in few things, I shall set thee over great things: go into (the) joy of thy Lord." (22) And he who received the two talents came, he said: "my Lord, two talents it is which thou gavest to me: lo, I got other two." (23) And his Lord said to him: "Well, [the] good and faithful servant, since thou wast faithful in few things, I shall set thee over great things: go into (the) joy of thy Lord." (24) And he also who received the (one) talent came, he said: "my Lord, I knew thee, that thou (art) a hard man, reaping that which thou sowedst not, and gathering in that which thou scatteredst not: (25) and I feared, I went, I hid thy talent in the earth: lo, (here is) that which is thine from me." (26) His Lord answered, he said: "[The] wicked and slothful servant, if thou knowest that I reap that which I sowed not, and gather in that which I scattered not; (27) was it not right then for thee to deliver my silver to the bankers, and if I should come I should have received that which is mine with its increase? (28) Take away then the talent from this (one), and give it to him of the ten talents. (29) For to every one who hath shall be given, and it shall be exceeding to him: but he who hath not, that which he hath shall be taken away from him. (30) And cast that unprofitable servant to the outer darkness, the place in which will be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of the teeth." (31) But if (the) Son of (the) man should come in his glory, and all his angels with him, then he shall sit upon (the) throne of his glory: (32) and they shall gather before him all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd who separateth the sheep from the goats: (33) and the sheep indeed he shall set on his right hand, but the goats on his left hand. (34) Then (the) king shall say to them who are on his right hand: "Come to me, ye (lit. they) who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom which is prepared for you from (the) foundation of the world: (35) for I hungered, and ye fed me: I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and ye received me to you: (36) I was naked, and ye covered me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in the prison, and ye came unto me." (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying "Our Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and we fed thee? or thirsty, and we gave thee to drink? (38) or when saw we thee a stranger, and we received thee to us? or naked, and we covered thee? (39) or when saw we thee sick, or being in the prison, and we came unto thee?" (40) And the king shall answer , he shall say to them: "Verily I say to you, that inasmuch as ye did them to one of these least--my brothers, to me ye did them." (41) Then he shall say to the wicked who are on his left hand: "Go from me, [the] cursed, to the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I hungered, and ye fed me not: I thirsted, and ye gave me not to drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye received me not to you: I was naked, and ye covered me not: I was sick, and ye visited me not: I was in the prison, ye came not unto me." (44) Then they shall also answer, saying: "Our Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or being in the prison, and we ministered not to thee?" (45) Then he shall answer them, saying: "Verily I say to you, that inasmuch as ye did them not to one of these least, neither to me did ye them." (46) And these shall go to eternal punishment; but the righteous to eternal life.'

26

(1) And it came to pass (that) Jesus having finished all these words, said to his disciples: (2) Ye know that after two more days the Passover will be, and (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered to be crucified.' (3) Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled into the court of the chief priest whom they call Caiaphas;' (4) and they took counsel that they might lay hold on Jesus with subtilty, and kill him. (5) They were saying: Let us not do it in (the) feast, that there shall not be a tumult among the people.' (6) Now Jesus being in Bethany, in (the) house of Simon the leper, (7) a woman came to him, having a vessel of ointment, of great price, and she poured it upon his head, sitting at meat. (8) But the disciples having seen, murmured, saying: What is this waste? (9) For it was possible to sell this for much, and to give them to the poor.' (10) But Jesus having known (it), said to them: Wherefore trouble ye the woman? a good work she did to me. (11) For the poor are with you always, but I am not with you always. (12) For this (woman) cast this ointment upon my body for my burying. (13) Verily I say to you, that where this gospel will be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman did shall be spoken of for a memorial to her.' (14) Then went one of the twelve, whom they call Judas (the) Iscariot,' to the chief priests, (15) he said to them: What will ye give me, and I myself will deliver him to you? And they settled with him to give him thirty (pieces) of silver. (16) And from that time he was seeking for an opportunity that he might deliver him to them. (17) Now on the first day of (the) unleavened (bread) his disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where didst thou wish (us) to prepare the Passover for thee, to eat it?' (18) And he said to them: Go to this city to such a man, and say to him, that the Teacher said: "My time approached; I am to keep my Passover at thy house with my disciples."' (19) And the disciples did as Jesus said to them; and they prepared the Passover. (20) Now evening having come, he was sitting at meat with the twelve disciples; (21) and (as they are) eating, he said to them: Verily I say to you, that one of you will deliver me (up).' (22) And their heart being greatly grieved, they began, each of them, (to say): Is it I, my Lord?' (23) And he answered, he said: He who clipped his hand with me in the dish, this (one) will deliver me (up). (24) (The) Son of (the) man indeed will go, according as it is written concerning him: but woe to the man by whom (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered (up)! it were good for him (if) that man had not been born.' (25) Judas, who was to deliver him (up), answered him and said: Is it I, Rabbi?'He said to him: Thou saidst.' (26) And (as they are) eating, Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, he brake it; and having given it to his disciples, he said: Take, eat; for this is my body.' (27) And having taken a cup, and having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: Take, drink of this, all; (28) for this is my blood of the new testament, which will be shed for many, for (the) forgiveness of their sins to them. (29) But I say to you: that I shall not drink henceforth of (the) fruit of this vine, until that day when I should drink it with you in the kingdom of my Father.' (30) And having blessed, they came out to the mountain of the Olives. (31) Then said Jesus to them: All ye will be offended in me this night: it is written, that I shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. (32) But after my rising I will go before you to Galilee.' (33) But Peter answered, he said to him: If all will be offended in thee, I, however, shall not be offended.' (34) And Jesus said to him: Verily I say to thee, that in this night, before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me three times.' (35) And Peter said to him: Even if it should come about that I die with thee, I shall not deny thee.' And thus were saying all the other disciples. (36) Then he came with them to a field called Gethsemani,' and he said to his disciples: Sit here, until I go yonder and pray.' (37) And he took away Peter with him, and (the) two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be grieved and to be dismayed. (38) Then he said to them: My soul is grieved unto (the) death: abide here, and watch with me.' (39) And having gone forward a little, he threw himself upon his face, praying, and saying: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.' (40) And having come to his disciples, he found them sleeping, and he said to Peter: Thus, could ye not watch with me for an hour? (41) Watch then, and pray, that ye come not into temptation: the spirit indeed is ready, (but) the flesh is weak.' (42) Again he went, he prayed (the) second time, saying: My Father, if it is possible that this cup should (not) pass from me except I drink it, let thy will be done.' (43) And he came again to his disciples, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. (44) And he left them again, he went, he prayed the third time, saying this same word again. (45) Then he came to his disciples, he said to them: Sleep then, and rest yourselves: behold, the hour approached, and (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered into (the) hands of [the] sinners. (46) Rise, let us go; lo, he who will deliver me (up) approached.' (47) And he having spoken, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came with a great multitude, with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. (48) Now he who was to deliver him (up) gave to them a sign, saying: He whose mouth I will kiss is he, lay hold on him.' (49) And immediately he came to Jesus, he said to him: Hail, Rabbi;'and he kissed his mouth. (50) And Jesus said to him: `My friend, (do) that concerning which thou camest.' Then putting forth their hands upon Jesus they laid hold on him. (51) And lo, one of them who were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, he drew his sword, and struck at (the) servant of the high priest, he cut off his right ear. (52) Then said Jesus therefore to him: Put up again the sword into its place: for all who took sword will perish by (the) sword. (53) Or thoughtest thou, that it is possible for me to pray to my Father, and he would cause more than twelve legions of angels to come to me hither, now? (54) How then would the Scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be? ' (55) In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes: Came ye out as coming after a robber with swords and staves to lay hold on me? Was I not sitting daily in the temple to teach, and ye laid not hold on me? ' (56) But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, they fled. (57) And they laid hold on Jesus, they brought him to Caiaphas the chief priest, (to) the place whither the scribes and the elders of the people were assembling. (58) But Peter was walking after him afar off, unto the court of the chief priest, and having gone in, was sitting with the officers to see the end. (59) Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking for false witness against Jesus, that they might kill him; (60) and they found not, many false witnesses having come. But at last two came, (61) saying This (man) said that it is possible for me to pull down the temple of God, and to build it in three days.' (62) And the chief priest arose, he said to him: Answerest thou nothing as to what these bear witness against thee?' (63) But Jesus was holding his peace. And the chief priest said to him: adjure thee by (the) living God, that thou say to us, that thou art Christ, (the) Son of (the) living God.' (64) Jesus said to him: Thou saidst: nevertheless I say to you, that henceforth ye shall see (the) Son of (the) man sitting at (the) right hand of [the] power, and coming upon the clouds of (the) heaven.' (65) Then the chief priest rent his garments, saying He blasphemed; we have not further need of witness: lo, now ye heard the blasphemy: (66) what then think ye?' And they answered, they said: 'He is worthy of (the) death.' (67) Then they spat in his face, and struck him, and beat him, (68) saying: 'Prophesy to us, Christ, who beat thee?' (69) Now Peter was sitting outside in the court: and a maidservant came to him, saying: Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilaean.' (70) But he was denying before them all, saying: 'I know not what thou saidst.' (71) And he having come out to the porch another (woman) saw him, and said to them who were there: 'He also was with Jesus of Nazareth (lit. the Nazôreos).' (72) Again he denied with an oath: 'I know not this man.' (73) And after another little (time) they who stood (by) came, they said to Peter: 'Truly thou also (art) one of them; for thy speech manifesteth thee.' (74) Then he began to curse and to swear: I know not this man.' And immediately a cock crew. (75) And Peter remembered the word which Jesus said to him: Before a cock crow thou wilt deny me three times.' And having come out he wept a bitter weeping.

27

(1) Now morning having come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, so that they might kill him. (2) And having bound him, they took him away, they delivered him to Pilate the governor. (3) Then Judas, who delivered him (up), having seen that he was condemned, having repented, returned the thirty (pieces) of silver to the chief priests and the elders, (4) saying: I sinned, because I delivered (up) righteous blood.' But they said: What (is that) to us? thou shalt suffice for (it).' (5) And he cast forth the silver (pieces) into the temple, he went, he strangled himself. (6) And the chief priests, having taken the silver (pieces), said: It is not lawful to cast them to the sacred-treasury, because it is (the) price of blood.' (7) And having taken counsel, they bought with them the field of the potter, for a burial place for the strangers. (8) Therefore they called (the) name of that field: (The) field of the blood' until to-day. (9) Then was fulfilled that which he spake by Jeremias the prophet, saying: They took the thirty (pieces) of silver, the price of him whom (the) sons of Israel priced, (10) and they gave them for (the) field of the potter, according as the Lord commanded me.' (11) Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying: Art thou (the) king of the Jews? 'And Jesus said: Thou saidst.' (12) And while the chief priests and the elders were causing him to be accused, he answered not anything. (13) Then Pilate said to him: Hearest thou not how much witness is borne against thee?' (14) And he answered him not with any word; so that the governor wondered greatly. (15) Now at (the) feast it was (the) custom of the governor to release one of them who were bound to the multitude, him whom they wish. (16) And they had one bound at that time, who was (lit. is) a robber, called Barabbas.' (17) They having assembled together, Pilate said to them: Whom wish ye that I release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called "Christ?" (18) For he was knowing that they delivered him (up) because of envy. (19) And (as he is) sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent to him, saying: Do nothing to that righteous man, for I suffered much because of him this night in (the) dream.' (20) Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. (21) The governor then answered, he said to them: Whom wish ye that I release to you of these two?'And they said: Barabbas.' (22) Pilate said to them: What shall (lit. will) I do to Jesus who is called "Christ?" 'They all said: Let him be crucified.' (23) The governor said to them: Why, what evil did he?' But they were crying out the more, saying: Crucify him.' (24) So Pilate having seen that he will gain nothing, but rather (that) a tumult will be made, took water, washed his hands before the multitude, saying: I am innocent from (the) blood of this righteous (man): ye shall suffice for (it).' (25) And all the people answered, they (lit. he) said: `His blood (shall be) upon us, and upon our sons.' (26) Then he released Barabbas to them: but having scourged Jesus he delivered him to be crucified. (27) Then the soldiers of the governor took away Jesus into the Prætorium; they gathered the whole band upon him. (28) And having stripped him, they clothed him with a scarlet robe. (29) And they plaited a crown of thorns, they placed it upon his head, and they put a reed in his right hand; and they threw themselves upon their knees before him, mocking him, saying: Hail, (the) king of the Jews!' (30) And having spit in his face, they took away the reed, they struck his head. (31) And having finished mocking him, they stripped him of the robe, they clothed him with his garments, and took him away to be crucified. (32) And coming out they found a man--a Cyrenian whose name was (lit. is) Simon: this (one) they compelled to go (with them) that he might take up his cross. (33) And having come to a place which they call Golgotha,' which is the place of the skull, (34) they gave wine to him mingled with gall: and having tasted he wished not to drink. (35) And having crucified him, they divided his garments among them, having cast lot for them. (36) And they were sitting, guarding him there. (37) And they wrote his accusation above his head, written thus: 'This is (the) king of the Jews.' (38) Then they crucified two robbers also with him, one on his right hand, and one on his left hand. (39) And they who passed by were blaspheming him, shaking their head, (40) saying: Thou (lit. he) who will destroy the temple of God, and build it in three days,--save thyself. If thou art (the) Son of God come down from the tree (lit. wood).' (41) This is how (lit. as) the chief priests with the scribes and the elders mocked him, saying: (42) He saved others; it is not possible for him to save himself. If (he) is (the) king of Israel, let him come down now from the tree, and let us believe him. (43) If he trusted in God, let him save him, if he wish (for) him: for he said that I am (the) Son of God.' (44) And this the robbers also were saying, who were crucified with him, reproaching him. (45) From (the) sixth hour there was (the) darkness upon all (the) land until (the) ninth hour. (46) And (the) ninth hour having come, Jesus cried out with a great cry, saying: Eloi eloi lema sabakthani? 'which is this, My God, my God, wherefore didst thou leave me?' (47) And some of them who stood there, having heard, were saying: He called to Elias.' (48) And immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and pierced (it) on (lit. to) a reed, they gave him to drink. (49) And (the) rest were saying: Let it (be); and let us see if (lit. that) Elias cometh and saveth him.' (50) And Jesus cried out again with a great cry, he gave (up) the spirit. (51) And lo, the veil of the temple was broken from (the) top to (the) bottom; it (was) made two (pieces): and the earth quaked; and the rocks were broken; (52) and the sepulchres opened; and many bodies of them who slept, of the saints, rose; (53) and having come out of the sepulchres after his rising, went into the holy city, and manifested themselves to many. (54) Now the centurion, and they who were with him, guarding Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things which were done, feared greatly, saying: Truly this was (the) Son of God.' (55) And many women were there, seeing afar off, these were they who walked after Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him: (56) these--among whom was Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and (the) mother of Joseph, and (the) mother of (the) sons of Zebedee. (57) And evening having come, a rich man from AriMatthewheas came, whose name was (lit. is) Joseph. This (man) also had been a disciple of Jesus: (58) this (man) having come to Pilate, asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded to give it. (59) And Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) and laid it in his new sepulchre, which he hewed-out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the mouth of the sepulchre, he departed. (61) And Mary the Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting before the sepulchre. (62) Now on the (lit. his) morrow, which is (the day) after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled to Pilate, (63) saying: Our lord, we remembered that that deceiver said, while living, that after three days I will rise. (64) Command then, to make sure the sepulchre until the third day, lest his disciples come and take him away by stealth, and say to the people, that he rose from the dead: and the last error (will be) worse for us than the first.' (65) And Pilate said to them: Ye have guards: go, make it sure as ye know (how to make) it.' (66) So they went, they made sure the sepulchre, they sealed it, the guard (being) with (them).

28

(1) Now in the night (lit. Now evening) of the sabbaths, being morning of (the) first (lit, to (the) one) of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene came and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (2) And lo, there was a great earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from (the) heaven, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, and was sitting upon it. (3) And his form was (imperf.) as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: (4) and for fear of him (lit. his fear) they who guard quaked, and were as dead men. (5) And the angel answered, he said to the women: 'Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek for Jesus who was crucified. (6) He is not here; for he rose, as he said. Come see the place in which he was laid. (7) And quickly go, say to his disciples, that he rose from the dead; and lo, he will go before you to Galilee; ye will see him there: behold, I told (lit. said) you.' (8) And they went quickly from the sepulchre in fear and great joy, and were running to tell his disciples. (9) And behold, Jesus met them, saying: All hail!' And they laid hold on his feet, and worshipped him. (10) Then Jesus said to them: Fear not: go, tell my brothers, that they go to Galilee, and see me there.' (11) They having gone, lo, some of the guards came to the city, they told the chief priests all things which were done. (12) And having assembled with the elders, and taking counsel, they took suitable money, they gave it (lit. them) to the soldiers, (13) (saying:) 'Say that his disciples having come by night, took him away by stealth, and while we sleep. (14) And if the governor hear this word, we shall persuade him, and shall rid you of care.' (15) So they having taken the silver pieces, did as they were taught: and this word spread abroad among the Jews until to-day. (16) The eleven disciples went up to Galilee, upon the mountain which Jesus appointed to them. (17) And having seen him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. (18) And Jesus having come, spake to them, saying: All authority was given me in (the) heaven and on the earth. (19) Go then, teach all nations, baptising them into (the) name of (the) Father and (the) Son and the Holy Spirit: (20) teaching them to keep all things which I ordered you: and behold, I am with you all the days unto (the) end of the ages.'

Gospel of St. Mark

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1

(1) (The) beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, (the) Son of God. (2) According as it is written in Esaias the prophet: Lo, I will send (the) messenger before thy face, who will prepare thy road before thee; (3) (the) cry of him who crieth out in (the) desert: "Prepare (the) road of the Lord, make straight his paths."' (4) And John the Baptist was in (the) desert, and preaching a baptism of repentance for (lit. in) a forgiveness of sins. (5) And there were coining forth to him they of all Judea-country, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were being baptised by him in the Jordan-river, confessing their sins. (6) And John was (imperf.) clothed with camel's hair, and girt with a girdle of leather upon his loins, and he ate (imperf.) locust and honey of (the) field. (7) And he was preaching, saying: He who is stronger than I cometh after me, he (of) whom I am not worthy to stoop down to unloose a latchet of his shoe. (8) I baptised you in water: but he will baptise you in the (lit. a) Holy Spirit. (9) And it came to pass in those days, (that) Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptised in the Jordan by John. (10) And immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens rent, and the Spirit came down upon him as a dove: (11) and there was (imperf.) a voice from the heavens:'Thou art my Son, my beloved, in whom I was well pleased.' (12) And immediately the Spirit drove him forth to (the) desert. (13) And he was (imperf.) in (the) desert forty days and nights, Satan tempting him; and he was (imperf.) with the wild beasts; and the angels were ministering to him. (14) Now after that John was delivered (up), Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, (15) and saying: 'The time was fulfilled, and the kingdom of God approached: repent, and believe the gospel.' (16) And having passed by (the) sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew (the) brother of Simon casting net into the sea: because they were fishers. (17) And Jesus said to them: Come, walk after me, and I (will) make you fishers, catchers of men.' (18) And they left the nets, they immediately walked after him. (19) And having passed on a little further, he saw James (the) son of Zebedee, and John his brother; and they also being in the ship, preparing their nets. (20) And immediately he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired-servants, they went (away), they walked after him. (21) And they went into Kapharnaum; and he was teaching immediately on the sabbaths in the synagogues. (22) And they were wondering at his teaching: for he was teaching them as having his authority, and not as the scribes. (23) And immediately there was (imperf.) a man in the synagogue, being with (lit. in) an unclean spirit; and he cried out, (24) saying: What (hast) thou with us, Jesus the Nazarene? camest thou to destroy us? We know thee who thou (art), the Holy (One) of God.' (25) And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silenced, and come out of him.' (26) And the unclean spirit convulsed him, and cried out with a great cry, he came from him. (27) And they all feared, so that they sought with one another, saying: What is this? it is a new teaching; because with authority he commandeth the unclean spirits, they obey him.' (28) And his fame spread abroad in all the region of Galilee round about. (29) And immediately having come from the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, James and John being with them. (30) Now (the) mother-in-law of Simon was lying (lit. sleeping) sick-of-a-fever; and immediately they told him concerning her: (31) and he came, he raised her up, having taken hold of her hand; and the fever left her, and she was ministering to them. (32) And evening having come, when (the) sun set, they brought to him every one who was afflicted, and them with whom were the demons. (33) And the whole city assembled at the door. (34) And he healed many who were afflicted in many kinds of sickness, and cast out many demons; and he was not permitting the demons to speak, because they were [not] knowing him that he was (lit. is) Christ. (35) And having risen in the morning very early, he came forth to a desert place, and was praying there. (36) And Simon and they who were with him ran after him; (37) and having found him, they said to him: They all seek for thee.' (38) And he said to them: Let us go to another place, to the towns which are near to us, that we may preach there also; for I came to this thing.' (39) And he came to preach in their synagogues in all Galilee, and (is) casting (out) the demons. (40) And a leper came to him, beseeching him, and throwing himself upon his knees, saying If thou wishest, it is possible for thee to cleanse me. (41) And he had compassion upon him, he stretched out his hand, he touched him, and said to him: I wish, be cleansed.' (42) And immediately the leprosy went from him, and he was cleansed. (43) And having sternly-charged him, immediately he sent him away, (44) and said to him: Take heed, shew (it) not to any one: but go shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift for thy cleansing which Moses commanded, for a witness to them. (45) But he having come forth, began to publish (it) much, and to spread abroad his word, so that (Jesus) could not come into a city openly, but was (imperf.) in desert roads: and they were coming to him from all places.

2

(1) And he came again into Kapharnaum after some days. They heard that he is within a house: (2) and many assembled thither, so that the house no longer held (them), not even at the door: and he spake to them the word. (3) And they brought to him one, paralysed, four men carrying him. (4) And having not been able, to bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon (the) housetop, they uncovered the roof of the house in which he was (imperf.): and having broken (it) up, they let down the bed on which the paralysed lay (lit. slept). (5) And Jesus, having seen their faith, said to the paralysed: My son, thy sins are forgiven thee.' (6) But there were some of the scribes there sitting, and they were reasoning in their heart: (7) Wherefore doth this (man) thus blaspheme? For whom is it possible to forgive sin except the one alone--God?' (8) And immediately Jesus knew in his spirit, that they reason thus within themselves, he said to them: 'Wherefore reason ye these (things) in your hearts? (9) What is easy to say to the paralysed: "Thy sins are forgiven thee," or to say: "Rise, take up thy bed, and go?" (10) That ye may know that (the) Son of (the) man hath (the) authority upon the earth to forgive sin--he said to the paralysed (11) to thee I say: "Rise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house."' (12) And immediately he rose, he took up his bed, and came out before every one, so that they all wondered, and glorified God, saying: 'We never saw it (lit. being) thus.' (13) And he came forth to (the) sea; and all the multitude was coming to him, and he was teaching them. (14) And passing by he saw Levi (the son) of Alpheus sitting at the custom-house, and he said to him: Walk after me.' And he rose, he walked after him. (15) And it came to pass, (as he is) sitting-at-meat in his house, (that) there were many publicans and sinners, they were sitting-at-meat with Jesus and his disciples, there were many. And the scribes and the Pharisees were walking after him; (16) and having seen that he eateth with the publicans and the sinners, they were saying to his disciples: Wherefore doth your teacher eat and drink with the publicans and the sinners? (17) And Jesus having heard, said to them They who are strong have not need of the physician, but they who are diseased: for I came not to invite the righteous, but the sinners.' (18) And the disciples of John and those of the Pharisees were fasting: and they came, they said to him: Wherefore (do) the disciples of John and those of the Pharisees fast, but thine fast not?' (19) And Jesus answered, he said to them: Is it possible to make (the) sons of the bridegroom fast, while the bridegroom is with them? All (the) time that the bridegroom is with them, it is not possible for them to fast. (20) But days come when the bridegroom should be taken away from them, then they will fast in those days. (21) For no one putteth (lit. throweth) a piece of new cloth to an old garment: otherwise the new taketh away the filling-up of the old, and a rent becometh worse. (22) And they do not put (lit. throw) new wine into old bottles: otherwise the wine rendeth the bottles, and the wine perisheth, and the bottles: but they put new wine into new bottles.' (23) And it came to pass (that) he walked on the sabbaths through the cornfields; and his disciples began, (while) walking, to pluck ears-of-corn. (24) And the Pharisees were saying to him: 'See, what do they on the sabbaths? it is not lawful to do it.' (25) And he was saying to them: 'Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, and they who were with him? (26) How he went into the house of God, in time of Abiathar the chief priest, and ate the shewhread, which it was not lawful for him to cat except (for) the priests alone, and gave to them also who were (imperf) with him there.' (27) And he said to them: The sabbath was made because of the man, and not the man because of the sabbath (28) so that the Lord of the sabbath is (the) Son of (the) man.'

3

(1) And he came again into their synagogue; and there was a man there whose hand was (lit. is) withered. (2) And they were observing him, whether he will heal him on the sabbaths; that they might accuse him. (3) And he said to the man whose hand was (lit. is) withered: Rise in (the) midst.' (4) And he said to them: 'Is it lawful to do good on the sabbaths, or to do evil? to save life (lit. a soul) or to kill?' But they held their peace. (5) And having looked upon them with indignation, being grieved at the hardness of their heart, he said to the man: I Stretch out thy hand.' And having stretched it out, his hand was cured. (6) And the chief priests having come out immediately, took counsel with the Herodians against him, that they might destroy him. (7) And Jesus and his disciples withdrew to (the) mountain: and a great multitude of Galilee, and Judea, (8) and Jerusalem, and Idumæa, and beyond the Jordan, and a great multitude also from them of Tyre and Sidon, hearing the things which he was doing, came to him. (9) And he said to his disciples, that a ship might wait on him because of the multitude, that they might not throng him: (10) for he was healing many; so that all with whom were plagues came upon him and touched him. (11) and the unclean spirits, if they see him, throw themselves down before him, and were crying out, saying: 'Thou art (the) Son of God.' (12) And he was charging them much, that they should not make him known. (13) And he went up on the mountain, and called whom he himself was wishing: and they went to him. (14) And he appointed twelve, whom he named 'the Apostles,' that they might stay with him, and that he might send them to preach, (15) and to have (the) authority to cast out the demons: (16) and he gave a name to Simon: Peter;' (17) and James (the) son of Zebedee, and John (the) brother of James; and he gave names to them: Boanêrges; which is this: the sons of the thunder:' (18) Andrew, and Philip; Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James (the son) of Alphæus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Kananeos, (19) and Judas (the) Iscariot, who delivered him (up). (20) And he came into a house. And the multitude assembled again, so that they could not even eat bread. (21) And his (friends) having heard, came forth to lay hold on him: for they were saying, that he was mad. (22) And the scribes who came from Jerusalem were saying, that Belzebul is with him, and that by (lit. in the) ruler of the demons he cast out the demons. (23) And he called them, he was saying to them in parables: How is it possible that Satan cast out Satan? (24) And if a kingdom be divided against itself, it is not possible that that kingdom stand. (25) And if a house be divided against itself, it is not possible that that house stand. (26) And if Satan rose upon himself, and was divided, it is not possible for him to stand, but he hath an end. (27) But it is not possible that any one enter (the) house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he bind the strong man first; and then spoil his house. (28) Verily I say to you, that all things shall be forgiven the sons of [the] men, the sins and all the blasphemies which they will blaspheme: (29) but he who will blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath not forgiveness for ever, but is in danger of eternal sin:' (30) because they were saying, that there is an unclean spirit with him. (31) And his mother and his brothers came; and they stood outside, and they sent to him, calling him. (32) And the multitude was sitting around him; and they said to him: Lo, thy mother and thy brothers outside (are) seeking for thee.' (33) And having answered them, he said: 'Lo, my mother and my brothers!' (34) And having looked upon them who sat around him, he said: 'Lo, my mother and my brothers! (35) He who will do the will of God, this is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.'

4

(1) And again he began to teach by (the) sea. And a great multitude assembled to him, so that he entered into the ship, and sat in (the) sea by (lit. on) the shore. (2) And he was teaching them many (things) in parables, and he was saying to them in his teaching: (3) Hear: lo, he who soweth came: (4) and it came to pass in his sowing, that (lit. and) one indeed fell by the road, and the birds came, they ate it. (5) And another fell upon the rocky place, where there is not much earth; and immediately it grew up, because that it had not depth of earth: (6) and when (the) sun sprang up, it was scorched; and because that it had not root it withered. (7) And another fell upon the thorns, and the thorns having come up, choked it, and it yielded not fruit. (8) And others fell on good earth, and yielded fruit, coming up, it flourished; and one brought (forth) thirty, another sixty, another a hundred.' (9) And he was saying: He who hath an ear to hear, let him hear.' (10) And having become alone, they who were around him were beseeching him, with the twelve, concerning the parables. (11) And he was saying to them: 'To you are given the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but (as for) them who are outside, all is done to them in parables: (12) that seeing they may see, and not perceive (lit. see); and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should return and be forgiven.' (13) And he said to them: 'Do ye not know this parable? and how will ye know all other parables? (14) He who sowed, sowed the word. (15) And these are they who are by the road, the place in which the word was sown; and if they hear, then immediately Satan cometh, and taketh away the word which was sown in them. (16) And these, again thus, are they who were sown upon the rocky places, who, if they should hear the word, receive it with joy; (17) and there is not root in them, but they are (only) for a time; then, if there should be tribulation or persecution because of the word, immediately they are offended. (18) And others are they who were sown upon the thorns; these are they who heard the word, (19) and the care of this age, and the deceit of [the] riches, and the lusts of the rest of (things) also, in which they walk (lit. walking in them), choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (20) And they also who were sown upon the good earth, (are) they who, if they should hear the word, receive it to them, and they yield fruit, one thirty, one sixty, one a hundred.' (21) And he was saying to them: Do they light a lamp, that they may put it under the measurer, or under the bed, (and) not that they may put it upon the lampstand? (22) For there is not that which is hidden (so that) it should not appear; nor is it done, being hidden, except that it may come to be (lit. being) manifested. (23) He who hath an ear to hear, let him hear.' (24) And be was saying to them again: 'Take heed, what ye hear: in the measure which ye measure, it will be measured to you: and it will be added to you. (25) For to him who hath shall be given: and from him who hath not, even that which he hath they take away.' (26) And he was saying: 'Thus is the kingdom of God, as a man casting his seed upon the earth; (27) and he sleepeth, and he riseth in the night and the day, and the seed flourisheth and increaseth, he knoweth not how. (28) The earth of itself yieldeth fruit; first a blade, then an ear, then that which is in the ear fills (29) But if the fruit should reach (Matthewurity), immediately he sendeth the sickle, because the harvest came.' (30) And he was saying: 'To what are we to liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable are we to set it (forth)? (31) It was as a grain of mustard seed, which if it should be sown on the earth, being less than all the seeds which are upon the earth, (32) yet (lit. and) if it is sown, it cometh up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and maketh great branches; so that the birds of (the) heaven can lodge under its shadow.' (33) And he was speaking to them the word in parables thus, according as they were able to hear: (34) and without parable he was not speaking to them: but apart he was explaining all to his disciples. (35) And he said to them on that day, evening having come: Let us pass across.' (36) And having left the multitude, they took him away with them, as he is in the ship. And there were other ships with him. (37) And there was a great wind, and the waves were casting themselves into the ship, so that the ship was now filling. (38) And he was sleeping behind upon the pillow: and they woke him, and said to him: Teacher, carest thou not that we shall (lit. will) perish?' (39) And having risen, he rebuked the wind, and said to (the) sea: 'Hold thy peace and be silenced.' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (40) And he said to them: Wherefore fear ye? is there not yet faith in you?' (41) And they feared with a great fear, and were saying to one another: Who then is this, because the winds and (the) sea obey him? '

5

(1) And he came across (the) sea to (the) country of the Gergesenes. (2) And having come out of the ship, immediately there came to meet him out of the sepulchres a man with (lit. being in) an unclean spirit, (3) whose dwelling was (imperf.) in the sepulchres: and neither even in the chains is it possible for any one to bind him; (4) because that he had been bound many times with fetters and chains, and he had burst the chains from him, and the fetters had been broken-inpieces: and it was not possible that any one should tame him. (5) And always in the night and the day, he (is) being in the sepulchres, and he was (imperf.) in the mountains crying out, and cutting himself with stones. (6) And having seen Jesus from afar off, he ran, and worshipped him, (7) and having cried out with a great voice, [and] he said: 'What (hast) thou with me, thou Jesus (the) Son of God, who is high? I adjure thee by God, torture me not.' (8) For he was saying: Come out, unclean spirit, from (lit. in) the man.' (9) And he was asking him: What is thy name?'And he said to him: 'Legion is my name, because we are many.' (10) And he was beseeching him much, that he should not send him outside of the country. (11) Now there was a great herd of swine there feeding by the mountain. (12) And they were beseeching him, saying: Send us to the swine that we may enter them.' (13) And he commanded them (to do so). And the unclean spirits having come out, went into the swine: and the herd fell down by the precipice into (the) sea, being two thousand; and they were choked in the sea. (14) And they who were feeding them fled, and told it in the city, and in (the) field. And they came to see what it is, which was done. (15) And they came to Jesus, they saw him, with whom were (imperf.) the demons, sitting, clothed, and having (lit. being) his mind (lit. heart) in him: and they feared. (16) And they who saw (it) spake before them, how it was done to him, with whom were (imperf.) the demons, and concerning the swine. (17) And they began to beseech him, that he should go from their borders. (18) And he entered into the ship. He who had been (possessed) with demons was beseeching him that he might stay with him. (19) And he permitted him not, but said to him: 'Go into thy house to them who are thine, and shew to them the things, which the Lord did for thee, having pitied thee.' (20) And he departed, and began to publish in (the) Decapolis that which Jesus did for him: and they all were wondering. (21) And Jesus having come again across in the ship, a great multitude assembled to him: and he was (iinperf.) by (the) sea. (22) And there came to him one of the rulers-of-the-synagogue, whose name is Jairus; and having seen him, he threw himself before his feet, (23) and was beseeching him much, saying My daughter approached to (the) death: (I pray thee) that thou come and lay thy hand upon her, that she may be saved, and may live.' (24) And he went with him; and a great multitude walked after him, and they were thronging him. (25) And lo, a woman--she had been twelve years having an issue of blood, (26) and she suffered much from many physicians, and spent all which she had, and gained not anything, but rather became worse, (27) and having heard concerning Jesus, she came in the multitude behind, she touched his garment. (28) For she was saying: If I should but touch his garments, I shall (lit. will) be saved.' (29) And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried; and she knew in her body that she was cured from the plague. (30) And immediately Jesus knew in himself the power which came out of him; having turned himself in the multitude, he was saying: Who touched my garments?' (31) And his disciples were saying to him: Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and thou sayest: "Who touched me?"' (32) And he was looking to see her who did this (thing). (33) But the woman having feared, [and] trembled, knowing what was done to her, came and threw herself down before him, and told all the truth to him. (34) And he said to her: My daughter, thy faith saved thee; go in peace, and be (it) for a curing from thy plague.' (35) (As he is) yet speaking, they came to the ruler-of-the-synagogue, saying: Thy daughter died: wherefore (art thou) troubling the Teacher?' (36) But Jesus having heard the word which they say, said to the ruler-of-the-synagogue: 'Fear not, only believe.' (37) And he permitted not any one with him, walking after him, except Peter, and James, and John (the) brother of James. (38) And they came to (the) house of the ruler-of-the-synagogue; and they saw them making-atumult, and weeping and lamenting much. (39) And having entered, he said to them: 'Wherefore make-ye-a-tumult, and weep? the child died not, but she slept.' (40) And they were mocking him. But he, having put (lit. thrown) all out, took away with him (the) father of the child and her mother and them who were with him, and went into the place in which the child was (imperf.). (41) And having laid hold on (the) hand of the child, he said to her: Talitha which is this: Child, I said to thee, rise.' (42) And immediately the child rose, and walked; for she was (imperf.) [in] twelve years (old). And they were wondering immediately with great wonder. (43) And he ordered them much that no one should know this: and he said that they should give (lit. give eat) to her to eat.

6

(1) And having come from there, he came into his city; and his disciples walked after him. (2) And the (lit. a) sabbath having come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many heard; they were wondering, saying: 'Whence (lit. where) found this (man) these (things)? and what is this wisdom which was given to this (man); and these mighty-works also of this kind which are done by his bands? (3) Is not this the carpenter, (the) son of Mary, and (the) brother of James, and Josetos, and Judas, and Simon? and his sisters were (imperf.) here with us.' And they were (imperf.) offended in him. (4) And Jesus was saying to them: 'There is not a prophet despised except in his city, and his kindred, and his house.' (5) And he could not there do even one mighty work, except having laid hand on many sick folk he healed them. (6) And he wondered because of their unbelief. And he passed through the villages which were around, teaching. (7) And he called the twelve, and began to send them, two-and-two; and he gave authority to them over the unclean spirits; (8) and he ordered them not to take away anything with them on (the) road, except a staff only; neither bread, nor scrip, nor brass in your girdles; (9) but your feet being shod with sandals: and clothe not yourselves with two coats. (10) And he was saying to them: The place in which ye will enter a house, abide there until ye come from there. (11) And every place which will not receive you to it, nor hear you, (as ye are) coming from there, shake off (the) dust which is underneath your feet for a witness to them.' (12) And having come out they preached that they should repent. (13) And they cast out many demons. They were anointing with oil many sick folk, and were healing them. (14) And (the) king Herod heard, for his name manifested itself; and he was saying, that John the Baptist rose from the dead, therefore the powers work in him. (15) But others were saying, that (it) is Elias. And others were saying, that (it is) a prophet, as one of the prophets of-old-time. (16) But Herod having heard, was saying: '(It is) John, whom I beheaded; he rose (again).' (17) For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him in the prison because of Herodias, (the) wife of Philip his brother, because he was taking her. (18) For John was saying to Herod: 'It is not lawful for thee to take (the) wife of thy brother.' (19) And Herodias was (imperf.) indignant against him, and was wishing to kill him; and she was not able; (20) for Herod feared John, knowing him that he is a righteous man, and is holy, and he was guarding him. And he was hearing much from him, and he was (import') doubtful; and gladly he was hearing him. (21) And a convenient day having come, when Herod on his birthday made a supper to his great (men), and the chiliarchs, and the first (men) of Galilee. (22) And (the) daughter of Herodias having come in, and having danced, was pleasing to Herod and them who sat at meat with him; and (the) king said to the damsel: Ask me for that which thou wishest, and I give it to thee.' (23) And he sware to her: That for which thou wilt ask, I will give to thee, unto (the) half of my kingdom.' (24) And having come out, she said to her mother: For what shall (lit. will) I ask?' And she said: (The) head of John the Baptist.' (25) And having come in with haste to (the) king, she asked, saying: wish that now thou give to me (the) head of John the Baptist on a dish.' (26) And (the) heart of (the) king having been pained, because of the oaths, and them who sat at meat with him, he wished not to reject her. (27) And immediately (the) king sent a soldier-of-his-guard. He commanded that he should bring his head on the dish. (28) And he gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. (29) And his disciples having heard, came: they took away the body, and laid it within a sepulchre. (30) And the apostles assembled to Jesus; and they shewed him everything which they did, and that which they taught. (31) And he said to them: 'Come ye apart to a desert place, and rest yourselves for a little.' For they who came and they who went were (imperf.) many, and they were not finding leisure even to eat. (32) And they went in the ship to a desert place apart. (33) And they saw them departing, and many knew them, and they ran there on foot from every city, and came before them. (34) And having come out he saw a great multitude, and he had compassion upon them, because they were (imperf.) as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them much. (35) And now a late (lit. great) hour having come: his disciples having come to him were saying: The place is a desert, and now the hour (has) passed: (36) send them away that they may go to the fields which are around, and the villages, and buy for them that which they will eat.' (37) But he answered, he said to them: Give ye to them: let them eat.' And they said to him: Shall (]it. will) we go and buy two hundred staters-worth of bread, and give to them to eat?' (38) And he said to them: How many loaves have ye? Go, see.' And having known they said: Five loaves and two fishes.' (39) And he commanded them that they should sit clown to meat by companies upon the green grass. (40) And they all sat down to meat in ranks (lit. of place place), by hundreds and by fifties. (41) And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked to (the) heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave to the disciples, that they might set before them; and the two fishes also he brake among them all. (42) And they all ate, and were satisfied. (43) And they took up twelve baskets of fragments full, and from the fishes also. (44) And they who were eating the loaves were (imperf.) five thousand men. (45) And immediately he constrained his disciples to enter into the ship, and go (lit. draw) before him across to Bethsaida, until he sent away the multitude. (46) And having taken leave of them, he went to the mountain to pray. (47) And evening having come, the ship was (imperf.) in (the) midst of (the) sea, and he alone was (imperf.) on the shore. (48) And he saw (or having seen) them distressed in (the) rowing (lit, drawing), for the wind was (imperf.) contrary to them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking upon (the) sea; and he was wishing to pass by them: (49) but they, having seen him walking upon (the) sea, were thinking that it was (lit. is) an apparition, and they cried out: (50) for they had all seen him, and were troubled. But he immediately spake to them, and said to them: Be of good cheer: it is I; fear not.' (51) And he entered into the ship to them: and the wind ceased: and they were (imperf.) amazed greatly in themselves; (52) for they understood not about the loaves, but their heart was (imperf.) hardened. (53) And having crossed over, they came to Gennesareth, and moored (the ship). (54) And having come up from the ship, (the people) knew him immediately. (55) They ran, in all that region, and began to carry them who were afflicted, on beds, to where they hear that he is. (56) And the place into which he goeth, into the villages, or the cities, or the fields, (there) they were laying them who were sick in the market places, and they were beseeching him that they might but touch the hem of his garments; and all who touch him are cured.

7

(1) And there assembled to him the Pharisees, and some of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem; (2) and having seen some of his disciples that they eat bread (lit. the loaves), their hands being polluted, which is this: unwashen (3) For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, eat not, unless they washed (their hands) many times; holding the tradition of the elders: (4) and if they should not bathe themselves, (when they come) from the market place, they eat not. And there were many other (things) which they received, (and) which they held; washings (lit. bathings) of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels. (5) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him: Wherefore walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but with hands polluted they eat [the] bread?' (6) And he said to them: Well prophesied concerning you Isaiah, (ye) of the hypocrites, as it is written: "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me; (7) worshipping me in vain, teaching (as) teachings precepts of man." (8) Having left the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of [the] men.' (9) And he was saying to them: Well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition. (10) For Moses said: "Honour thy father and thy mother; and he who will speak evil at his father and his mother, let him die the (lit. a) death." (11) But ye say, that if a man should say to his father and his mother, "Corban,--which is a gift,--if thou shouldest gain it from me;" (12) ye permit not him to do anything for his father or his mother; (13) making void the word of God by (lit. in) your tradition, which ye delivered: and many (things) of this kind like these ye do.' (14) And having called again the multitude, he said to them: Hear me and understand: (15) there is not anything outside of the man [for] which, going into the mouth, can (lit. it is possible to) defile him: but the things which come from the mouth of the man (defile him).' (16) Omitted (17) And when they came into the house from the multitude, his disciples were asking him of the parable. (18) And he said to them: Are ye thus without understanding? Understood ye not, that all things which are outside, going into the mouth of the man--it is not possible for them to defile him; (19) because they go not into his heart, but his belly, and go to the draught?' (This he said,) cleansing all meats. (20) And he was saying: That which cometh from the mouth of the man, that (lit. he) defileth the man. (21) For from within, out of the heart of the men, come out the evil reasonings, the fornications, the thefts, the murders, the adulteries, (22) the violences, the wickednesses, the deceits, the defilements, the evil eyes, the blasphemies, pride, foolishness: (23) all these evil things (are) coming from within, and they defile the man.' (24) And having risen from there, he went to the parts of Tyre and Sidon; and having gone into a house, he was not wishing that any should know (it): and he could not be hid (lit. be forgotten). (25) And immediately a woman heard concerning him, (one,) with whose daughter was an unclean spirit. Having come in, she threw herself down at his feet. (26) Now the woman was Greek of Syria, her race is from Phoenice. And she was beseeching him that he would cast a demon out of her daughter. (27) And he was saying to her: 'Permit it first, that the sons should be satisfied: for it is not good to take away (the) bread of the sons to give it to the dogs.' (28) But she answered, she said to him: Yea, my Lord: even the dogs eat under the table of the crumbs of the children.' (29) And he said to her: Because of this word go (away); the demon went from thy daughter.' (30) And having gone to her house, she found the child upon the bed, and the demon went from her. (31) And having come again from the borders of Tyre, he was passing through Sidon to (the) sea of Galilee, between the borders of Decapolis. (32) And they brought to him a deaf-dumb (man); and besought him that he would lay hand upon him. (33) And he took him away apart from the multitude; he put (lit. threw) his fingers into his ears, and having spit, he touched his tongue; (34) and having looked up to (the) heaven, he sighed, and said to him: Epphatha,' which is this: 'Open.' (35) And his ears opened, and the bond of his tongue unloosed, and he was speaking plain (lit. straight). (36) And he ordered them that they should not tell it to any one: but as (he commanded), rather they were publishing (it) the more: (37) they were wondering, saying: He did all well, having made the deaf hear, and the speechless speak.'

8

(1) In those days again a great multitude being with him, and there is not that which they will eat, he called the disciples, he said to them: (2) I have compassion upon this multitude, because lo, three days they stay with me, and there is not that which they will eat: (3) and if I should send them away to their house without eating, they will faint on the road; and some also of them were (imperf.) from far. (4) And the disciples answered him: For whom (and) whence here is it possible to satisfy these with bread on (the) desert?' (5) And he was asking them: How many loaves have ye?' And they said: Seven.' (6) And he ordered the multitude that they should sit down to meat upon the ground: and having taken the seven loaves, he gave thanks, he brake them, and gave to his disciples that they should set (them) before them: and they set (them) before the multitude. (7) And they had also a few fishes: and he blessed them, he told them to set these also before them. (8) And they ate, and were satisfied: and they took up the abundance (plur.) of the fragments seven baskets. (9) They were (imperf.) four thousand: and he sent them away. (10) And immediately he entered into the ship, he came to the parts of Dalmanutha. (11) And the Pharisees came forth, they began to question with him, seeking for a sign from him from (the) heaven, tempting him. (12) And having sighed in his spirit, he said: 'Why doth this generation seek for a sign? Verily I say to you: Will a sign be given to this generation?' (13) And having sent them away, he entered into (a ship), he went across. (14) And they forgot to take bread; and they had not any on the ship except one (lit. a) loaf only. (15) And he was ordering them, saying: Take heed and beware of (the) leaven of the Pharisees, and (the) leaven of Herod.' (16) And they were reasoning with one another, saying that they have not bread. (17) And having known, he said to them: 'Why reason ye, because ye have not bread? Know ye not yet, and do ye not understand? Is your heart hardened? (18) And ye have eyes, see ye not? and ye have ears, hear ye not? and remember ye not (19) the five loaves which I brake for the five thousand, (and) that ye took up how many baskets full?' They said to him: Twelve.' (20) And the seven for the four thousand, (and) that ye took up how many baskets full?' They said to him: Seven.' (21) And he was saying to them: 'How (is it that) ye understand not?' (22) And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man, and they were beseeching him that he should touch him. (23) And he took hold of (the) hand of the blind man, and brought him outside of the village; and having spit in his eyes, he laid his hand upon him; he was asking: 'What seest thou?' (24) And having seen, he was saying: I see the men as trees, walking.' (25) Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he saw, and he was cured, he saw everything clearly. (26) And he sent him to his house, saying: Go not into the village.' (27) And Jesus came forth, and his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and in the road he was asking his disciples, saying to them: Whom said [the] men that I (am)'?' (28) They told him, saying: John the Baptist; and others: "Elias;" others: "One of the prophets."' (29) And he was asking them: But whom say ye that I (am)?' Peter answered and said: 'Thou art Christ.' (30) And he charged them that they should not say to any one concerning him. (31) And he began to teach them, that (the) Son of (the) man must suffer much, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise. (32) And he was speaking the word openly. And Peter laid hold on him, he began to rebuke him. (33) But he having turned himself, and having seen his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said: Go behind me, Satan: because thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of [the] men.' (34) And having called the multitude and his disciples, he said to them: He who wisheth to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (35) For he who will wish to save his life (lit. soul, thus again) shall lose it; and he who will lose his life because of me and because of the gospel, shall save it. (36) For what will the man gain, if he should gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? (37) For (what is) that which the man will give in exchange for his life? (38) For he who will be ashamed to confess me and my words in this generation adulterous and sinful, (the) Son of (the) man also will be ashamed of him, when he should come in (the) glory of his Father and his holy angels.'

9

(1) And he was saying to them: Verily I say to you, that there are some among them who stand here, (who) will not taste of (the) death, until they see the kingdom of God come (lit. it came, or coming) with power.' (2) And after six days Jesus took Peter, and James, and John, and took them away upon a high mountain apart alone. He changed himself before them. (3) And his garments became glistering as snow, and very white; as (lit. they which) it is not possible that a fuller who is upon the earth should make thus white. (4) And Elias and Moses manifested themselves to them: and they were speaking to Jesus. (5) And then Peter, having answered, said to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us that we be here, and make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.' (6) For he was not knowing what he will answer him; for they became full of fear. (7) And there was a cloud shadowing them: and there was a voice out of the cloud: This is my Son, my beloved: hearken to him.' (8) And having looked suddenly, they saw not any one, except Jesus alone with them. (9) And (as they are) coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should not speak before any one that which they saw, except (the) Son of (the) man rise from the dead. (10) And they held the word among them, questioning with one another: What is the rising from the dead?' (11) And they asked him, saying Wherefore say the scribes that it is necessary that Elias come first?' (12) And he said to them: Elias indeed cometh first, and will restore everything: and how (it is) written about (the) Son of (the) man, that he should suffer much, and should be despised. (13) But I say to you, that Elias came, and they did to him that which they wish, according as it is written about him.' (14) And having come to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them, and scribes questioning with them. (15) And immediately all the multitude, having seen him, feared, and having run, saluted him. (16) And he asked them:: For what sought ye from them?' (17) And one from the multitude answered him: Teacher, I brought my son to thee, a speechless spirit being with him; (18) and where it will catch him, it dasheth (lit. bringeth) him down: and his mouth foameth, (he is) grinding his teeth, and pineth away: and I told thy disciples that they might cast it out; and they could not.' (19) And he having answered, said to them: 'O [the] faithless generation, how long shall (lit. will) I be with you? how long shall (lit. will) I bear with you? bring him to me.' (20) And the spirit having seen him, immediately convulsed him; and having fallen upon (the) earth, he was trembling, his mouth foaming. (21) And A d he asked his father: Lo, how much time (is it) since this happened to him?' And he said: From his childhood.' (22) And many times it casteth him into the fire and the water, that it may destroy him: but as to that which is possible for thee help us, having compassion upon us.' (23) And Jesus said to him: 'What, then, is (this, namely) as to that which is possible for thee? It is possible as to everything for him who believeth.' (24) Immediately cried out (the) father of the child, saying: I believe; help my unbelief.' (25) Jesus having seen that the multitude ran (up), rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him: 'Speechless and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and no more enter him.' (26) And having cried out, and having convulsed him much, he came out; and he was as one dead; so that many said: He died.' (27) But Jesus took hold of his hand, raised him, and he rose. (28) And he went into his house. His disciples asked him apart: Wherefore could not we cast him out?' (29) And he said to them: It is not possible that this kind should come out with anything, except with prayer and fasting.' (30) And having come from there, they were passing through Galilee; and he wished not that any one should know. (31) For he was teaching his disciples, and was saying to them: (The) Son of (the) man will be given into (the) hands of [the] men, and they will kill him; after three days he will rise.' (32) But they were (imperf) ignorant of the word, and were fearing to ask him. (33) And he came into Kapharnaum: and having come into the house, he was asking them: What were ye reasoning [them] on (the) road? ' (34) But they held their peace: for they were speaking to one another on (the) road, who of them is the great. (35) And having sat down, he called the twelve; and said to them: 'He who wisheth to be first, shall be last of every one, and minister of every one.' (36) And having taken a child, he made him stand in their midst; and having taken hold of him, he said to them: (37) He who will receive one of these children of this kind in my name, receiveth me: and he who receiveth me, receiveth not me, but he received him who sent me.' (38) John said to him: Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name: and we forbade him, because he followeth us not.' (39) But Jesus said to him: Forbid him not: for there is not any one, who will do a mighty work in my name, and could quickly speak evil against me. (40) For he who is not against us, was for us. (41) For he who will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ; verily I say to you, that his reward shall not perish. (42) And he who will offend one of these little ones who believe, it is good for him, rather to hang a millstone to him, and to be cast into (the) sea. (43) And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is good for thee that thou come into the life being maimed, than with two hands that thou go to the Geenna, to the unquenchable fire. (44) Omitted (45) And if thy foot offend thee, cut it (off), cast it away: it is good for thee that thou come into the life being lame, than having two feet that thou be cast to the Geenna. (46) Omitted (47) And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is good for thee that thou come into the kingdom of God with only thy (one) eye, than having two eyes that thou be cast to the Geenna, (48) where their worm dieth not., and their fire is not quenched. (49) Every one they salt with the fire. (50) [The] salt is good: but if the salt become saltless, with (lit. in) what do they salt it? Let there be salt in you, and be at peace with (lit. in) one another.'

10

(1) And having risen from there, he came to the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes came again to him, and as it was (lit. is) his custom, he was teaching them. (2) And Pharisees came to him; they were asking him, whether it is lawful for (a) man to put away his wife, tempting him. (3) And he answered, he said to them: What did Moses order for (lit. on) you?' (4) And they said to him: Moses commanded to write a bill (lit. book of writing) of divorcement, and to put away.' (5) But Jesus said to them: Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. (6) But from (the) beginning of the creation, a male and female he created them. (7) Therefore the man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall join himself to his wife; (8) and they (the) two shall become one flesh: so that they are not two, but it is one flesh. (9) That then which God joined, let not (the) man separate.' (10) And in the house again the disciples asked him concerning this. (11) And he said to them: He who will put away his wife, and take another, committeth adultery against her: (12) and if she herself put away her husband, and take another, she committeth adultery.' (13) And they brought to him children, that he might touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus having seen (it), was grieved, and said to them: Permit the children to come to me; forbid them not to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of God. (15) Verily I say to you, that he who will not receive the kingdom of God to him as a child, shall not come into it.' (16) And having embraced them, he blessed them, he laid hand upon them. (17) And (as he is) coming forth to a road, one ran (up), he threw himself upon his knees, he was asking him: 'Good Teacher, what shall (lit. will) I do that I may inherit eternal life?' (18) And Jesus said to him: Wherefore sayest thou of me: "The good?" there is not any one good except God alone. (19) Thou knowest the commandments; kill not; commit not adultery; steal not; bear not false witness; defraud no; honour thy father and thy mother.' (20) And he said to him: Teacher, all these I kept from my childhood.' (21) And Jesus having looked upon him, loved him, and said to him: Another thing thou lackest: go, sell that which thou hast, give it (lit. them) to the poor, and thou shalt get for thee a treasure in (the) heaven: and come, follow me.' (22) But he having been saddened at the word, went (away), being grieved: for he was having many possessions. (23) And Jesus having looked, said to his disciples: How difficult it is for them who have the riches to come into the kingdom of God!' (24) And the disciples were fearing at the word. But Jesus again having answered them, said: My sons, how difficult it is for them who trust to riches to come into the kingdom of God! (25) It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of a needle, than that a rich man come into the kingdom of God.' (26) And they were wondering the more, saying to him: Who will be able to be saved?' (27) Jesus having looked upon them, said: 'With [the] men impossible, but not for God: for all is possible for God.' (28) Peter began to say to him: Lo, we left all, and followed thee.' (29) Jesus said: Verily I say, that there is not any one who left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or son, or land, because of me, and because of the gospel, (30) unless he should receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and fathers, and sons, and lands, with (lit. in) the persecutions; and in the age which cometh, eternal life. (31) But many first shall be last; and last about to be first.' (32) And they were (imperf.) on (the) road, coming up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was walking before them: and they were fearing; and they, who were following, were fearing. And again he brought the twelve (close) to him, he began to tell them the things which will happen to him: (33) Lo, we shall (lit. will) go up to Jerusalem; and (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn him to death, and they will deliver him to the Gentiles: (34) and they will mock him, and they will spit upon him, and they will scourge him, and they will kill him; and after three days he will rise.' (35) And there came to him James and John, (the) two sons of Zebedee, saying to him: 'Teacher, we wish that that, which we shall (lit. will) ask, thou mayest do for us.' (36) And he said to them: What wish ye that I should do for you? ' (37) They said to him: 'Give to us that one should sit on thy right hand, and one of us on thy left hand in thy glory.' (38) But Jesus said to them: Ye know not what ye will ask. Is it possible for you to drink the cup which I drink? or (to be baptised with) the baptism, with which I baptise myself? (39) And they said: 'It is possible for us.' And Jesus said to them: The cup which I drink, ye shall drink it; and the baptism with which I baptise myself, ye shall baptise yourselves with it: (40) but the sitting on my right hand or left hand is not mine to give: but it belongs to them for whom he prepared it.' (41) And the ten other having heard, began to murmur because of James and John. (42) And Jesus having called them, said to them: Ye know that they, who think that they are rulers of the Gentiles, are lords of them; and their great (ones) are in authority over them. (43) But thus it is not among you: but he who will wish to be great among you shall be minister (lit. deacon) to you: (44) and he who will wish to be first among you shall be servant of every one. (45) For (the) Son of (the) man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life (lit. soul) a ransom in exchange for many.' (46) And they came to Jericho: and (as he is) coming out of Jericho, and his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimeos, (the) son of Timeos, being a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. (47) And having heard that it is Jesus the Nazarene, he began to say, crying out, saying: Jesus, (the) son of David, pity me.' (48) And many were rebuking him, that he should hold his peace. But he was crying out the more rather: (The) son of David pity me.' (49) And Jesus having stood, said: Call him.' And they called to the blind man, saying to him: Be of good cheer: rise, come, he calleth thee.' (50) And he having cast away his garment, and having sprung up, came to Jesus. (51) And Jesus answered him, he said: What wishest thou that I should do to thee?' The blind man said to him: Rabbuni, that I may see.' (52) And Jesus said to him: Go, thy faith saved thee.' And immediately he saw, and was walking after him in the road.

11

(1) And having approached Jerusalem, he came to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain of the Olives; he sent two of his disciples, (2) and said to them: Go to this village which is in front of you: and immediately, going to enter it, ye shall find a colt tied, upon which no man yet mounted; unloose him, and bring him. (3) And if any one say to you: "What is this which ye do?" say that the Lord path need of him; and immediately he will send him hither.' (4) And they went, and found a colt tied at a door outside in (lit. of) the street; and they unloosed him. (5) And some of them who stood there were saying to them: What do ye, unloosing the colt?' (6) And they said to them, according as Jesus said to them: and they permitted them. (7) And they brought the colt to Jesus, and placed on him their garments; and he sat upon them. (8) And many spread their garments on the road; and others cut branches of trees in the fields, and were spreading them on the road. (9) And they who were walking before, and they who were walking behind, were crying out: Osanna; blessed is he who cometh in (the) name of the Lord. (10) Blessed is the kingdom, which cometh, of our father David: Osanna in the highest.' (11) And he Caine into Jerusalem, into the temple; and having gazed at all, evening now of time (lit. an an hour) having come, he came to Bethany with the twelve. (12) And on the (lit. his) morrow, they having come from Bethany, he hungered. (13) Having seen a fig-tree afar off having (lit. being) leaves on it, he came (to see) whether he will find anything on it: and having come to it, he found not anything except leaves; for it was (imperf.) not (the) time of figs. (14) And having answered, he said to it: No one shall find fruit on thee for ever.' And his disciples were hearing. (15) And they came to Jerusalem: and having come into the temple, he began to cast out all them who sold and them who bought in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them who sold doves, he overturned; (16) and he was not permitting any one to (lit. that he) bring a vessel through the temple. (17) And he was teaching, and was saying to them: 'It is written, that my house shall be called "a house of prayer for all the nations:" but ye made it a cave of robbers.' (18) And the chief priests and the scribes having heard, [and] were seeking in what manner they are to destroy him: for they were fearing him, for all the multitude were wondering at his teaching. (19) And if evening came, he was departing outside of the city. (20) And passing by in the morning, they saw the fig-tree; it (had) withered away to (lit. on) its root. (21) And Peter having remembered said to him: 'Rabbi, lo, the fig-tree, which thou cursedst, withered away.' (22) And Jesus having answered said to them: 'Have faith in God. (23) For verily I say to you, that he who will say to this mountain: "Lift thyself up and cast thyself into (the) sea;" and not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he saith will be done; it shall be done to him. (24) Therefore I say to you, that everything which ye will ask in prayer, believe that ye received, and they shall be done to you. (25) And if ye should stand for praying, forgive that which ye have against any (lit. him); that your Father also who is in the heavens may forgive you your trespasses.' (26) Omitted (27) And they came again to Jerusalem: and (as he is) walking in the temple there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders; (28) and they were saying to him: 'With what authority didst thou these things? or who gave to thee this authority, that thou doest these things?' (29) And Jesus said to them: I shall (lit, will) ask you one word; answer me; and I also shall (lit. will) say to you with what authority I did these things. (30) The baptism of John, was it from (the) heaven, or from [the] men? answer me.' (31) And they were reasoning with one another, saying: If we should say, that it is from (the) heaven, he will say, "Wherefore believed ye him not?" (32) But should we say, that (it is) from [the] men, we fear the multitude; for John was (imperf.) to all of them really (lit. that he was really a prophet.' (33) And having answered Jesus they said: We know not.' And Jesus also said to them: Neither shall (lit. will) I also say to you with what authority I did (these things).'

12

(1) And he began to speak to them in parables: There was a man; he planted a vineyard, and built a wall (lit. hedge) for it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower in it, and delivered it to husbandmen, and went to (the) foreign (land). (2) And he sent to the husbandmen in (the) time a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of (the) fruit of the vineyard. (3) And having taken him they beat him, and sent him (away) empty. (4) And he sent again to them another servant; and this (lit. the) other one they wounded and reviled. (5) And he sent another; and this (lit. the) other they killed. And he sent many others: some they stoned, and others they killed. (6) Having (lit. who was his) yet a beloved son, he sent him at (the) end to them, saying: "They will reverence my son." (7) But those husband men were saying to one another: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let the inheritance be ours." (8) And having taken him, they killed him, and cast him outside of the vineyard. (9) What will the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and will destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. (10) Did ye not read even this scripture, that the stone which the builders rejected, this was made for a completion of (the) corner: (11) this having been done by the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes?' (12) And they were seeking to lay hold on him; and they feared the multitude; for they knew that he spake (lit. said) this parable concerning them: and having left him they went (away). (13) And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, that they might ensnare him by word. (14) And having come, they said to him: Teacher, we know that thou (art) true, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not (the) person of men, but teachest the road of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tax to (the) king, or not? should (conj.) we give, or should we not give (15) But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them: Wherefore tempt ye me? Bring me a stater, that I may see it.' (16) And they brought (it). And he said to them: Whose is this image and this superscription?' And they said to him: '(The) king's are they.' (17) And he said to them: ('The) king's (things) give to (the) king, and God's (things) give to God.' And they were wondering at him. (18) And there came to him Sadducees, who say that there is not (to) be resurrection; and they were asking him, saying: (19) Teacher, Moses wrote to us, that if (the) brother of any one die, and leave behind a wife, and leave not son, that his brother should take his (lit. the) wife, and raise up seed to his brother. (20) Now there were seven brothers with us: and the first took (a) wife; he died (lit. was dying), he left not seed; (21) and the second took her, and died, he left not seed; and the third thus again: (22) and the seventh; they left not seed. And at (the) end of them all died the woman also. (23) In the resurrection, of which of them is she to be wife? for the seven took her to wife.' (24) Jesus said to them: Do ye not therefore err? Ye know not the scripture, nor the power of God. (25) For when they should rise from (lit. in, or among) the dead, they neither take, nor are taken (to wife); but are as the angels in the heavens. (26) But concerning the dead, that they will rise; did ye not read in (the) book of Moses, how He said to him in (lit. upon) the bush, saying: "I am God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob?" (27) God is not (the God) of the dead, but of the living: ye err greatly.' (28) And there came to him one of the scribes, having heard them questioning (lit. seeking), knowing that he answered them well, asked him: What is the commandment which is first of them all?' (29) Jesus answered: The first is this: Hear, Israel; the Lord thy God is one Lord: (30) and thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and from all thy soul, and from all thy thoughts, and from all thy power. (31) The second is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is not another commandment greater than these.' (32) The scribe said to him: Well, Teacher, in truth thou saidst, that God is one; and there is no other except him; (33) and the loving him with all thy heart, and with all thy power, and with all the understanding; and the loving thy neighbour as thyself,--they are greater than all the whole-burntofferings and the sacrifices.' (34) And Jesus having seen him, that he answered (as) having sense (lit. heart), said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.' And no one could dare to ask him (further). (35) And Jesus having answered was saying, (as he is) teaching in the temple. How say the scribes, that Christ is (the) son of David? (36) David himself said in the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit thou on my right hand, until I put thine enemies below thy feet."' (37) David himself saying of him, Lord;' then (lit. and) whence is (he) his son? And the great multitude was hearing him gladly. (38) And in his teaching he was saying: 'Beware of the scribes, and them who wish to walk in long robes, and (for) salutations in the market-places, (39) and first sittings in the seats in the synagogues, and first places in the feasts. (40) They who eat the houses of the widows, and in pretence prolonged they pray; these will receive more judgement.' (41) And having sat opposite the treasury, he was seeing how the multitudes threw money (lit. brass) into the treasury: and many rich (men) were throwing many (pieces). (42) And a poor widow having come, threw two farthings, which make (lit. is) a kondrantes. (43) And having called his disciples, he said to them: 'Verily I say to you, that this poor widow threw (more) than all these who throw into the treasury: (44) for all threw from their superfluity; but this (one), she, from her deficiency, threw everything which she had, all her life.'

13

(1) And (as he is) coming from the temple, one of his disciples said to him Teacher, seest thou of what kind are these stones, and buildings of what kind?' (2) And Jesus said to him: Seest thou these great stones? a stone shall not be left upon a stone here, (which) will not be pulled down.' (3) And (as he is) sitting on the mountain of the Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him apart: (4) Say to us when these (things) will be? and what is the sign if all these (things) should be going to be fulfilled?' (5) And Jesus began to say: Take heed, let not any one lead you astray. (6) For there are many (who) will come in my name, saying: "I am Christ; "and they will lead many astray. (7) And when ye should hear of wars and rumours of war, be not troubled: it is necessary that they happen; but the end cometh not yet. (8) For nation shall rise upon nation, and kingdom upon kingdom; there shall be earthquakes in different places; there shall be famines: (a) beginning of the pangs are these. (9) But take ye heed to yourselves: they will deliver you to councils; and in the synagogues ye will be beaten; and made to stand before governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them and all the nations. (10) The gospel must, first be preached. (11) And if they bring you (to judgement), delivering you up, do not take care beforehand what ye will speak: but that which will be given to you in that hour, this is that which ye will speak: for that which will speak (is) not ye, but it is the Holy Spirit. (12) And a brother shall deliver (up) a brother to (the) death, and a father shall deliver (up) a son; and sons will rise upon fathers, and will kill them. (13) And ye shall become hated by all (lit. all hating you) because of my name: but he who will hold on until the end (lit. out), this is he who will be saved. (14) But if ye see the abomination of the desolation standing where it is not lawful--he who readeth, let him understand--then they who are in Judea, let them flee upon the mountains: (15) he who is upon (the) housetop, make him not come down, nor make him enter to take away anything from his house: (16) and he who is in (the) field, make him not come back to take away his garment. (17) But woe to them who are with child, and them who give suck in those days! (18) And pray that not in (the) winter may be your flight. (19) For those days shall be tribulation; there was not like it from (the) beginning of the creation which God created until now, and there shall not be again. (20) And unless the Lord caused those days to be few, no flesh would have been saved: but because of the chosen whom he chose, he shortened the days. (21) And if one say to you: "Lo, Christ (is) here; or there;" believe not. (22) For false Christs shall rise and false prophets, and shew (lit. give) signs and wonders for (the) leading astray, if they should be able, even the chosen. (23) But ye, take heed, that I said everything beforehand (24) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give his light, (25) and the stars shall be falling from (the) heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (26) And then they shall see (the) Son of (the) man coming in clouds with great power and glory. (27) Then he will send his angels, and will gather his chosen from the four winds, from the end (lit. his end) of (the) earth unto the end (lit. her end) of (the) heaven. (28) Now from the fig-tree learn (lit. know) the parable: if now her branches are tender, and put (lit. throw) forth leaves, ye know that summer approacheth; (29) thus ye also if ye should see these things having happened, know that he approacheth to the doors. (30) Verily I say to you, that this generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished. (31) (The) heaven and the earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (32) But concerning that day and the hour no one knoweth them, nor angel in (the) heaven, nor (the) Son, except (the) Father. (33) Look forth, watch, pray: for ye know not when is the time. (34) As a man who went (lit. walked) to (the) foreign (land), who left his house, and he gave to his servants the authority, (and to) each his work, and ordered the porter that he should watch. (35) Watch then: for ye know not when the lord of the house cometh, either in the evening, or (the) midnight, or the cock crowing, or in the morning; (36) lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. (37) That which I say to you I say to every one, Watch.'

14

(1) Now it was the passover and the (feast of the) unleavened after two days: and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might lay hold on him with subtilty, and kill him: (2) for they were saying: Let us not do it in (the) feast, lest haply there (may) be a tumult among the people.' (3) And being in Bethany in (the) house of Simon the leper, sitting at meat, there came a woman having a vessel of ointment of nard, pistike, being of great price: having broken the vessel she poured (lit. having poured) it upon his head. (4) But some were murmuring with one another, saying: Wherefore was this waste of this ointment made? (5) For it was possible to sell this (for) above three hundred staters, and give them to the poor.' And they were (imperf.) indignant against her. (6) But Jesus said to them: Permit her, why trouble ye her? for a good work she worked on (lit. in) me. (7) Always the poor are with you, and if ye wish it is possible for you to do good to them always; but I am with you not always. (8) That which she received she did: for she anointed my body beforehand with this ointment for my embalming. (9) Verily I say to you, that (in) the place in which this gospel will be preached in the whole world, that also which this (woman) did shall be spoken of for a memorial to her.' (10) And Judas (the) Iscariot, the one of the twelve, went to the chief priests that he might deliver him to them. (11) And they, having heard, rejoiced, and gave to him silver. And he was seeking how he will deliver him (up) conveniently. (12) And (on) the first day of the unleavened, when they slay the passover, his disciples said to him: 'Whither wishest thou that we go and prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover?' (13) And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them: Go to the city, and there will meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water: walk after him: (14) and (at) the place into which he will go, say to the owner-ofthe-house, that the Teacher said: "Where was the guest-chamber (lit, rest place), the place in which I shall (lit. will) eat the passover with my disciples?" (15) And he will show to you a large room (lit. place) aloft, spread, prepared: and prepare it for us there.' (16) And his disciples came out, and came to the city, and found according as he said to them: and they prepared the passover. (17) And evening having come, he came with the twelve. (18) And (as they are) sitting at meat and eating, Jesus said to them: Verily I say to you, that one of (lit. from) you will deliver me (up), (one) of them who eat with me.' (19) They began to be grieved, and to say to him one by one: Is it I?' (20) And he said to them: One of the twelve, who dipped his hand with me in the dish. (21) Because (the) Son of (the) man indeed will go, according as it is written concerning him: but woe to that man by whom (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered (up)! it were good for him (if) that man had not been (lit. they bare him not) born.' (22) And (as they were) eating, Jesus having taken bread, having blessed it, brake it, and gave to them, and he said: Take: this is my body.' (23) Having taken a cup, he gave thanks, he gave to them: and they drank of (lit. in) it, all. (24) And he said to them: This is my blood of the testament, which will be shed for many, for (the) forgiving of their sins. (25) Verily I say to you, that I shall not drink of (the) fruit of this vine, until that day when I should drink it new in the kingdom of God.' (26) And having blessed, they came out to the mountain of the Olives. (27) And Jesus said to them: Ye will be all offended: because it is written, that I shall (lit. will) smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. (28) But after my rising, I shall (lit. will) go before you to Galilee.' (29) But Peter said to him: Even if all should be offended, yet not I.' (30) And Jesus said to him: Verily I say to thee, that thou to-day, in this night, before a cock crow twice, wilt deny me three times.' (31) But he was speaking excessively: Even if it should come about that I die with thee, I shall not deny thee.' And thus again were they all saying. (32) And they came to a garden (lit. field) the name of which is Gethsemani: and he said to his disciples: Sit here, while I pray.' (33) And he took away with him Peter and James and John, and began to be troubled, and grieved. (34) And he said to them: My soul is pained unto (the) death: abide here, and watch.' (35) And having passed on a little, he was throwing himself down upon (the) earth, and was praying, that if it is possible, the hour might pass away from him. (36) And he was saying: Abba, Father, it is possible for everything with thee; let the cup pass away from me: but not as I will, but as thou wilt.' (37) And he came, he found them sleeping, and he said to Peter: 'Simon, sleepest thou? Couldest thou not watch with me for an hour? (38) Watch then, and pray, that ye come not into temptation: the spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak.' (39) And again having gone (away) he was praying, he said the same word. (40) And he came again, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were (imperf.) heavy; and they were not knowing what they will answer him. (41) And he came the third time, and said to them: Sleep on: the hour came; lo, (the) Son of (the) man will be delivered to (the) hands of the sinners. (42) Rise, let us go; lo, he who will deliver me (up), approached.' (43) And immediately, (as he is) yet speaking, came Judas, one of the twelve, and a multitude being with him, with swords and staves (lit. pieces of wood), from the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. (44) Because he who will deliver him (up) gave a sign to them, saying: He, whose mouth I shall (lit. will) kiss, is he; lay hold on him, and take him (away) safely.' (45) And having come, immediately he came to him, and said: Rabbi;' and he kissed his mouth. (46) And they put forth (lit. brought) their hands upon him, and laid hold on him. (47) But one of them who stood (by) drew the sword, and he (lit. who) gave a blow to (the) servant of the chief priest, and took off his ear. (48) And Jesus answered, he said to them: Came ye out as coming after a robber, with swords and staves (as above) to take (lit. catch) me? (49) I was (imperf.) with you daily teaching in the temple, and ye laid not hold on me. But that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.' (50) And having left him, they all fled. (51) And there was a young man walking after him, being clad with a linen cloth upon his naked (body): and they laid hold on him; (52) but he left behind the linen cloth, he fled naked. (53) And they took Jesus to the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. (54) And Peter was walking after him afar off, unto within the court of the chief priest; and he was sitting together with the officers, and is warming himself at the light (of the fire). (55) Now the chief priest and the whole council were seeking for witness against Jesus for (the) killing him; and they were not finding. (56) For many were bearing false witness against him, and their witness (pl.) was not agreeing together. (57) And some having risen bare false witness against him, saying: (58) We heard him saying: "I shall (lit. will) pull down this temple this (which is) built with hands, and in (lit. through) three days I shall (lit. will) build another not built with hands."' (59) Not even thus was (imperf.) their witness (sing.) agreeing together. (60) And the chief priest rose (up) into (the) midst, he asked Jesus saying: Answerest thou not anything, as to (what) these bear witness against thee?' (61) But he was holding his peace, and answered not anything. Again the chief priest asked him, and said to him:'Art thou Christ, (the) Son of him who is blessed?' (62) And Jesus said: I am: and ye shall see (the) Son of (the) man sitting on (the) right hand of the power, and coming with the clouds of (the) heaven.' (63) And the chief priest, having rent his garments, said: What need have ye of witnesses again? (64) Ye heard the blasphemy: what appears to you?' And they all condemned him, that he is guilty of (the) death. (65) And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him: Prophesy to us, who beat thee now, Christ?' And the officers received him with blows-of-their-hands (doubtful word). (66) And Peter being down in the court, there came one of the maidservants of the chief priest; (67) and having seen Peter warming himself, and having looked upon him, said to him: Thou also wast (imperf.) with Jesus of Nazareth (lit. the Nazêreos).' (68) But he denied, saying: 'I neither know nor understand (lit. know) what thou sayest.' And he came forth to the place which was outside of the court. (69) And, having seen him, the other (maid) said to them who stood (by): This is one of them.' (70) But he again denied. After a little, again they who stood (by) were saying to Peter: Truly thou (art) one of them; for thou (art) a Galilaean.' (71) But he began to curse and swear: I know this man not, of whom ye speak (lit. say).' (72) And a cock crew (the) second time. And Peter remembered the word as Jesus said to him, that before a cock crow twice, thou wilt deny me three times. And having begun (lit. thrown his hand), he wept.

15

(1) And immediately the chief priests with the elders and the scribes and the whole council took (lit. counselled) counsel early; they bound Jesus, they took him, they delivered him to Pilate. (2) And Pilate asked him: Art thou (the) king of the Jews?' And he having answered, said to him:' 'Thou sayest.' (3) And the chief priests were accusing him much. (4) And Pilate again was asking him, saying: Answerest thou not anything? see how much they accuse thee.' (5) But Jesus no longer answered anything; so that Pilate wondered. (6) Now at (the) feast he was releasing one, (who is) bound, to them, whom they ask. (7) And he who is called Barabbas' was (imperf.) bound, with them who made a tumult, they who were committing murder in (the) tumult. (8) And, having come up, the multitude began to ask (him to do) according as he was doing to them. (9) And Pilate answered them, saying: 'Do ye wish that I should release to you (the) king of the Jews?' (10) For he was knowing that they delivered him (up) because of envy. (11) But the chief priests moved the multitude, that he should rather release Barabbas to them. (12) And Pilate, having answered, said to them: What then shall (lit. will) I do to him whom ye call (lit. say to) "(The) king of the Jews?"' (13) And they again cried out: Crucify him.' (14) For Pilate was saying to them: Why, what evil did he?' But they the more were crying out: Crucify him.' (15) And Pilate, wishing to do the will of the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and he delivered Jesus to scourge him, that they might crucify him. (16) And the soldiers took him into the court of the Prætorium; and they called the whole band upon him. (17) And they clothed him with a purple garment, and they plaited a crown of (lit. from) thorns, they set it upon him; (18) and they began to salute him: Hail, (the) king of the Jews.' (19) And they struck his head with a reed, and they were spitting in his face, and throwing themselves upon their knees to worship him. (20) And when they (had) mocked him, they stripped him of the purple garment, and clothed him with his garments, and brought him forth that they might crucify him. (21) And they compelled to go with (them) one passing by, Simon the Cyrenian, coming from (the) field, (the) father of Alexander and Rufus, that he might take up his cross. (22) And they brought him to the place of Golgotha, this which they interpret: The place of the skull.' (23) And they gave to him wine mingled with gall: but he received it not. (24) And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, having cast lot for them, as to who will take them away. (25) And it was (the) third hour, and they crucified him. (26) And the superscription of his accusation was (imperf.) written: (The) king of the Jews.' (27) And they crucified two robbers also with him; one on the right hand, (and) one on the left hand of him. (28) Omited (29) And they who were passing by were blaspheming him, shaking their heads, and saying: Thou (lit. he) who wilt pull down the temple, and wilt build it in three days, (30) save thyself, having come down from the cross.' (31) Thus the chief priests also mocking with one another, saying: He saveth others; it is not possible for him to save himself. (32) Christ, (the) king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.' And they who were crucified with him were reproaching him. (33) And (the) sixth hour having come, there was darkness upon all the earth until (the) ninth hour. (34) And at (the) ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice: Eloi, eloi, lema sabachtliani?' which for its interpretation is: My God, my God, wherefore didst thou leave me?' (35) And some of them who stood (by), having heard, were saying: See, he calleth Elias.' (36) One, having run, filled a sponge with vinegar, placed it upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: Let him (be); and let us see if (lit. that) Elias cometh and bringeth him down.' (37) And Jesus, having called with a great voice, gave (up) the spirit. (38) And the veil of the temple was rent in two from (the) top down(wards). (39) And the centurion, who stood opposite him, having seen that he gave (up) the spirit, said: Truly this man was (the) Son of God.' (40) And there were also women seeing afar off, among whom was (imperf.) Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James the little, and (the) mother of Josêtos, and Salome; (41) who (lit. these who) were following him, when he was (lit. is being) in Galilee, and were ministering to him; and many others who came with him up to Jerusalem. (42) And now evening having come, since it was the Preparation, which was before (the) sabbath, (43) came (lit. having come) Joseph the (man) from AriMatthewheas, being a councillor of honourable estate, who (lit. this who) himself also was looking for the kingdom of God; he dared, he went within to Pilate, and asked for (the) body of Jesus. (44) And Pilate wondered that be already died: and having called the centurion, he asked him whether he had just died. (45) And having known from the centurion, he gave the body of Jesus to Joseph. (46) And having bought a linen cloth, he brought him down, he wrapped him in a linen cloth, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock; and he rolled the stone to the door (lit. mouth) of the sepulchre. (47) And Mary the Magdalene and Mary of Josêtos were seeing where he was laid.

16

(1) And the sabbath having been kept, Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and Salomê went, they bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. (2) And in the morning very (early) on (the) first (lit. one) of the sabbaths they came to the sepulchre, (the) sun having risen. (3) And they were saying to one another: Who will roll the stone for us from the door (lit. mouth) of the sepulchre?' (4) and having lifted up their eyes, they saw the stone, that it was rolled (away): for it was very great. (5) And having gone into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right hand, clad in a white robe; and they feared. (6) And he said to them: 'Fear not: ye seek for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified: he rose; he is not here: lo, the place in which they laid him. (7) But go, say to his disciples and Peter, that he will go before you to Galilee: ye will see him there.' (8) And they came forth, they fled from the sepulchre; for trembling had seized them and amazement; and they said not anything to any one; for they were fearing. (9) And having risen indeed early on the first day of the sabbaths, he appeared first to Mary the Magdalene, from whom he cast the seven demons. (10) She (lit. this who is there) went, she told them who had been (imperf.) with him, mourning and weeping. (11) And they, having heard that he liveth, and that we saw him, were (imperf.) unbelieving. (12) And after these (things) again two of them were walking on a road, he manifested himself to them in another form in (the) field. (13) And these also went, they told the rest: and these again believed them not. (14) And at (the) end, (as) the eleven disciples were sitting-at-meat, he manifested himself to them; and he was reproaching them for their unbelief and their hardness of heart, because they believed not them who saw him, having risen. (15) And he said to them: Go to the world, and in everything preach the Gospel to the whole creation. (16) He who believed and who was baptised shall be saved: but he who was unbelieving will be condemned. (17) And these signs shall follow (lit. walk after) them who believe in my name: they shall cast out demons; they shall speak in languages; (18) and they shall lift serpents in their hands; even if they should eat any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; and they shall lay their hands upon sick persons, and they shall be cured.' (19) The Lord Jesus then, after his speaking to them, was taken up to (the) heaven, and sat on the right hand of(the) Father. (20) And they, having come out, preached in all places, and the Lord was working with them, and (is) confirming the word by the signs which follow (lit. walk after) them, for ever and ever (lit. unto age of all the ages). Amen.

Gospel of St. Luke

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1

(1) Since many took in hand (lit. threw their hand) to write words concerning the things which were fulfilled among us, (2) according as the first (men), who saw (them) and became ministers of the word, delivered to us, (3) it was pleasing to me also, having traced everything accurately (lit. in certainty), so to write to thee, most excellent Theophilus; (4) that thou mightest know the certainty of the words in which thou wast instructed. (5) It came to pass in the days of Herod (the) king of Judea, (that) there was a priest, his name being Zacharias, of the ministry-days of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was (lit. is) Elisabet. (6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and the ordinances of the Lord, being blameless. (7) And they had no son, because Elisabet was barren, and they both had grown (old) in their days. (8) And it came to pass (that in) doing his priestly-office in the order of his ministry-days before God, (9) according to the custom of the priestly-office his lot was to offer up incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord: (10) and all the multitude of the people were praying outside at (the) hour of the incense. (11) And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right hand of the altar of the incense. (12) And Zacharias having seen, was troubled, and fear came upon him. (13) But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zacharias: because thy prayer was heard, and thy wife Elisabet shall bear thee a son. And thou shalt call his name "John." (14) And joy shall be to thee, and gladness; and many shall rejoice over his birth. (15) For he will be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he shall not drink; and he will be filled with the (lit. a) Holy Spirit from (the time of) being in (the) womb of his mother. (16) And he shall make many of (the) sons of Israel return to the Lord their God. (17) And he will be first to come before in front of him in the (lit. a) spirit and power of Elias, to turn (the) heart of fathers to their sons, and them who are disobedient to (lit. in) the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people which was justified.' (18) And Zacharias said to the angel By (lit. in) what shall (lit. will) I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife grew (old) in her days.' (19) And the angel answered, he said to him: I am Gabriel, he who standeth before God; and I was sent to speak to thee, and to preach to thee these glad tidings. (20) And lo, thou shalt be holding thy peace, and it is not possible for thee to speak, until the day in which these (things) will be done, because that thou believedst not my words--these which will be fulfilled in their time.' (21) And all the people were looking for Zacharias, and were wondering because that he delayed within the temple. (22) And having come out, he was not able to speak to them: and they knew that he saw a vision within the temple: and he was beckoning to them, and remained dumb. (23) And it came to pass, (that) his ministry-days having been completed, he went to his house. (24) And after those days Elisabet his wife conceived; and she was hiding herself five months, saying: (25) Thus the Lord did to me in the days in which he looked upon me, to take away my reproach among the men.' (26) Now in the sixth month Gabriel the angel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, its name being Nazareth, (27) to a virgin who was betrothed to a man, his name being Joseph, of (the) house of David; and (the) name of the virgin is Mariam. (28) And having gone in unto her, he said to her: Hail, thou (lit. she) who art full of grace, the Lord (is) with thee.' (29) But she was troubled at this word, and was reasoning what kind is this salutation. (30) And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mariam, for thou foundest grace before God. (31) And lo, thou wilt conceive, and bear a son, and shalt call his name "Jesus." (32) He (lit. this) shall be great, and he shall be called "(the) Son of the Highest" (lit. that, or him who is high): and the Lord God shall give to him (the) throne of David his father: (33) and he will be king over (the) house of Jacob for ever; and there shall not be (an) end of his kingdom.' (34) And Mariam said to the angel: 'How will this be to me, since I know not (a) husband?' (35) And the angel answered, he said to her: The (lit. a) Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and the (lit. a) power of the Highest (as before) will overshadow thee: therefore he (or that) who will be born is holy; he shall be called "(the) Son of God." (36) And behold, Elisabet, thy kinswoman, also conceived a son in her old age: and this is her sixth month--she who is called "the barren." (37) Because there is not any word impossible with God.' (38) And Mariam said: a Lo, the handmaid of the Lord; it shall be to me according to thy word.' And the angel went from her. (39) And Mariam rose in those days, she went in haste to the hill-country to a city of Juda; (40) and she entered (the) house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabet. (41) And it came to pass (that) Elisabet having heard the salutation of Mariam, the babe moved in her womb. And Elisabet was filled with the (lit. a) Holy Spirit; (42) and she cried out (lit. up) with a loud voice, and said: a Blessed art thou among the women, and blessed is (the) fruit of thy womb. (43) Whence is this to me, that (the) mother of my Lord should come to me? (44) For lo, as soon as (the) voice of thy salutation was in mine ears, the babe moved for gladness in my womb. (45) And blessed is she who believed; because there will be (the) fulfilment of the things which were spoken to her by the Lord.' (46) And Mariam said: My soul exalted the Lord, (47) and my spirit was glad over God my Saviour. (48) Because he looked down upon (the) humbleness of his handmaid: for lo, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. (49) Because he who is strong did to me great things (lit. greatnesses); and his name is holy. (50) And his pity is unto generations and generations for them who fear him. (51) He made strength in his arm; be scattered the proud in (the) thought of their heart. (52) He hurled strong (ones) from thrones, and he exalted them who are humble. (53) Them who were hungry he satisfied with good, and them who were rich he sent away empty. (54) He helped Israel his child, to remember his pity, (55) according as he spake to our fathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.' (56) And Mariam was with her three months, and returned to her house. (57) Now the time was completed to Elisabet for her bearing; and she bare a son. (58) And they who were around her house, and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord magnified his pity for (lit. with) her; and they were rejoicing with her. (59) And it came to pass on the eighth day, (that) they came that they might circumcise the child; and they were calling him by (lit. to the) name of his father Zacharias. (60) And his mother answered, she said: Nay; but call his name "John."' (61) And they said to her: There is not any among thy kindred who is called by this name.' (62) And they beckoned to his father: What wishedst thou to call him? (63) And having asked for a tablet, he wrote, saying: John is his name.' And they wondered all. (64) And his mouth opened suddenly, and his tongue; and he was speaking, blessing God. (65) And fear was upon all who were around them: and they were speaking all these (things) on the hill-country of Juda. (66) And they who heard were all reasoning in their heart, saying: What then will be to this child? ' For (the) hand of the Lord was (imperf.) with him. (67) And Zacharias his father was filled with the (lit. a) Holy Spirit, and he prophesied, saying: (68) Blessed is the Lord God of Israel; because he visited and made redemption for his people. (69) And he raised up a horn of salvation for us in (the) house of David his child, (70) according as he spake from the mouths of his holy prophets since (the) age, (71) salvation from our enemies and from (the) hands of all who hate us, (72) to shew (lit. do) pity for (lit. with) our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; (73) the oath which he sware to Abraham our father, (74) for the giving to us, without fear, having been saved from (the) hands of our enemies, to serve him, (75) in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (76) And thou indeed, Child, shalt be called "The prophet of the Highest;" for thou wilt be first in walking before the Lord to prepare his roads; (77) to give knowledge of (the) salvation to his people in forgiveness of sins, (78) because of the compassions of (the) pity of our God, [in] these in which he is to visit us as a dayspring from (the) height, (79) to give light to them who sit in (the) darkness and (the) shadow of (the) death; for (the) directing our feet to (the) road of the peace.' (80) And the child grew, and was being strengthened in the Spirit, and was (imperf.) in the deserts unto the day of his appearing unto Israel.

2

(1) It came to pass in those days (that) a decree came forth from (the) king Augustus that all the world should give in its name to be written. (2) This is the first enrolment which was made, Kyrinnios being governor of Syria. (3) And all were going to write their name each one at his city. (4) And Joseph also came up from Galilee from a city Nazareth' into a city of David called Bethlehem, because that he is from (the) house and family of David; (5) to write his name with Mariam, who was betrothed to him, being with child. (6) And it came to pass (that), they being there, her days were completed for her bearing. (7) And she bare her son the firstborn; and she wrapped him, she laid him in a manger, because they had not place in the place of lodging. (8) And there were shepherds feeding in that country in (the) field, and watching in the watches of the night over their flock of sheep. (9) And lo, an angel of the Lord stood over them, and the (lit. a) glory of the Lord gave light to them, and they feared with a very great fear. (10) And the angel said to them: Fear not; for lo, I preach glad tidings to you of great joy, which (lit. this which) will be to all the people: (11) because there was born for you to-day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, in (the) city of David. (12) And this is the sign to you; ye shall find a child wrapped, and lying in a manger.' (13) And there was suddenly a multitude of (an) host of (the) heaven with the angel praising God, and saying: (14) Glory to God in the highest, and peace upon the earth and good pleasure among [the] men.' (15) And it came to pass (that), the angels having gone to (the) heaven from them, the shepherds spake to one another, saying: Let us go unto Bethlehem and see concerning this word which came--this which the Lord shewed to us.' (16) And they came hasting, they found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. (17) And having seen, they knew concerning the word which was spoken to them concerning the child. (18) And all who heard wondered at the things which the shepherds spake to them. (19) But Mary--she was keeping all these words, meditating in her heart. (20) And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God over all things which they heard and the things which they saw, according as was spoken to them. (21) And eight days having been completed that they might circumcise him, his name was called Jesus,' which the angel called him from (the time) before he was conceived in (the) womb. (22) And the days having been completed for the cleansing according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, (23) according as it is written in the law of the Lord: that every male which will open (the) womb of his mother shall be called holy to the Lord;' (24) and to give a sacrifice according as was said in (the) law of the Lord: ' A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.' (25) And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, his name being Simon; and this man was righteous, devout, looking for (the) consolation of Israel: and there was (the) Holy Spirit [put] upon him. (26) And they were shewing to him in a revealing by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see (the) death, before he saw Christ the Lord. (27) And he came in the Spirit up to the temple, and as (lit. in) his parents (were) bringing the child Jesus in, to do for him according to that which was required by the law, (28) Simon took him up on his arms, and blessed God, saying: (29) Now, my Lord, thou wilt send thy servant away in peace, according to thy word; (30) because mine eyes saw thy salvation, (31) which thou preparedst before all the peoples: (32) a light for revelation to (lit. of) Gentiles, and a glory of thy people Israel.' (33) And his father and his mother wondered at the things which are said concerning him. (34) And Simon blessed them, and said to Mary (the) mother of the child: 'Lo, this (child) is set for a fall and a rising of many in Israel, and a sign which is opposed. (35) And thou thyself--a sword shall pass (through) thy soul, that thoughts may be revealed from many hearts.' (36) And (there) was (imperf.) Anna the prophetess, (the) daughter of Phanuel from (the) tribe of Asser--she (lit. this) had grown (old) of many days, she was living with (a) husband seven years from her virginity, (37) and she (lit. this) had been a widow unto eighty-four years--who was not passing not away from the temple, in fastings and prayers ministering night and day. (38) And at that hour she came before him, she thanked God, and she was speaking concerning him with all who looked for a redemption of Jerusalem. (39) And having finished everything according to (the) law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their city Nazareth. (40) And the child had grown, and was being strengthened, being full of wisdom, and grace of God was (imperf) upon him. (41) And his parents used to go (year) by year to Jerusalem to the feast of the Passover. (42) And he having become twelve years old, they went to the feast according to the custom. (43) And the days having been finished, as (lit. in) they (were) returning, the child Jesus was left behind them in Jerusalem; and his parents knew not; (44) but thinking that he was walking with them who walked on the road, they went on (lit. came) a day of walking. And they were seeking for him among their kinsfolk and them whom they knew. (45) And having not found him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him. (46) And it came to pass after three days (that) they found him in the temple, sitting in (the) midst of the teachers, hearing them and asking them. (47) And they who heard him were (imperf.) all amazed at the knowledge and his answering them. (48) And having seen him, they wondered: and his mother said to him: 'My son, what is this which thou didst to us thus? behold thy father and I were grieving, seeking for thee.' (49) And he said to them; Wherefore seek ye for me? were ye not knowing that I must be in the things of my Father?' (50) And they understood not his word which he said to them. (51) And he came down with them to Nazareth, and was (imperf.) subject to them: but his mother was keeping all these words in her heart. (52) And Jesus was advancing in [the] stature and [the] wisdom, and [the] grace with God and the men.

3

(1) Now in (the) fifteenth year of (the) government of Tiberius (the) king, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother being tetrarch of Hidurea and the Tetragonites country, and Lisanios being tetrarch of Abiline, (2) in the time of Anna and Kaiapha the chief priests, came the (lit. a) word of God upon John (the) son of Zacharias in (the) desert. (3) And he came to all the region round about the Jordan preaching baptism of repentance for (the) forgiveness of sin; (4) as it was written in (the) book of the words of Esaias the prophet: (The) voice of him who crieth out in (the) desert: Prepare (the) road of the Lord, make straight his paths. (5) Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and every hill shall be humiliated, and the (places) which are crooked shall become straight, and the (places) which are hard, smooth roads; (6) and all flesh shall see the Saviour of God.' (7) He was saying then to the multitudes who came forth to him to be baptised by him: Offspring of the vipers, who told you to flee from the anger which cometh? (8) Send fruit then forth worthy of the repentance, and begin not to say in yourselves, that (as) our father we have Abraam. I say to you, that it is possible for God to raise up sons to Abraam from these stones. (9) And now the axe is laid at (the) root of the trees, and every tree which will not bring forth good fruit will be cut down, and cast to the fire.' (10) And the multitudes were asking him, saying: What shall (lit. will) we do?' (11) And he answered them: He who hath two coats let him give to him who hath not; and he who hath victuals let him do likewise' (lit. again thus). (12) And there came, again, publicans also that they might be baptised, and they said to him: Teacher, what shall (lit. will) we do?' (13) And he said to them: Do not anything beyond that which is appointed to you.' (14) And soldiers also were asking him, saying: What shall (lit. will) we also do?' And he said to them: Do not assault any one, nor take anything by violence; and let your wages suffice you.' (15) And (as) all the people are (lit. is) looking, and all (are) reasoning in their heart concerning John, lest haply he is Christ; (16) John answered them all, saying: I indeed baptise you with water; but the stronger than I cometh, (of) whom I am not worthy to unloose a latchet of his shoe, he shall baptise you with the (lit. a) Holy Spirit and fire: (17) whose fan of winnowing (lit. removing) (is) in his hand to cleanse his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.' (18) (With) many (things) indeed then, and other (things) encouraging them, he was preaching good tidings to the people; (19) but Herod the tetrarch, John reproving him concerning Herodias (the) wife of Philip his brother, and concerning all things which Herod did, (20) added this also to them all, he threw John into the prison. (21) And it came to pass (that) all the people having been baptised, and Jesus also having been baptised and praying, (the) heaven opened, (22) and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in (the) form of a body as a dove, and there was a voice from (the) heaven: 'Thou art my Son, my beloved in whom I was well pleased.' (23) And Jesus began to be in (the) thirtieth year, as he is thought (the) son of Joseph, [the] of Eli, (24) of Matthewthat, of Levi, of Melchi, of Janne, of Joseph, (25) of Matthewthathiu, of Amos, of Naum, of Esrim, of Agge, (26) of Maat, of Matthewthathiu, of Semein, of Joseph, of Joda, (27) of Jonan, of Resa, of Zorobabel, of Salathiel, of Neri, (28) of Melchi, of Addi, of Kosam, of Almadam, of Er, (29) of Jesu, of Elezer, of Jorim, of Matthewthat, of Levi, (30) of Simeon, of Juda, of Joseph, of Jonam, of Eliakim, (31) of Melea, of Menna, of Matthewtatha, of Nathan, of David, (32) of Jesse. of Jobed, of Boes, of Salmon, of Nasson, (33) of Aminadab, of Admin, of Arni, of Asrom, of Phares, of Juda, (34) of Jakob, of Isaak, of Abraam, of Tharra, of Nachor, (35) of Saruk, of Ragav, of Phalech, of Eber., of Sala, (36) of Kainam, of Arphaxad, of Sem, of Noe, of Lamech, (37) of Matthewhysala, of Enoch, of Jard, of Maleleel, of Kainam, (38) of Enos, of Seth, of Adam, of God.

4

(1) And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan, and the Spirit took him away to (the) desert, (2) for forty days the devil tempting him. And he ate not anything in those days: and they having been finished, he hungered. (3) And the devil said to him: 'If thou art (the) Son of God, command this stone that it may become bread.' (4) And Jesus answered him It is written that the man was not to live by (lit. to) bread alone.' (5) And having taken him away aloft, he shewed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (6) And the devil said to him: 'I will give to thee all this authority, and their glory, because to me it is delivered; and to him whom I wish I give it. (7) If thou then shouldest worship before me, all shall be thine.' (8) And Jesus answered, he said to him: 'It is written, that the Lord thy God thou shalt worship, and him alone thou shalt serve.' (9) And he brought him, again, up to Jerusalem, and made him stand upon (the) wing of the temple, and said to him: If thou art (the) Son of God, throw thyself down from here (lit. this): (10) for it is written, that he shall order his angels concerning thee, that they keep thee, (11) and lift thee upon their arms, lest haply thou dash thy foot against (a) stone.' (12) And Jesus answered, he said to him: It was said, that thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' (13) And the devil having finished all the temptation, went from him for (lit. unto) a time. (14) And Jesus returned into Galilee in the power of the Spirit: and a fame came forth in all the region round about concerning him. (15) And he was teaching in their synagogues, all glorifying him. (16) And he came to Nazareth, the place in which he was brought up: and he went into the synagogue on the day of the sabbaths, according to the custom, and rose to read. (17) And having opened the book, he found the place in which it was (imperf.) written: (18) The (lit. a) Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he anointed me, he sent me to preach good tidings to the poor, to proclaim to the captives release, and sight to the blind; to send to them who are bound, for (lit. in) release, (19) to proclaim the (lit an) acceptable year of the Lord.' (20) And having rolled the book, he gave it to the officer, he sat, and all who were in the synagogue--their eyes were looking upon him. (21) And he began to say to them: This scripture was fulfilled to-day in your ears.' (22) And they were all bearing witness to him, and were wondering at the words of [the] grace, which were coming from his mouth. And they were saying: Is not this (the) son of Joseph?' (23) And he said to them: Ye will altogether say this parable to me: "Physician, heal thine own self:" the things which we heard of having been done in Kapharnaum, do here also in thy city.' (24) And he said to them: Verily I say to you, that there is not any prophet acceptable in his city. (25) And truly I say to you, that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias, when (the) heaven was shut for three years and six months, so that there was a great famine upon all (the) earth; (26) and Elias was not sent to any of them, except to a widow woman, who was in Sarepta of Sidonia. (27) And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseos the prophet: and not any of them were cleansed, except Neman the Syrian.' (28) And they were all filled with anger, hearing these (things), (29) and they rose, they thrust (lit. threw) him outside of the city, and they brought him forth upon (the) height of the mountain upon which their city was (imperf.) set, so that they might cast him down headlong. (30) But he having passed through their midst, was walking (away). (31) And he came down to Kapharnaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbaths: (32) and they were (imperf.) amazed at his teaching; because his word was (imperf.) with authority. (33) And there was a man in the synagogue, having (lit. being) an unclean spirit with him, and he cried out (lit. up) with a great cry: (34) What (hast) thou with us, Jesus the Nazarene? camest thou to destroy us? I know thee who thou (art), the Holy (one) of God.' (35) And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silenced, and come out of him.' And the demon having cast him down in (lit. to the) midst, came out of him, he gave not any pain to him. (36) And a great fear came upon them all, and they were speaking to one another, saying: What is this word? because with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, they come out.' (37) And there was a fame spread abroad concerning him in all places of the region round about. (38) And he rose from the synagogue, he went into (the) house of Simon. And (the) mother-in-law of Simon--there was a great fever with her, and they were beseeching him for her. (39) And he stood above her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her: and immediately she rose and ministered to them. (40) And (the) sun having set, all who have sick folk in sicknesses of many kinds (are) bringing them to him. And he having laid hand on each of them, healed them. (41) And demons also were coming out from many, crying out, saying: Thou art (the) Son of God.' And he was rebuking them; he permits them not to speak, because they were knowing him, that he is Christ. (42) And the day having come, he came forth, he went to a desert place: and the multitudes were seeking for him, and they came to him, and were laying hold on him, that he should not go from them. (43) But he said to them: 'I must preach in the other cities good tidings of the kingdom of God, because therefore was I sent.' (44) And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

5

(1) And it came to pass, the multitudes having gathered upon him and to hear the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of Gennezareth; (2) and he saw two ships moored by the lake: but the fishermen, having come up in them, were washing their nets. (3) He betook himself to one of the ships, being Simon's, he told him to move out from the shore a little. And having sat, he was teaching the multitudes from the ship. (4) And having ended speaking, he said to Simon: 'Come out to the deep, and let your nets down for a draught.' (5) And Simon answered, he said: 'Teacher, all the night we toiled, we caught not, but at (lit. in) thy word we will let the nets down.' (6) And having done this, they gathered a great multitude of fish, and the nets were going to rend. (7) And they beckoned to their friends, who were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, they filled the two ships, so that they began to sink. (8) And Simon Peter having seen, threw himself at (the) feet of Jesus, saying: 'Go from me, my Lord, because I (am) a sinful man.' (9) For fear seized him, and all who were with him, at (the) draught of the fish which they caught: (10) and likewise (lit. thus again) James also and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were (imperf.) friends to Simon. Jesus said to Simon: Fear not, for henceforth thou shalt be a fisherman catcher of men.' (11) And having drawn the nets to the shore, they left everything, they followed' him. (12) And it came to pass, that (lit. and) they having come into one of the cities, lo, a man full of leprosy. And having seen Jesus, he threw himself upon his face beseeching him, saying: 'My Lord, if thou shouldest wish, it is possible for thee to cleanse me.' (13) And he stretched out his hand, he touched him, saying: 'I wish, be cleansed.' And immediately the leprosy went from him. (14) And he ordered him, saying: Tell not any one, but go shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded, for a witness to them.' (15) But the report (lit. word) concerning him spread abroad the more: and great multitudes gathered to hear him, and (for him) to heal them in their sicknesses. (16) And he used to go to the desert places and pray. (17) And it came to pass on one of the days, that (lit. and) he was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting, having come from all Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the (lit. a) power of the Lord was (present) for (the) curing them, is (18) And behold, men brought one, paralysed upon a bed: and they were seeking to bring him in, and to lay him before him. (19) And having not found the way of bringing him in because of the multitude, they went up on the housetop, they let him down with the bed through the tiling in (the) midst before Jesus. (20) And having seen their faith, he said to the paralysed: 'Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.' (21) And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: 'Who is this who speaketh this blasphemy? For whom is it possible to forgive sin, except the one alone--God?' (22) And Jesus having known their reasonings answered, he said to them: Wherefore reason ye in your hearts? (23) What is easy to say: Thy sins are forgiven thee," or to say: "Rise and walk?" (24) That ye may know that (the) Son of (the) man hath authority upon the earth to forgive sin'--then (lit. and) he said to the paralysed--'to thee I say: "Rise, take up thy bed, and go to thy house."' (25) And immediately he rose before them, he took up that upon which he lay (lit. was sleeping), he went to his house, glorifying God. (26) And amazement took all, and they were glorifying God, and they were filled with fear, saying: We saw wonders to-day.' (27) And after these (things) he came out, and he saw a publican, his name being Levi, sitting at a custom-house, and he said to him: Walk after me.' (28) And he left everything, he rose, he walked after him. (29) And Levi made a great feast for him within his house: and there was a great multitude of the publicans and others sitting-at-meat with them. (30) And the Pharisees and the scribes were murmuring against his disciples, saying: 'Wherefore do ye eat and drink with the publicans and the sinners?' (31) And Jesus answered, he said to them: They who are strong have not need of the physician, but they who are diseased. (32) For I came not to invite the righteous, but the sinners to repentance.' (33) And they said to him: The disciples of John make many fastings and prayers, likewise (lit. thus again) those of the Pharisees, but thy disciples--they eat, they drink.' (34) And Jesus said to them: 'Is it possible for you to make (the) sons of the bridegroom fast, while the bridegroom (is) with them? (35) But days come when the bridegroom should be taken away from them, then shall they fast in those days.' (36) And he was speaking (lit. saying) a parable to them: No one rendeth a piece of cloth from a new garment and putteth (lit. throweth) it to an old garment; otherwise it rendeth the new also, and the piece which was taken away from the new agreeth not with the old. (37) Nor doth any one put (lit. throw) new wine into old bottles; otherwise the new wine rendeth the bottles, and it (lit. he) is poured out, and the bottles perish. (38) But they put new wine into new bottles. (39) And no one drinking old (wine) will wish (for) new: for he saith: "The old is sweet."'

6

(1) And it came to pass, (that) he passed on the sabbaths through the cornfields, and his disciples were plucking the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. (2) But some of the Pharisees said: Wherefore do ye that which is not right to do on the sabbaths?' (3) And Jesus answered, he said to them: Did ye not read even this, that which David did, when he hungered, and they who were with him: (4) how he went into (the) house of God, and the loaves of the Prothesis--he took them, he ate them, and he gave to them also who were with him, which it was not lawful for them to eat except (for) the priests alone?' (5) And he was saying to them: The Lord of the sabbath is (the) Son of (the) man.' (6) And it came to pass on the sabbath also, (that) he went into their synagogue and taught: and there was a man there whose right hand was (lit. is) withered. (7) The scribes and the Pharisees were considering him, whether he will heal on (the) sabbath, that they might find accusation against him. (8) But he was knowing their reasonings, he said to the man whose hand was (imperf.) withered: `Rise, stand in (the) midst;' and he rose, he stood. (9) Jesus said to them: 'I ask you, whether it is lawful to do good on the sabbaths, or to do evil? to save life (lit. a soul), or to destroy it'? (10) And having looked upon them all, he said to the man: Stretch out thy hand.' And he stretched it out; and his hand was cured. (11) And they were filled with madness; and were speaking to one another what they will do to Jesus. (12) And it came to pass in those days, (that) he came forth upon the mountain to pray; and he was keeping watch in [the] prayer to (lit. of) God. (13) And the day having come, he called his disciples: and he chose from them twelve, whom he named Apostles;' (14) Simon whom they call Peter,' and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, (15) and Matthew, and Thomas, and James (the son) of Alphaeus, and Simon whom they call the Zealot,' (16) and Judas of James, and Judas (the) Iscariot. (17) And having come down with them, he stood in a level place, and a multitude of his disciples, and also a great multitude of the people from all Judea, and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast (of) Tyre and Sidon, (18) who came to hear him, and that he might cure them from their sicknesses; and them whom the unclean spirits were afflicting he healed. (19) And the whole multitude was seeking to touch him; because power was coining out of him, and he was curing them all. (20) And he, having lifted up his eyes to his disciples, was saying: Blessed are ye the poor: because yours is the kingdom of God. (21) Blessed are ye who are hungry now: because ye will be satisfied. Blessed are ye who weep now: because ye will laugh (lit. mock). (22) Blessed are ye, if the men hate you, and separate you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil because of (the) Son of (the) man. (23) Rejoice in that day, and be glad: for lo, your reward is great in (the) heaven, for these (things) their fathers were doing to the prophets. (24) But woe to you of the rich: because ye have already received your comfort. (25) Woe to you of them who are satisfied now: because ye will hunger. Woe to you of them who laugh (lit. mock) now: because ye will mourn and ye will weep. (26) Woe to you, if all the men should say of you "well:" for their fathers were doing these (things) likewise (lit. again thus) to the false prophets. (27) But I say to you of them who hear, "Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you. (28) Bless them who curse you. Pray for them who persecute you. (29) To him who will strike this cheek offer the other: and him who will take away thy garment forbid not to take away thy coat also. (30) And give to every one who will ask of thee; and of him who will take away the things which are thine, want them not (again). (31) And according as ye wish that the men should do to you, do ye also to them thus. (32) And if ye are to love them who love you, what are your thanks (sing.)? for the sinners also loved them who love them. (33) And if ye are to do good to them who do good with you, what are your thanks (sing)? the sinners also do thus. (34) And if ye should lend to .some, hoping to receive of them, what are your thanks (sing.)? the sinners also themselves lend to sinners, that they may receive of them their exchange. (35) But love your enemies, and do good to them, and give, and hope not for anything again; and your reward will be great, and ye will be sons of the Highest: because he is kind to the unthankful and the evil. (36) Be ye pitiful, as your Father (is) being pitiful. (37) Judge (lit. give judgement) not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn (lit. throw judgement) not, and ye will not be condemned. Forgive, and be forgiven. (38) Give, and be given; a good measure full, shaken, running over they will give into your bosom. For with the measure with which ye will measure, it is to be measured to you." (39) And he spake (lit. said) also a parable to them: 'Is it possible for a blind man to guide a blind man? will they not both fall into a ditch? (40) Is there a disciple greater than his teacher? But let every one, being prepared, be as his teacher. (41) Wherefore then seest thou the mote in (the) eye of thy brother, but the beam which is in thine eye thou considerest not? (42) Or how is it possible for thee to say to thy brother: "My brother, let me cast the mote from thine eye," and thou thyself seest not the beam which is in thine eye? Hypocrite, cast the beam from thine eye first, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast the mote from (the) eye of thy brother. (43) For there is not a good tree producing an evil fruit; again, there is not an evil tree producing a good fruit. (44) For each of the trees they know from its fruit. For they gather not figs from thorns, and cut not grapes off' a bramble-bush. (45) The good man from the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth the good; and the evil (man) from the treasure, which is evil, bringeth forth that which is evil: from (the) abundance of (the) heart the mouth speaketh. (46) And wherefore call ye me "Lord, Lord," and do not the things which I say? (47) Every one who will come to me, and hear my words, and do them, I will show you to whom he was likened: (48) he was likened to a man building a house, who hewed out, and dug down, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and great rains having come, the river struck in at that house, and it could not move it, because that it was (imperf.) built well. (49) But he who will hear my words, and do them not, he was likened to a man who built a house upon the earth without foundation; into which the river struck, and immediately it fell, and (the) fall of that house became great.'

7

(1) And having quite finished all his words in (the) ears of the people, he came into Kapharnaum. (2) And a centurion's servant (lit. a centurion his servant), who was (imperf.) precious to him, being diseased, was going to die. (3) And having heard concerning Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and cure his servant. (4) And they, having come to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying: He is worthy for whom thou wilt do this: (5) for he loveth our nation; and himself built for us the synagogue.' (6) And Jesus was walking with them. And now he being not far from the house, the centurion sent to him friends, saying to him: Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest come in under (the) roof of my house: (7) therefore neither thought (lit. made) I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say with (the) word, and my servant (lit. child) will be cured. (8) For I also am a man ranked under authority, having (lit. being) soldiers under me: and I say to this (one), "Go," he goeth; and another, "Come," and he cometh; and my servant, "Do this," and he doeth it.' (9) And Jesus having heard these (things) wondered at him, and having turned himself, he said: 'I say to you that neither in all Israel found I [not] faith of this degree.' (10) And they who were sent, having returned to the house, found the servant cured. (11) And it came to pass on the (lit. his) morrow, (that) he went to a city called 'Nain;' and his disciples were walking with him, and a great multitude. (12) Now when he approached to the gate of the city, lo, they were taking one away dead, being the (lit. a) only son of his mother, and she (lit. this) was a widow: and there was a great multitude of the city with her. (13) And Jesus, having seen her, had compassion upon her, and said to her: Weep not.' (14) And he came, he touched the bier: and they who carried stood. And he said: Young man, to thee I say, Rise.' (15) And the dead sat, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. (16) And fear took all: and they were glorifying God, saying that a great prophet rose among us: and, that God visited his people. (17) And the report (lit. word) came forth concerning him in all Judea, and all the region round about. (18) And his disciples told John concerning all these (things). And having called two of his disciples, (19) he sent them to the Lord, saying: (Art) thou he who cometh, or look we for another? (20) And the men, having come to him, said: 'John the Baptist sent us to thee, saying: "Art thou he who cometh, or look we for another?"' (21) In that hour he healed many from sicknesses and plagues and evil spirits; and to many blind he granted [the] sight. (22) And he answered, he said to them: 'Go, tell John the things which ye see, and which ye heard; the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have good tidings preached to them. (23) And blessed is he, who will not be offended in me.' (24) And the messengers of John having gone, he began to say to the multitudes concerning John: 'What came ye out to (the) desert to see? a reed shaken by a wind? (25) But what came ye out to see? a man who is clothed with soft raiment (plur.)? Behold, those with the garments of (the) glory and (the) delight are in (the) house of the kings. (26) But what came ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, more than a prophet. (27) This is he concerning whom it is written: "Lo, I will send (the) messenger before thy face, who will prepare thy road in front of thee." (28) I say to you, that among (the) offspring of [the] women there is not any greater than John: but the lesser than he in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.' (29) And all the people and the publicans justified God, having been baptised with the baptism of John. (30) But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God in themselves. they were not baptised by him. (31) To what am I to liken myself for the men of this generation, and to what are they like? (32) They are like to children who sit in a marketplace, and calling to one another, saying: "We sang to you, and ye danced not: we mourned, and ye wept not." (33) For John the Baptist came eating not bread, and he drinketh not wine, and ye say, that there is a demon with him. (34) And (the) Son of (the) man came eating and drinking; and ye say: "Behold, a man gluttonous and winebibber, being friend to the publicans and the sinners!" (35) And [the] wisdom was justified from all her sons.' (36) One of the Pharisees was beseeching him that he would eat with him. And having entered (the) house of the Pharisee, he sat down to meat. (37) And behold, a woman--she was (imperf.) (a) sinner in the city; and having known that he sits at meat in (the) house of the Pharisee, she took an alabaster-box of ointment, (38) and having stood behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and was kissing his feet, anointing them with the ointment. (39) And the Pharisee who invited him, having seen, said in himself, saying: If this (man) were a prophet, he would have known what [is] and of what sort is this woman who touched him, that she is a sinner.' (40) And Jesus answered, he said to him: Simon, I have a word to say to thee.' And he said: Teacher, say it.' (41) And he said: There were two debtors having one (lit. a) creditor. The one owed five hundred staters, and the other owed fifty. (42) And they had not (enough) to pay; he forgave them both frankly. Which then of them will love him the more?' (43) Simon answered, he said: I think, he to whom he forgave frankly the most.' And he said: 'Thou judgedst rightly.' (44) And having turned to the woman, he said to Simon: Thou seest this woman. I came into thy house. thou gavest not water for my feet: but this (one), she wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hairs. (45) Thou kissedst not my mouth: but this (one), she, from (the time) I came in, ceased not to kiss my feet. (46) Thou anointedst not my head with oil: but this (one), she anointed my feet with ointment. (47) Therefore I say to thee, that her sins which are great are forgiven her, because she loved greatly. For to whom they forgive little, he loveth little.' (48) And he said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee.' (49) And they who sat at meat began to say in themselves: Who is this who gives (lit. makes) (the) forgiveness of sin also?' (50) And he said to the woman: 'Go in peace, thy faith saved thee.'

8

(1) And it came to pass after these things, that (lit. and) he was walking by city and village, proclaiming and preaching good tidings of the kingdom of God, and the twelve being with him, (2) and women also whom he healed from evil spirits and sicknesses, Mary who is called The Magdalene,' from whom he cast the seven demons, (3) and Joanna (the) wife of Chuza the steward of Herod, and Susanna, and many others, who were ministering to him from their possessions. (4) And a great multitude being assembled, with them who were coming to him (from) every city, he spake (lit. said) by a parable. (5) The sower came forth to sow his seed: and in his sowing, some (lit. one) indeed fell by the road; and it was crushed, and the birds of (the) heaven ate it. (6) And another fell upon a rock, and grew up, it withered, because that it had not moisture. (7) And another fell in (the) midst of the thorns; and the thorns, having grown up with it, choked it. (8) And other fell upon the good earth, and having grown up, brought forth fruit an hundredfold.' Having said (lit. saying) these (things), he was calling: 'Who path an ear to hear, let him hear.' (9) And his disciples were asking him: What is this parable?' (10) And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but (to the) rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear, and may not understand. (11) Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. (12) And they who are by the road are they who hear: then the devil cometh, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. (13) And they who are upon the rock are they (who), when they should hear, receive the word to them with joy; and these have not root, who believe for a time, and in (the) time of temptation they cease. (14) And that which fell in the thorns, these are they who hear, and the cares and the riches and the pleasures of this life, in which they walk (lit. walking in them), choke them, and they bring not forth fruit. (15) And that which fell in the good ground, these are they who having heard the word in an honest and good heart (are) laying hold on it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (16) No one lighteth a lamp and covereth it with a vessel or setteth it underneath a bed; but setteth it upon a lampstand, that they who will come in may see the light. (17) For there is not that which is hidden, that it will not appear; neither is there that which is secret, that it will not be known, and come into (the) midst. (18) Take heed then in what manner ye heard: for to him who hath shall be given; and from him who hath not, even that (lit. the one also) which he thinketh that he hath shall be taken away. (19) His mother came to him, and his brothers, and they were not able to meet with him because of the multitude. (20) And they told him: 'Lo, thy mother and thy brothers stand outside, wishing to see thee.' (21) But he answered, he said to them: My mother and my brothers are these, who hear the word of God, and who do it.' (22) And it came to pass on one of the days, (that) he entered into a ship, himself and his disciples, and he said to them: Let us go across the lake.' And they launched (lit. drew) forth. (23) But (as they are) sailing, he (is) sleeping: and a great wind came down to the lake, and it was overwhelming them, and they were (imperf.) in danger. (24) And having come, they woke him, saying: Teacher, we shall (lit. will) perish.' And he having risen, rebuked the wind and the waves of the waters, and they ceased, and there was a great calm. (25) And he said to them: Where was your faith?' But they having feared wondered, saying to one another: Who then is this? because he commandeth even the winds and the waters, and they obey him.' (26) And they sailed to (the) country of the Gergesenes, which is over against Galilee. (27) And he having come forth on (lit. to) the land, a man came forth to him from the city, having (lit. being) demons with him. And having been (so) a long time, he clothed himself not with a garment, and abode not in a house, but in the sepulchres. (28) And having seen Jesus, he cried out, he threw himself down at his feet, and said with a loud voice: 'What (hast) thou with me, Son of God, who liveth? I beseech thee, pain me not.' (29) For he had ordered the unclean spirit to come from the man. For it had carried him off many times, and they used to bind him with chains and fetters, keeping him; and he used to burst the bonds, and the demon used to lead him to the deserts. (30) And Jesus asked him: What is thy name?' And he said: Legion; ' because many devils went into him. (31) And they were beseeching him that he would not command them to go to (the) abyss. (32) Now there was there a herd of swine feeding in the mountain: and they were beseeching him that he would permit them to enter those (swine). And he permitted them. (33) And the demons having come from the man, went into the swine: and the herd of swine came down to the lake by (lit. in) the precipice, and were choked. (34) And they who fed (them), having seen what was done, fled, and told them who were in the city, and them who were in (the) field (35) They came forth to see what was done; and they came to Jesus, and they found the man, sitting, out of whom the devils came, sane, clothed with his garments, set at (the) feet of Jesus; and they feared. (36) And they who saw (it) told them in what manner he, with whom were (imperf.) the demons, was saved. (37) And all the multitude of the region round about of the Gergesenes besought him that he would go from them; because it (was) a great fear which they were (imperf.) And he entered into (the) ship, he returned. (38) The man out of whom the demons came, was beseeching him, that he might stay with him: but he sent him (away), saying to him: (39) Return to thy house, and speak the things which God did with thee.' And he went out in all the city, proclaiming the things which God did for him. (40) And Jesus having returned, the multitude received him to them (lit. him); for they were all looking for him. (41) And lo, a man came, his name being Jairus, and this (one) was a ruler of the synagogue: and having thrown himself down at (the) feet of Jesus, he was beseeching him to come into his house; (42) because he had an only daughter, being [in] twelve years (old), and she (lit. this) was going to die. And Jesus being about to come, the multitudes were thronging him. (43) And a woman having had an issue of blood for twelve years, who (lit. this who) spent all her living on the physicians, and could not be healed by any, (44) having come forth behind, touched (the) hem of his garment: and the issue of blood stanched. (45) And Jesus said: Who touched me?' And all denying, Peter and they who were with him said: Teacher, the multitudes surround thee and throng thee.' (46) But Jesus said: Some one touched me: for I knew that power came (lit. a power, it came) out of me.' (47) And the woman. having seen that he forgot not, came trembling, and having thrown herself down before him, confessed before all the people, for what reason she touched him, and the manner in which she was cured immediately. (48) He said to her: 'My daughter, thy faith saved thee; go in peace.' (49) (As he is) yet speaking, one from the ruler-of-the-synagogue came, saying: Thy daughter died, trouble not the teacher.' (50) But Jesus having heard, answered, he said: Fear not; only believe, and she will be saved.' (51) And having come to the house, he permitted not any to come in with him except Peter, and James, and John, and (the) father of the child and her mother. (52) And all were weeping and wailing for her: but he said: Weep not; for the child died not, but she slept.' (53) And they were mocking him, knowing that she died. (54) But he having put (lit, thrown) them all (forth), and having laid hold on her hand, called, saying: Child, rise.' (55) And her spirit returned to her, and immediately she rose: and he commanded that they should give to her to eat. (56) And her parents were amazed: but he ordered them not to say that which was done, to any one.

9

(1) And having called the twelve apostles, he gave to them power and authority over all the demons and the sicknesses. (2) And he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to cure them who were sick. (3) And he said to them: 'Take not away anything for (the) road, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor silver, neither have two coats. (4) And the house into which ye will go, abide there, until ye come from there. (5) And they who will not receive you to them, (as ye are) coming from that city, shake off (the) dust of your feet for a witness to them.' (6) And coming forth, they passed through every village, preaching good tidings, and healing in all places. (7) Hered the tetrarch heard all things which were happening, and he was (imperl) doubtful, because that some were saying, that John rose from the dead; (8) and others, that Elias manifestest himself; and others, that a prophet of the old (prophets) rose. (9) Herod said: John I beheaded: but who is this, concerning whom I hear these (things) of this kind?' And he was seeking to see him. (10) And the apostles, having returned, spoke before him the things which they did. And he took them away with him, he went apart alone into a city called Bethsaida.' (11) But those multitudes were walking after him: and having received them to him, he was speaking to them concerning the kingdom of God, and them who had need of healing he was curing. (12) And the day was beginning to decline. And the twelve, having come to him, said to him: Send the multitudes away, that they may go to the villages which are around, and the fields, that they may rest themselves, and find that which they will eat: because we are here in a desert place.' (13) And he said to them: 'Give ye to them to eat.' And they said: There are not more than five loaves with us and two fishes; except we go and buy victuals for all this people.' (14) And they were (imperf.) about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Let them sit down to meat by companies (lit. place) of fifty to (the) company.' (15) And they did thus, he made them all sit down to meat. (16) And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, having gazed up to (the) heaven, he blessed them, and brake them, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. (17) And they ate and were all satisfied: and they took up that, which remained over to them, twelve baskets of fragments filled. (18) And it came to pass (that) he being apart alone, praying, the disciples were (imperf.) with him; and he asked them, saying: Whom said [the] men that I (am)? ' (19) And they answered, they said: John the Baptist; but others, "Elias;" and others, that a prophet of the old (prophets) rose.' (20) And he said to them: But whom said ye that I (am)?' And Peter answered, he said: Thou art Christ God.' (21) But he having charged them, ordered (them) not to say this to any one; (22) having said, that (the) Son of (the) man must suffer much; and the elders and chief priests and the scribes (must) reject him, and kill him, and he (must) rise on the third day. (23) And he was saying to all: 'He who will wish to follow me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross daily, and walk after me. (24) For he who wisheth to save his life (lit. soul thus again) will destroy it; and he who will destroy his life because of me, shall save it. (25) For what will the man gain, if he should gain the whole world, and destroy his own self or forfeit himself? (26) For he who will be ashamed of me and my words, of this (one) also (the) Son of (the) man will be ashamed, if he should come in his glory, and that of his Father, and his holy angels. (27) I say to you truly, that there are some among them who stand here, who will not taste of (the) death, until they see the kingdom of God.' (28) And it came to pass after these words about eight days, (that) he took away Peter and James and John; he went upon the mountain to pray. (29) And it came to pass in his praying, (that the) form of his face was changed, and his vesture was white and (lit. as) flashing. (30) And behold, two men were speaking to him, who are Moses and Elias; (31) who manifested themselves in glory; they were speaking of his exodus, which he was to fulfil in Jerusalem. (32) And Peter and they who were with him had been heavy with slumber: but having kept watch, they saw his glory, and the two men who were standing with him. (33) And it came to pass, (that) they being about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus: Teacher, it is good for us that we be here; and--if thou wishest--that we make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias;' he knoweth not that which he said. (34) And (as he is) saying these (things), there was a cloud, and it shadowed over them: and they feared, having gone into the cloud. (35) And there was a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my Son, who is chosen, hearken to him.' (36) And the voice having been (heard), Jesus alone was found. And they held their peace, and told not to any one in those days any of the things which they saw. (37) And it came to pass on the (lit. his) morrow, (that) they having come down from the mountain, a great multitude came forth to him. (38) And behold, a man from the multitude cried out: Teacher, I beseech thee look upon my son: because he is an only son to me: (39) and lo, spirit cometh upon him, and suddenly he crieth out, and he convulseth him, and he hurleth him down, and his mouth foameth, and it hardly goeth from him, bruising him. (40) And I besought thy disciples that they would cast it out; and they could not.' (41) Jesus answered, and said: O [the] faithless generation and which is perverse, how long shall (lit. will) I be with you, and bear with you? bring thy son to me hither.' (42) (As he is) yet coming in to him, the demon hurled him down, and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean demon, and cured the child, and gave him to his father. (43) They all were wondering at the greatness of God. But (as) all (are) wondering at all things which he was doing, He said to his disciples: (44) Set ye these words in your ears: for (the) Son of (the) man will be given into (the) hands of men.' (45) But they understood not (lit. were forgetting) this word, and it was (imperf.) hidden from them, [and] that they might not understand it; they were fearing to ask him concerning this word. (46) And a reasoning came into them, as to which of them is the great. (47) And Jesus, having seen the reasoning of their heart, took hold of a child, he made him stand by him, (48) and said to them: He who will receive this child to him in my name, he received me: and he who receiveth me received him who sent me: for he who is little among you all, this is the great.' (49) And John answered: 'Teacher, we saw one casting demons out in thy name, and we forbade him, because he walketh not with us.' (50) But Jesus said: Forbid not: for he is not against you: for he who is not against you is for (lit. on) you.' (51) And it came to pass, (that) the days of his being received up having been fulfilled, [and] he set steadfastly his face to go to Jerusalem, (52) and he sent messengers forth before him: and having gone, they came into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. (53) And they received him not to them, because his face was (imperf.) directed towards Jerusalem. (54) And his disciples James and John having seen (it), said: Lord, wishest thou that we say (the word), and that fire come from (the) heaven, and burn them, as Elias worked.' (55) But having turned himself, he rebuked them, saying: Ye know not (of) what spirit ye are; and (that the) Son of (the) man cometh not to destroy the lives of [the] men, but to make live.' (56) And they went to another village. (57) And (as they are) walking on the road, one said to him: 'Let me walk after thee whither thou goest.' (58) Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of (the) heaven have nests; but (the) Son of (the) man hath not where to put his head.' (59) And he said to another: Walk after me.' But he said: My Lord, command me first, that I go and bury my father.' (60) He said to him: 'Leave the dead, let them embalm their dead; but go thou proclaim the kingdom of God. (61) And another said to him: 'I will walk after thee, Lord; command me first, that I take leave of them who are in my house.' (62) But Jesus said to him: 'No one having put (lit. thrown) his hand to a plough, and looked back, will be right for (lit, in) the kingdom of God.'

10

(1) And after these (things) the Lord appointed (lit. manifested) seventy others, and he sent them forth two (and) two before him into every city and all places, to which he was to go. (2) He was saying to them: 'The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few: pray then the Lord of the harvest, that he would send (lit. throw, of. Matthew 12:20) forth labourers to his harvest. (3) Go: lo, I send you as lambs in (the) midst of wolves. (4) Carry not purse, nor scrip, nor shoe: and salute not any one on (the) road. (5) And the house which ye go into,--say first: "(The) peace (be) to this house." (6) And if (the) son of the peace is there, your peace shall rest [itself] upon it: if not, your peace shall return to you. (7) And abide in that house, eating and drinking the things which they have: for the labourer is worthy of his food. Remove not from house to house. (8) And the city which ye will go into, and they receive you to them, eat the things which they will set before you: (9) and heal them who are sick in it, and say to them, that the kingdom of God approached. (10) But the city which ye will go into, and they receive "you not to them, come forth in its streets, say: (11) Even the dust, which clave to our feet from your city, we will shake off against (lit. for) you: but know this, that the kingdom of God approached." (12) I say to you, that there is to be rest for Sodom in that day, (rather) than (for) that city. (13) Woe to thee, Chorazin! Woe to thee, Bethsaida! for in Tyre and Sidon if (there had) been done these mighty works, which were done in you, long ago they (would have) repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. (14) But Tyre and Sidon,--there is to be rest for them in the judgement, rather than (for) you. (15) And thou also Kapharnaum, wilt thou be exalted up to (the) heaven? thou wilt be humiliated down to Amenti. (16) He who hearkeneth to you hearkened to me: and he who rejecteth you rejected me; he who rejecteth me rejected him who sent me.' (17) And the seventy returned with joy, saying: `Lord, even the demons are subject to us in thy name.' (18) And he said to them: 'I saw Satan fall (lit. who fell) from (the) heaven as lightning. (19) Lo, I gave to you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy; and ye (lit. he) shall not suffer (lit. treat you with) any violence. (20) But rejoice not in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice [(in) that], that your names are written in the heavens.' (21) And in that hour he was glad in the Holy Spirit, and he said: I confess to thee, Father, Lord of (the) heaven and the earth, because thou hiddest these (things) from (lit. to) wise and understanding, and revealedst them to little children: yea, Father, because this is [as] the good pleasure which was before thee. (22) All things were given to me by my Father: and no one knoweth who is (the) Son, except the Father; and who is the Father, except (the) Son, and he to whom (the) Son wisheth to reveal him.' (23) And having turned himself to his disciples apart alone, he said: 'Blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see: (24) for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which ye see, and they saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and they heard them not.' (25) And behold, a lawyer rose, he tempted him, saying: Teacher, what shall (lit. will) I do that I may inherit eternal life?' (26) And he said to him: What is written in the law? or in what manner didst thou read?' (27) And he answered, he said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy power, and in all thy thought; and thy neighbour (lit. friend) as thyself. (28) 'And he said to him: 'Thou answeredst rightly: this do, and thou wilt live.' (29) But he wishing to he justified, said to Jesus: Who also is my neighbour (lit. friend)?' (30) And Jesus answered, he said: There was a man coming down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he came among robbers; and having stripped him, they gave wounds to him, they went (away), they left him being half dead. (31) And by chance a priest was coming down by that road: and having seen him, he passed him, he left him. (32) Also a Levite having come upon the place, and having seen him, left him, he passed him. (33) But a Samaritan walked, he came up to him, and having seen him, had compassion; (34) and having come, he bound his wounds, he poured (lit. gave) oil and wine along them; having placed him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (35) And on the (lit. his) morrow he brought forth two denars, he gave them to the host, and said: "Take care of him with these; and the more which thou wilt spend for him, I, if I should return, will pay (lit. give to) thee." (36) Which then of these three, thinkest thou, that he was neighbour (lit. friend) to him who came among the robbers?' (37) And he said: He who shewed (lit. did) the pity to (lit. with) him.' And Jesus said to him: Go, do thou also thus.' (38) And (as they are) walking, he went into a village: a woman, her name being Martha, received him to her into her house. (39) And she (lit. this) had a sister called Mary.' And having sat at (the) feet of the Lord, she was hearing his word. (40) But Martha was (imperf.) anxious about much ministering. Having stood, she said: Lord, carest thou not, that my sister left me alone to minister? Bid her then that she help me.' (41) Jesus answered, he said to her: Martha, Martha, thou takest care, and thou art troubled concerning many things: (42) but (of) few things is the need, or (of) one: for Mary chose for herself the good part, which will not be taken away from her.'

11

(1) And it came to pass, (that) he being in a place, praying, having ceased, one of his disciples said to him: 'Lord, teach us to pray, according as John taught his disciples.' (2) And he said to them: When ye should pray, say: Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in (the) heaven, so upon the earth. (3) Give to us daily our bread which cometh. (4) And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation.' (5) And he said to them: 'Which of you hath a friend, and he go unto him at midnight, and say to him: "My friend, lend to me three loaves; (6) because a friend of mine came unto me from (the) road, and there is not that which I shall (lit. will) set before him;" (7) and he also who is inside answers and says: "Trouble me not; for I have shut my door, and my children are with me upon my bed (lit. place of sleep); it is not possible for me to rise and give to thee." (8) I say to you, that even if he should not rise to give to him, because he is his friend, but because of his importunity he shall rise and give to him the things of which he had need. (9) I also say to you: "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and ye will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you." (10) For every one who asketh receiveth; and he who seeketh findeth; and to him who knocketh, they open. (11) And what father who is among you, whose son will ask him for a loaf, will he give a stone to him? Or he ask him for a fish, will he instead of a fish give a serpent to him? (12) Or he ask an egg, will he give a scorpion to him? (13) If then ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your sons, how much rather will the Father give the (lit. a) Holy Spirit in (the) heaven to them who ask him?' (14) And he was casting out a deaf demon. And it came to pass (that), the demon having come out, the deaf spake; and the multitudes wondered. (15) But some of them said: By(lit. in) Belzebul (the) ruler of the demons he cast out the demons.' (16) And others, tempting, were seeking for a sign from him out of (the) heaven. (17) But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom if it should be divided against itself is desolated; and a house against a house falleth. (18) And if Satan also was divided against himself, how then will his kingdom be able to stand? because ye say, that by (lit. in) Belzebul I cast out the demons. (19) And if I by (lit. in) Belzebul cast out the demons, by (lit. in) whom did your sons cast out? therefore they are judges to you. (20) But if I by (lit. in) the (lit. a) finger of God cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God reached you. (21) For if the strong man should arm himself and keep his court, his possessions are in peace: (22) but if a stronger than he come upon him, and conquer him, he taketh away his armour to which he was trusting, and he scattereth his spoils. (23) He who is not with me was against me; and he who gathereth not with me scattereth me away. (24) If the unclean spirit should come from the man, he passeth through dry places seeking for a resting-place; and if he should not find, then he said: "I shall (lit. will) return to my house from which I came." (25) And if he should come and find it empty, swept, garnished; (26) then he goeth and findeth seven other spirits more evil than himself, and if they should go in, they dwell there, and the last (states) of that man are worse than his first.' (27) And it came to pass (that as he is) saying these (things), a woman lifted up a voice from the multitude, she said to him: Blessed is the womb which bare (lit. lifted) thee, and the breasts which nourished thee.' (28) But he said to her: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and who keep it.' (29) And the multitudes being about to assemble, he began to say: This generation is an evil generation, seeking for a sign; and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jona the prophet. (30) For according as Jona was a sign to the Ninevites, thus also (the) Son of (the) man will be to this generation. (31) The queen of the south shall rise in the judgement with the men of this generation, and shall judge them: because she came from the ends of (the) earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and lo, greater than Solomon (is) here. (32) The men of Nineve will rise in the judgement with this generation, and will judge it: because they repented at the preaching of Jona, and lo, greater than Jona (is) here. (33) No one lighteth a lamp and setteth it in a secret place, nor under a measurer, but upon the lampstand, that they who go in may see the light. (34) (The) lamp of thy body is thine eye: if thine eye is single, all thy body shall give light; but if (it) is evil, all thy body is dark. (35) Take heed lest the light which is in thee is darkness. (36) If then all thy body is light, having no part dark, all shall be shining, as the lamp with the flashing shall give light.' (37) And he having spoken, a Pharisee besought him that would eat with him: and having entered, he sat down to meat. (38) And the Pharisee having seen, wondered that he washed not first before the eating. (39) And Jesus said to him: Now ye of the Pharisees cleanse outside of the cup and the dish; but inside of you (is) full of extortion and wickedness. (40) Senseless (men), did not he, who made outside, also make inside? (41) But the things which ye have (lit. which are) give for (the) alms; and lo, all things are cleansed to you. (42) But woe to you, Pharisees! because ye give (the) tenth of the mint and the rue and every herb, and ye leave (out) [the] judgement and the love of God: but these it was (imperf.) right that ye should do, and the others that ye should not have left (out). (43) Woe to you, Pharisees! because ye love the first sittings in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places. (44) Woe to you! because ye are as the sepulchres which appear not, and the men who walk upon them know not.' (45) And one of the lawyers answered, he said to him: Teacher, saying these (things) thou reproachest us also.' (46) And he said: Ye also of the lawyers, woe to you! because ye place burdens painful to be borne upon [the] men, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. (47) Woe to you! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets; your fathers killed them. (48) Then ye bear witness and agree to the works of your fathers: because they indeed killed them, ye build. (49) Therefore also the wisdom of God said: "I shall (lit. will) send to them prophets and apostles, and they shall kill (some) of them, and they shall persecute them;" (50) that (the) blood of the prophets, which was shed from (the) foundation of the world, may be avenged on this generation; (51) from (the) blood of Abel unto (the) blood of Zacharias (the) son of Barachias, whom they destroyed between the altar and the House: yea, I say to you, that it will all be sought for from this generation. (52) Woe to you, Lawyers! because ye took away the keys of (the) knowledge: ye came not in yourselves, and them who are coining in ye hindered.' (53) And he having come from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to watch (him) maliciously, and to speak to him concerning many things: (54) using subtlety to ensnare him with a word from his mouth.

12

(1) In the mean time myriads of multitude having assembled, so that they trode upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first: Beware of (the) leaven of the Pharisees, which is their hypocrisy. (2) There is not anything covered, (so) that it will not be revealed; and there is not that which is hidden, (so) that it will not be known. (3) For the things which ye will say in (the) darkness will be heard in (the) light; and that which ye spake in (the) ear in the chambers shall be preached upon the housetops. (4) And I say to you my friends: "Fear not them who will kill your body, and after these (things) they have not anything more to do." (5) But I shall (lit. will) tell you whom (ye shall) fear (imperative). Fear him who after his killing hath authority to cast to the Geenna; yea, I say to you: "Fear this (one)." (6) Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? and one of them is not forgotten before God. (7) But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are better than many sparrows. (8) And I say to you, that every one who will confess me before [the] men, (the) Son of (the) man also will confess him before the angels of God: (9) but he who will deny me before [the men] will be denied also before the angels of God. (10) And every one who will say a word at (the) Son of (the) man, it will be forgiven him: but he who will blaspheme the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him. (11) When they should bring you into the synagogues, and (before) the rulers, and the authorities, take no care how or what ye will answer, or what ye will say. (12) For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour the things which it will be right to say.' (13) And one said to him from the multitude: 'Teacher, bid my brother divide with me the inheritance.' (14) But he said: Man, who set me for judge or for divider over you?' (15) And he said to them: Take heed, and keep yourselves from all taking by violence: because (the) life was not consisting for the man out of (the) abundance of that which he hath.' (16) And he spake (lit. said) a parable to them, saying: There was a rich man whose country was fertile:" (17) and he was reasoning in himself, saying: "What shall (lit. will) I do, because I have not place to which to gather my fruits?" (18) And he said: "This I will do: I will overthrow my barns, and I will build them greater, and I gather thither all my wheat and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul: My soul, there are many goods laid up for thee for many years; rest thyself, eat, drink, delight thyself.'" (20) But God said to him: "Senseless (man), in this night they will take away thy soul from thee; the things which thou gatheredst, whose will they be?" (21) This is as he who layeth up (lit. throweth in) for himself, and is not rich toward (lit. in) God.' (22) And he said to his disciples: "Therefore I say to you: "Do not take care about your life (lit. soul), viz. what will ye eat; nor about your body, viz. with what will ye clothe yourselves. (23) For the life (lit. soul) is better than the food, and the body than the raiment. (24) Consider the ravens, that they sow not and reap not; which have not storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much better are ye than the birds (25) For which of you, taking care, is it possible to add (lit. place upon) a cubit to his stature? (26) If then it is not possible for you (to do) a little, wherefore take ye care about (the) rest? (27) Consider the flowers, how they grow, they toil not, nor spin; yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself not as one of these. (28) But if thus God robeth the grass, (which) is to-day in (the) field, and to-morrow they cast it to the oven, how much rather (shall he clothe you, ye) of [the] little faith? (29) And seek not ye also what ye will eat, and what ye will drink, and take not care. (30) For all these (things) the Gentiles of the world seek for: your Father knoweth that ye have need of these (things). (31) But seek for his kingdom, and all (these) things will be added to you. (32) Fear not, little flock, because your Father was well pleased to give to you the kingdom. (33) Sell your possessions, give them for alms; make for you purses (which) become not old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, the place to which thieves approach not, nor moth destroyeth. (34) For the place in which your treasure (is), your heart shall be there. (35) Let your loins be girt, and your lamps kindled; (36) and ye also like to men looking for their Lord, when he will return (lit. unloose) from the marriage feast; that if he should come and knock, they may immediately open to him. (37) Blessed are those servants, [who] if their Lord should come, and find them watching: verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and stand and minister to them. (38) And if he should come in the second, and if he should come in the third watch, and find them watching thus, blessed are those (servants). (39) But know this, that (if) the owner-ofthe-house knew (inaperf.) in what hour the thief cometh, he would have watched, and would not have permitted them to break through his house. (40) And be ye also prepared: because in the hour which ye know not (the) Son of (the) man cometh."' (41) And Peter said: Lord, saidst thou this parable to us, or saidst thou it to all?' (42) And the Lord said: Who then is the faithful steward and wise, whom his Lord will set over his servants, that he may give to them their food in (the) time of giving it? (43) Blessed is that servant, [who] if his Lord should come and find him doing thus. (44) Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all his possessions. (45) But if that servant should say in his heart: "My Lord will delay; he cometh not yet;" and begin to strike (lit. throw) the servants and the women servants, and eat and drink, and be drunken; (46) the Lord of that servant will come in the day (in) which he expecteth him not, and in the hour which he knoweth not, and he will cut him asunder, and will set his part with the unbelievers. (47) And that servant, who knew (the) wish of his Lord, and who prepared not, and did not according to his wish, will be given many stripes; (48) but he who knew not, and did the things which are worthy of stripes, will be given few stripes. From every one to whom they gave much, they will seek for much and of him to whom they committed much, they will ask the more. (49) I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what shall (lit. will) I wish, (rather) than (that) it was already kindled? (50) But I have a baptism to be baptised (with); and how am I straitened until it is finished! (51) Thought ye that I came to send (lit. cast) peace upon the earth? Nay, I say to you; but division. (52) For henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. (53) They shall be divided, a father against a son, and a son against a father; a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against her mother; a mother-in-law against a daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against a mother-in-law.' (54) And he was saying to the multitudes also: When ye should see a cloud having come from the west, ye say immediately: "rain cometh;" and it happeneth thus. (55) And when a south wind (is) blowing, ye say: "Scorching heat will happen." (56) Hypocrites, ye know how to prove (the) face of (the) heaven and the earth, but how know ye not how to prove this time? (57) Wherefore judge ye not the right by your selves alone? (58) For as thou wilt go with thine adversary unto a ruler, give diligence to be quit of him on the road; lest haply he draw thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the exactor, and the exactor cast thee to the prison. (59) I say to thee, that thou shalt not come from there, until thou payest the last mite.'

13

(1) There had come to him at that time some telling him concerning the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices. (2) And he answered, he said to them: Thought ye that these Galileans were sinners beyond all the Galileans, because they received these pains? (3) Nay, I say to you: but if ye should not repent, ye will all perish thus. (4) Or the eighteen men, upon whom the tower fell in the Siloam, and killed them, thought ye that these were debtors beyond all men who dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) Nay, I say to you: but if ye should not repent, ye will all perish thus.' (6) And he was speaking (lit. saying) this parable to them: (A certain) one had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; and he came, he sought for fruit on it, he found not. (7) And he said to the vinedresser: "Lo, for (lit. from) three years I come (lit. coming) seeking for fruit in this fig-tree, and I find not: cut it down then; why maketh it also useless any longer the earth? (8) And he answered, he said to him: "My Lord, leave it this year also, until I dig under it, and dung it: (9) perhaps it may bring forth fruit in the year also which cometh: but if it should not bring (forth), thou shalt cut it down." ' (10) And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on (the) sabbath. (11) And behold, a woman having (lit. being set) a spirit of sickness with her for eighteen years; and she was (imperf.) bent, unable to straighten herself at all. (12) And Jesus having seen her, called her, and said to her: Woman, thou art unloosed (lit. set) from thy sickness.' (13) And he laid his hands upon her: and she was straightened immediately, and glorified God. (14) And the ruler of the synagogue answered, being angry because Jesus healed her on (the) sabbath, he was saying to the multitude: (There are) six days on which it is lawful to work: on them then come, and let them be healed, and on (the) day of (the) sabbath not.' (15) But Jesus answered him and said: Hypocrites, doth not each of you unloose his cow or his ass from the manger on (the) sabbath, and taketh them and giveth them to drink? (16) And this (woman), being a daughter of Abraam, whom Satan bound, lo, eighteen years; was it not lawful to loose her from this bond on (the) day of (the) sabbath?' (17) And (as he is) speaking these (things), they who were against him were (imperf.) all ashamed: and all the people were rejoicing over all the noble things which were done by him. (18) He was saying then: To what was the kingdom of God like? and to what am I to liken it? (19) It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, he sowed it in his garden; and it grew and became a tree; and the birds of (the) heaven lodged upon its branches.' (20) And again he said: To what am I to liken the kingdom of God? (21) It is like leaven, which a woman took, she hid it in three measures of meal, until all was leavened.' (22) And he was walking (through) every city and village, teaching, and making his journey to Jerusalem. (23) And one said to him: Lord, (are there) few who will be saved?' And he said to them: (24) Strive to come in at the narrow door: because there are many, I say to you, (who) will seek for coming in, and they shall not be able. (25) If the owner-of-the-house should come to rise, and shut the door, and ye begin to stand outside, and to knock the door, [and] saying: "Lord, open to us;" and he answer and say to you: "I know you not whence ye are." (26) Then ye shall begin to say: "We ate before thee and we drank, and thou taughtest in our streets;" (27) and he will say: "I know you not whence ye are; go from me, all the workers of [the] unrighteousness." (28) (In) that place will be (the) weeping and (the) gnashing of the teeth, when ye should see Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, but yourselves cast out. (29) And they shall come from the risings and the settings, and (the) north and the south, and they shall sit down to meat in the kingdom of God. (30) And lo, there are last about to be first, and first about to be last.' (31) And in that day the Pharisees came to him, saying to him: 'Go, and depart (from) this (place); because Herod wishes to kill thee.' (32) And he said to them: Go, say to this fox (fem.): "Lo, I cast out devils, and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and on the third day I shall (lit. will) finish." (33) But I must have (lit. make) to-day and to-morrow and the next day (lit. which cometh), and go: because it is not right (lit. set) that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. (34) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killed the prophets, and cast stones upon them who were sent to her! How many times I wished to gather thy sons, as a hen (gathereth) her (lit. his) brood under her (lit. his) wings, and ye wished not! (35) Behold, your house is left to you: and I say to you, that ye shall not see me henceforth, until ye say: "Blessed is he who cometh in (the) name of the Lord."'

14

(1) And it came to pass that (lit. and) he having come into (the) house of a ruler of the Pharisees on (the) sabbath to eat bread, they were observing him. (2) And lo, there was a man who had the dropsy, set before him. (3) And Jesus answered, he said to the lawyers and the Pharisees, saying: 'It it lawful to do good on (the) sabbath or not? ' (4) And they held their peace. And he took hold of him, he cured him, he sent him away. (5) And he said to them: Which (is there) of you--whose ass or his cow will fall into a well, and he will not draw (lit. bring) him up on (the) day of the sabbaths?' (6) And they could not answer him against these (things). (7) And he was speaking (lit. saying) a parable to them who were invited, seeing how they were choosing for themselves the first seats, saying: (8) When one should invite thee to marriage feasts, sit not down to meat at the first seat, lest another more noble than thou was invited, (9) and he who invited thee and him come and say to thee: "Leave the place for this (one);" then thou wilt begin with shame to occupy the last place. (10) But when thou shouldest be invited, go, sit down to meat in the last (place), that, when he who invited thee should come, he may say to thee: "My friend, remove thee up (higher):" then there shall be glory for thee before all who sit down to meat with thee. (11) Because every one who will exalt himself will be humiliated, and he who will humiliate himself will be exalted.' (12) And he was saying to him who invited him: When thou shouldest make a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy kinsfolk, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they invite thee also, and a recompense be made to thee. (13) But if thou shouldest make a feast, call poor, impotent, lame, blind: (14) and thou wilt be blessed; because they have not (wherewith) to recompense thee: for thou wilt be recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous.' (15) And one of them who sat at meat, having heard these (things), said: Blessed is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.' (16) But he said to him: (There was) a man who made a great supper; and invited many: (17) and he sent his servant at (the) hour of supper to say to them who were invited, to make them come: "Now all things are prepared." (18) And they all began to make excuse with one voice (lit. cry). The first said: "I bought a field, and there is necessity for me to go out and see it: I beseech thee, put me from thee as that I do not conic." (19) And another said: "I bought five yoke (lit. plough) of oxen, and I shall (lit. will) go and prove them: I beseech thee, put me from thee as that I come not." (20) And another said: "I have taken a wife, and therefore I shall (lit. will) not come." (21) And the servant having come, told his lord. Then the owner-of-the-house having been angry said to his servant: "Go out quickly to the streets and the lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the impotent, and the blind." (22) And the servant said: "Lord, the thing which thou commandedst was done, and yet there is room." (23) And the lord of the servant said to him: "Go out to the roads and the hedges, and compel to come in, that my house may be filled: (24) For I say to you, that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper."' (25) And great multitudes were walking with him: and having turned, he said to them: (26) He who cometh to me, and who will not hate his father, and his mother, and his wife, and his sons, and his brothers, and his sisters, and further even his very life, it is not possible for him to be disciple to me. (27) (28) For which of you, wishing to build a tower, will not sit first and count the cost, whether he have (wherewith) to complete it? (29) Lest he lay the foundation, and it is not possible to finish it; and all who see begin to mock him, (30) saying: "This man began to build, and he could not finish it." (31) Or what king, who will go to (the) war to fight with another king, will not sit first and take counsel, whether it is possible for him with ten thousand to meet him who cometh upon him with twenty thousand? (32) Otherwise, while he is yet distant from him, he sendeth an embassy, seeking for peace. (33) Thus for every one who is among you, who will not renounce all his possessions, it is not possible to be disciple to me. (34) [The] salt is good: but if the salt lose its savour, with what is it to be salted? (35) Neither (for) the earth nor the dunghill is it useful: but they cast it out. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

15

(1) And all the publicans and the sinners were drawing themselves near to him to hear him. (2) And the Pharisees and the scribes were murmuring, saying that this (man) receiveth the sinners to him, and eateth with them. (3) He spake (lit. said) this parable to them, saying: (4) What man who is among you, who hath a hundred sheep, if he should lose one of them,--leaveth he not the ninety-nine on (the) desert, and goeth, and seeketh for that which was lost, until he find it? (5) And if he should find it, he placeth it upon his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) And if he should come to the house, he calleth his friends and his neighbours, saying to them: "Rejoice all with me, because I found my sheep which was lost. (7) I say to you, that there is joy to be in (the) heaven over one sinner repenting, (more) than over the ninety-nine righteous. (8) Or what woman who has ten half didrachmas, if she should lose one of them, lighteth not a lamp, and sweepeth the house, and seeketh carefully until she find it? (9) And if she should find it, she calleth her friends and neighbours, saying: "Rejoice with me, because I found my half didrachma which was lost." (10) Thus I say to you, that there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner repenting.' (11) And he said: There was a man who had two sons: (12) and the younger of (lit. who was in) them said to his father: "My father, give to me my portion of the substance." And he divided the living among them. (13) And after not many days the younger son gathered everything, he went to (the) foreign (land) to a distant country; and he scattered his substance there, living dissolutely. (14) And having quite spent everything, a great famine happened in that country; and he also began to be in want. (15) And he went, he joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him to (the) field to feed swine. (16) And he was desiring to fill his belly with the pods which the swine were eating: and there was no one giving to him. (17) But his right-mind (lit. heart) having come to him, he said: "How many are there of hirelings of my father, (who) have [the] bread in abundance, and I shall (lit. will) perish here in famine! (18) I will rise and go to my father, and say to him: My father, I sinned against (the) heaven, and before thee: (19) I am no longer worthy to be called "thy son:" make me as one of thy hirelings.'" (20) And he rose, he came to his father. But yet being distant from him, his father saw him, and had compassion, he ran, he threw himself upon his neck, and kissed his mouth. (21) And his son said to him: "My father, I sinned against (the) heaven, and before thee: I am not worthy any longer to be called thy son.'" (22) And his father said to his servants: "Be quick, bring out the first robe, and clothe him; and put (lit. give) a ring on (lit. to) his hand, and shoe on (lit. to) his feet: (23) and bring the fatted calf, slay it, and let us eat, and delight ourselves: (24) because this my son was (imperf.) dead, and lived; he was (imperf.) lost, and we found him." And they began to delight themselves. (25) Now his elder (lit. great) son was (imperf.) in (the) field: and as he (is) coming up, he approached to the house, he heard music and dances. (26) And having called one of the servants (lit. children), he was asking him what were these (things). (27) And he said to him: "Thy brother came; and thy father slew the fatted calf, because he received him in health." (28) But he was angry, and wished not to come in: and his father having come out, was beseeching him. (29) But he having answered, said to his father: "Lo, how many years do I serve thee? and I never transgressed a commandment of thine: and to me thou never gavest a kid, that I might delight myself with my friends: (30) but when thy son came, he (lit. this) who ate (up) his living with the harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf." (31) And he said to him: "My son, thou art with me always, and all the things which are mine are thine. (32) It was (imperf.) right that we should delight ourselves and rejoice: because this thy brother was (imperf.) dead, and he lived; he was (imperf.) lost, and we found him."'

16

(1) And he was saying to the disciples: 'There was a rich man, who had a steward; and this (man) was accused before him as scattering his possessions. (2) And having called him, he said to him: "What is this which I hear concerning thee? Give (the) account of the stewardship; for thou wilt be steward no longer." (3) And the steward said in himself: "What shall (lit. will) I do? My lord will take away the stewardship from me. I shall (lit. will) not be able to dig; and I am ashamed to need alms. (4) I know (lit. knew) what I will do, that, when I should be cast out of the stewardship, they may receive me to them into their houses." (5) And having called each of the debtors of his lord, he was saying to the first: "How much owest thou to my lord?" (6) And he said: "A hundred baths of oil." And heo said: "Take thy writings, sit and quickly write fifty." (7) Then he said to another: "And how much owest thou?" And he said: "A hundred cors of wheat." He said to him: "Take thy writings, and write eighty." (8) And the lord commended the steward of [the] unrighteousness because he did wisely: because the sons of this age are wiser than the sons of (the) light in their generation. (9) And I also say to you: "Make for you friends out of mamon of (the) unrighteousness; that, when they should fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." (10) The faithful in little is faithful also in great: and he who taketh by violence in little, taketh by violence also in great. (11) If then in the unrighteous mamon ye were not faithful, who then will be able to entrust you with the true? (12) And if in that which is not yours ye were not faithful, who will be able to give to you that which is yours? (13) No servant will be able to serve two lords: for either he will hate one, and the other he will love; or he will hearken to one, and the other he will despise. It is not possible for you to serve God and mamon.' (14) And the Pharisees who were lovers of silver were hearing all these (things), and they were deriding him. (15) And he said to them: Ye are they who justify themselves before the men; but God knoweth your hearts: because (the) pride which is in the man is an abomination before God. (16) The law and the prophets (were) until John: from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one taketh himself by violence into it. (17) But it is easier that (the) heaven and (the) earth pass away, than that a point fall from the law. (18) Every one who putteth away his wife, and who taketh another committeth adultery: and he who taketh her who is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (19) Now there was a rich man, and he used to clothe himself with purple and fine linen, delighting (himself) daily sumptuously: (20) and a beggar also, his name being Lazarus, lying (lit. thrown) into his porch, being (full) of wounds, (21) and desiring to fill his belly with the things which fall from the table of the rich (man); moreover, even the dogs were coming, licking his wounds. (22) And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and he was taken away by angels to the bosom of Abraam: and the rich man also died, and he was embalmed. (23) And in Amenti having lifted up his eyes, being in pains, he saw Abraam afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (24) And he having called said: "My father Abraam, pity me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; because I am in pain in this fiame." (25) Abraam said: "My son, remember that thou finishedst receiving thy good (things) in thy life, and Lazarus also the evil (things): but now he is comforted here, and thou art in pain. (26) And beside (lit. in) all these (things) there is a great pit fixed between us and you, that they who wish to pass from here (lit. this) to you should not be able, nor they who are with you to cross to us." (27) And he said: "I beseech thee, my father, that thou wouldest send him to (the) house of my father; (28) for I have five brothers; that he may bear witness to them, that they may not come also to this place of this pain." (29) And Abraam said: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hearken to them. (30) And he said: "Nay, my father, Abraam: but if one should go to them from the dead they will repent." (31) And he said to him: "If they will hearken not to Moses and the prophets, neither, if one should rise from the dead, will they be persuaded."'

17

(1) And he said to his disciples: 'It is necessary that the offences come: but woe to him by whom the offence cometh! (2) It is good for him, that a millstone be hanged to him, and that he be cast into the sea, (rather) than that he offend one of these little ones. (3) Give heed to yourselves: if thy brother should sin, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him. (4) And if he should sin against thee seven times in the day, and return to thee seven times, saying: "I repent;" forgive him.' (5) And the apostles said to the Lord: Add faith to us.' (6) And the Lord said: If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say to the sycamine-tree: "Be plucked up, and grow up in the sea; and it would hearken to you. (7) And which of you, who hath a servant ploughing or feeding, (is it) who, if he should come in from (the) field, will say immediately to him: "Come up, sit down to meat'?" (8) Will he not say to him: "Prepare that which I shall (lit. will) eat, and gird thyself, minister to me, until I eat and drink; and after these (things) thou also eat and drink? (9) Hath he thanks for the servant, because he did the things which he commanded him? (10) Thus ye also, if ye should do all things which were commanded you, say: "We (are) unprofitable servants; that which we ought to do, we did."' (11) It came to pass (as he is) going up to Jerusalem, that (lit. and) he was passing through (the) midst of (the) Samaria and Galilee. (12) And being about to go into a village, ten men, lepers, met him; and they were standing afar off: (13) and they were lifting-up their voice, saying: Jesus, the Teacher, pity us.' (14) And having seen, he said to them: Go shew yourselves to the priest.' And it came to pass (that as they are) going they were cleansed. (15) And one of them, having seen that he recovered, returned with a loud voice glorifying God. (16) And he threw himself upon his face at his feet, giving thanks to him: and this (one) was a Samaritan. (17) And Jesus answered, he said: 'Were not the ten cleansed? where are the other nine? is (18) And there were not found who returned to glorify God, except this alien.' (19) And he said to him: 'Rise, go, thy faith saved thee.' (20) And the Pharisees having asked him, when the kingdom of God is to come, he answered them, and said: 'The kingdom of God was not to come with (lit. in) observation: (21) neither will they say that it is here, or it is there; for behold, the kingdom of God (is) inside of you.' (22) And he said to his disciples: Days come, when ye will desire to see one of the days of (the) Son of (the) man, and ye shall not see. (23) And they shall say to you: "Lo, he is there, or he is here:" go not, nor run: (24) as the lightning manifesteth itself in (the) heaven, and giveth light below (the) heaven: this is as (the) Son of (the) man will be in his day. (25) But first he must suffer much, and this generation reject him. (26) And according as it was in the days of Noe, thus will it be in the days of (the) Son of God. (27) They were eating, and they were drinking, they were taking wives, they were taking husbands, until the day (in) which Noe went into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed every one. (28) As again it was in the days of Lot; they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; (29) but in the day (in) which Lot came from Sodom, he rained fire and brimstone from (the) heaven, and destroyed every one. (30) According to these same (things) again it is to be in the day in which (the) Son of (the) man will be revealed. (31) And in that day he who is upon (the) housetop, and his goods being in the house, make him not come down to take them away: and he who is in (the) field--likewise (lit. thus again) make him not return back. (32) Remember (the) wife of Lot. (33) He who will seek for saving his life (lit. soul) will lose it: he who will lose it shall make it live. (34) I say to you, that in this night two shall be upon one bed; the one shall be taken away, and the other shall be left. (35) Two women shall be grinding in a place; one shall be taken away, and the other shall be left.' (36) (37) And they answered, they said to him: In what place, Lord?' And he said to them: 'The place in which (the) body is, the eagles also will assemble thither.'

18

(1) And he was speaking (lit, saying) a parable to them for their praying always, and that they should not faint, (2) saying: There was a judge in a city, he feareth not before God, and he is not ashamed before [the] men: (3) and there was a widow in that city; and she was coming to him, saying: "Avenge me of him who offereth me violence." (4) And he was not wishing (to do it) for (lit. until) a time: but after these (things) he said in himself: "Let it be that I fear not before God, and am not ashamed before [the] men; (5) because that this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, that she may not come until the end (lit, out) troubling me."' (6) And the Lord said: Hear what the judge of [the] unrighteousness saith. (7) And will not God avenge his chosen, these who cry to him in the day and the night, and he is long-suffering over them? (8) Yea, I say to you, that he will avenge them quickly. But if (the) Son of (the) man should come, will he then find (the) faith upon the earth? ' (9) He said concerning some, who said of (lit. to) themselves that (they) were righteous, and (were) despising also the rest, this parable, saying: (10) Two men went up to the temple to pray; the one was a Pharisee, the other was a publican. (11) And the Pharisee having stood was praying these (things) in himself: "God, I give thanks to thee that I am not as (the) rest of the men, extortioners, violent, adulterous, or even as this publican. (12) I fast twice a week; I give (the) tenth of all things which I get." (13) But the publican, standing afar off, was not wishing even to lift his eyes up to (the) heaven, but was striking upon (lit. in) his breast, saying: "God forgive me, because I (am) a sinner." (14) I say to you, that this (one) went down justified into his house (rather) than that (one): because every one who will exalt himself will be humiliated; but he who will humiliate himself will be exalted.' (15) And they were bringing to him children, that he might touch them: but the disciples having seen (it) were rebuking them. (16) But Jesus called them, saying: Permit the children to come to me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. (17) Verily I say to you, that he who will not receive the kingdom of God to him as this child, shall not come into it.' (18) And a ruler asked him, saying: Good Teacher, what shall (lit. will) I do that I may inherit eternal life? (19) And Jesus said to him: Wherefore sayest thou of me: "The good?" there is not any one good except God alone. (20) Thou knowest the commandments; commit not adultery, kill not, steal not, bear not false witness, honour thy father and thy mother.' (21) And he said: 'All these I kept from my childhood.' (22) And Jesus having heard, said to him: Yet (there) is another thing which thou lackest: sell all things which thou hast, and distribute them to the poor, and thou shalt get for thee a treasure in the heavens, and come, walk after me.' (23) But he having heard, was grieved, for he was very rich. (24) And Jesus having seen him, said: 'How difficult it is for them who have the riches to come into the kingdom of God! (25) For it is easy that a camel come in through (the) eye of the needle, (rather) than that a rich man come into the kingdom of God.' (26) And they who heard said: For whom, indeed, is it possible to be saved?' (27) But he said: "The things impossible for [the] men are possible for God.' (28) And Peter said: 'Lo, we laid (down) that we had, we walked after thee.' (29) And he said to them: Verily I say to you, that there is not any one who left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or sons, because of the kingdom of God, (30) (but) that he will receive them manifold in this time, and in the age which cometh), eternal life.' (31) And having brought (close) to him the twelve, he said to them: Lo, we shall (lit. will) go up to Jerusalem, and all things will be fulfilled, which are written by the prophets concerning (the) Son of (the) man. (32) For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and he will he mocked, and he will be reviled, and they will spit upon him (lit. his face): (33) and if they should scourge him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.' (34) And they understood not any of these (things); and the word was (imperf.) hidden from (lit. to) them, and they were not knowing the things which he was saying. (35) And it came to pass (that), he having approached Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road needing alms: (36) and having heard a multitude passing, he was asking: 'What is this?' (37) And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth (lit. the Nazôreos) passeth. (38) And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, pity me.' (39) And they who were walking before were rebuking him, that he should hold his peace: but he was rather crying out the more: Son of David, pity me.' (40) And Jesus having stood, commanded to bring him to him: and he having approached him, he asked him: (41) What wishest thou that I should do to thee?' And he said: My Lord, that I may see.' (42) And Jesus said to him: 'See: thy faith saved thee.' (43) And immediately he saw, and walked after him, glorifying God: and all the people having seen, blessed God.

19

(1) And having entered, he was walking in Jericho. (2) And lo, a man, his name being called Zacchæus,' and this (one) was a chief publican, and he was rich. (3) And he was seeking to see Jesus, who (he) is; and he was not able because of the multitude, because he was little in his stature. (4) Having run on before, he went up on a sycomore tree, that he might see him: and he was passing by (lit. through) it. (5) And having come upon the place, Jesus gazed at him, he said to him: Zacchæus, haste thee, come down; for to-day I must abide in thy house.' (6) And he hasted himself, he came down, and received him to himself rejoicing. (7) And all they who saw, murmured, saying: `He went into (the) house of a man (who is) a sinner to rest himself.' (8) Zacchæus stood, he said to the Lord: `Lord, lo, I give (the) half of my possessions to the poor; and he from whom I took anything by violence, I shall (lit. will) restore (lit. double them) to him fourfold.' (9) And he said to him: To-day (the) salvation happened in this house, because he also is a son of Abraam. (10) For (the) Son of (the) man came to seek and to save that which was lost.' (11) And (as they are) hearing these (things), he added and (lit. to) said a parable, because that he was approaching Jerusalem, and they were thinking that the kingdom of God will appear immediately. (12) He said then: There was a nobleman, he went to a distant country to receive a kingdom, and to return. (13) And having called ten servants of his, he gave ten pounds to them, saying: "Trade in these until I come." (14) But his citizens were hating him, and they sent an embassy after (lit. behind) him, saying: "We wish not this (man) to be king over us." (15) And it came to pass (that) having returned, (after) having received the kingdom, he bid them call the servants, these to whom he gave the silver, that he might know what trading they did. (16) And the first came, saying: "My lord, thy pound made ten pounds." (17) And he said to him: "Well, good servant, because that thou wast faithful in little things. be thou having authority over ten cities." (18) And the second came, saying: "My lord, thy pound made five pounds." (19) And he said again to this (one) also: "Be thou too over five cities." (20) And the other came, saying: "My lord, behold, thy pound, it is with me; I wrapped it in a napkin: (21) I was fearing thee, because thou (art) a hard man: thou takest up that which thou laidst not down, and thou reapest that which thou sowedst not." (22) He said to him: "From thy mouth I will judge thee, Wicked servant. If thou knowest that I (am) a hard man, taking up that which I laid not down, and reaping that which I sowed not; (23) wherefore gavest thou not my silver to the bank, and if I should come, I should have required it with its increase?" (24) And he said to them who stood (by): "Take away the pound from this (man), and give it to him who hath the ten pounds. (25) (26) I say to you, that to every one who hath, it shall be given; but from him who hath not, that which he hath will be taken away from him. (27) But my enemies, these who wished not me to be king over them, bring them here, and slaughter them before me." ' (28) And having said these (things), he was walking on before, going up to Jerusalem. (29) And it came to pass, (that) having approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain which they call, Of the Olives,' he sent two of his disciples, (30) saying: Go to this village which is in front of you; ye will find a colt tied, upon which no man ever mounted: loose him, bring him. (31) And if any one should ask you wherefore ye loose him, say thus: "The Lord hath need of him."' (32) And they, who were sent, having gone, found according as he said to them. (33) And (as they are) loosing the colt, his masters said to them: Wherefore loose ye the colt?' (34) And they said: The Lord hath need of him.' (35) And they brought him to Jesus: and having cast forth their garments upon the colt, they placed Jesus on him. (36) And (as they are) walking they were spreading their garments on the road. (37) And (as he is) about to approach now the place of coming down of the mountain of the Olives, all the multitude of the disciples began rejoicing, blessing God with a loud voice concerning all the mighty works which they saw; (38) saying: Blessed is the King who cometh in (the) name of the Lord: peace in (the) heaven, and glory in the highest.' (39) And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him: Teacher, rebuke thy disciples.' (40) And he answered, he said: I say to you, that if these should hold their peace, these stones will cry out.' (41) And when he approached, having seen the city, he wept over it, (42) saying: If thou even wert knowing in this day the things of thy peace! but now they were hid from thine eyes. (43) Because days will come upon thee, and thine enemies will enclose thee with a palisade, and they will surround thee, and they will press thee on every side, (44) and they shall hurl thee down, and thy sons in thee; and they shall not leave a stone upon a stone in thee; because that thou knewest not (the) time of thy visitation.' (45) And having entered the temple, he began to cast out them who sold, (46) saying to them: ' It is written, that my house shall be a house of prayer: but ye made it a cave of robbers.' (47) And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the first of the people were seeking to destroy him: (48) and they were not finding that which they will do; for all the people were hanging upon him, hearing him.

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(1) And it came to pass in one of the days, (that as he is) teaching in the temple, and preaching good tidings, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders stood; (2) and they said to him: 'Say to us, with what authority didst thou these things? or who gave this authority to thee?' (3) He answered, he said to them I will also ask you a word, and say it to me. (4) The baptism of John, was it from (the) heaven or from [the] men?' (5) And they took counsel with one another, saying: If we should say, that it is from (the) heaven, he will say: "Wherefore believed ye him not?" (6) But if we should say, that it is from [the] men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John is a prophet.' (7) And they answered: We know not whence it is.' (8) And Jesus said to them: Neither will I say to you with what authority I did these things.' (9) And he began to speak to the people this parable: There was a man who planted a vineyard, and gave it to husbandmen, and went to (the) foreign (land) for a long time. (10) And in (the) time he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they might give to him of (the) fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen having beaten him, thrust him away empty. (11) And further (lit. he added to) again he sent to them another servant: and they having beaten this (lit. the) other (one), and having reviled him, thrust him away empty. (12) And further (lit. he added to) again be sent the third; and they wounded this other (one), they cast him out. (13) And the Lord of the vineyard said: "What shall (lit. will) I do? I shall (lit. will) send my beloved son: perhaps they may be ashamed before him." (14) But the husbandmen having seen him, were taking counsel with one another, saying: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be for us." (15) And having cast him outside of the vineyard, they killed him. What will the Lord of the vineyard do to them? (16) He will come, and will destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.' And having heard, they said: 'It shall not be.' (17) But he having gazed at them, said: 'What is this which is written, that the stone which the builders rejected, this was made for a completion of (the) corner? (18) Every one who will fall upon that stone will be broken to pieces; but upon whom it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.' (19) And the scribes and the chief priests were seeking to lay (lit. bring) their hands upon him, even (lit. and) in that hour; and they feared the people: for they knew that he spake (lit. said) this parable concerning them. (20) And having observed (him), they sent to him men of subtlety, using hypocrisy, saying of themselves that (they were) righteous, that they might catch him by word, so as to give him to the rule and the authority of the governor. (21) And they asked him, saying: Teacher, we know that thou speakest rightly and teachest, and acceptest not person, but truly teachest the road of God: (22) is it lawful to give tax to (the) king, or not?' (23) But having observed their craftiness, he said: (24) Shew to me a stater.' And they shewed to him. And he said to them: The image and the superscription which are on it--whose are they?' And they said: (The) king's are they.' (25) And he said to them: Now give (the) king's (things) to (the) king, and give God's (things) to God.' (26) And they could not overpower him in a word before the people: and having wondered at his answerings, they held their peace. (27) And some (men), namely, Sadducees, who say that there is not resurrection, having come, asked him, (28) saying: Teacher, Moses wrote to us, that if (the) brother of any one should die having wife, and this (man) have no son, [that] his brother should take his wife and raise up seed to his brother. (29) There were then seven brothers: and the first having taken the wife died, being without son. (30) And the second took her; (31) and the third; and thus unto the seventh; they left not son, and they died. (32) And at (the) end the woman also herself died. (33) In the resurrection then, of which of them is she to be the wife? for the seven took her for wife.' (34) And Jesus said to them: The sons of this age take (to wife) and are taken: (35) but they who were worthy of that age, and the resurrection [the] from the dead, neither take, nor are taken (to wife): (36) for neither is it possible that they should die any more: for they are equal to angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. (37) But that the dead will rise, Moses also gave sign in the (place concerning) the bush, as he saith: "The Lord, God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob." (38) God is not (the God) of them who are dead, but of them who are alive; for all are alive to him.' (39) And some of the scribes answered, they said: Teacher, thou saidst well.' (40) For they were not able to dare any more to ask him anything. (41) And he said to them: How say they, that Christ is (the) son of David? (42) For David himself saith in (the) book of the Psalms: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou on my right hand, (43) until I put thine enemies below thy feet.'" (44) David then calleth him "My Lord," so (lit. and) how is he his son?' (45) And all the people hearing (it), he said to his disciples: (46) Beware of the scribes, who wish to walk in robes, and (are) loving the salutations in the market-places, and the first sittings in the synagogues, and the first places in the feasts. (47) Who eat the houses of the widows, and in pretence prolonged they pray: these shall receive more judgement.'

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(1) And having gazed up, he saw rich men throwing their gifts into the treasuries. (2) He saw a poor widow also throwing thither two mites. (3) And he said: 'Truly I say to you, that this poor widow threw (more) than all these: (4) for these threw the gifts from their superfluity: this (one), she, from her deficiency, threw all her living which she had (import.). (5) And (as) some (are) saying concerning the temple, that it was garnished with (lit. down in) good stones and offerings, he said: (6) Ye see all these (things): days come in (which) a stone will not be left upon a stone here, (which) will not be pulled down."' (7) And they asked him: Teacher, when will these (things) happen? and what is the sign, if these (things) should be going to happen?' (8) And he said: Take heed, go not astray: for there are many (who) will come in (lit. to) my name, saying: "I am (he). And (the) time approached." Walk not behind them. (9) And when ye should hear wars and tumults, be not frightened; but not immediately is the end.' (10) Then he was saying to them: Nation shall rise upon nation, and kingdom upon kingdom: (11) and great earthquakes shall be, and there shall be famines and deaths in different places; and fears and great signs shall be from (the) heaven. (12) But before all these (things) they shall lay (lit. bring) their hands upon you, and they will persecute you, delivering you to synagogues and prisons, bringing you to the kings and the governors because of my name. (13) And it (lit. he) shall be to you for a witness. (14) Set it then in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand what ye will answer: (15) for I will give to you a mouth and a wisdom, which all, who are against you, will not be able to oppose, nor will they be able to contradict it. (16) But ye will be delivered (up) by parents, and brothers, and kinsfolk, and friends; and they will kill (some) of you. (17) And ye shall be hated by all (lit, be, all hating you) because of my name. (18) And a hair of your head shall not perish. (19) And in your patience ye (are) possessing your souls. (20) When ye should see Jerusalem (with) soldiers surrounding her, then know that her desolation approached. (21) Then they who are in Judea let them flee upon the mountains; and they who are in her midst let them flee out; and they who are in the countries make them not enter her. (22) Because these are the days of (the) vengeance, for all things which are written to be fulfilled. (23) But woe to them who are with child, and them who give suck in those days! for great distress shall be upon (the) earth, and anger for this people. (24) And they shall fall by (lit. in) the edge (lit. mouth) of (the) sword, and they shall be led captive to all the Gentiles: and Jerusalem shall be trodden upon by Gentiles (lit. Gentiles treading upon her), until times be fulfilled; and there shall be times of Gentiles. (25) And there shall be signs in (the) sun, and the moon, and the stars; and tribulation of nations shall be upon the earth, in perplexity for (the) voice of the sea and (the) storm; (26) men (with) their heart (lit, soul) failing (lit. coming from) them from (the) fear, and (the) expectation of the things which come upon the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (27) And they shall see (the) Son of (the) man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (28) But (as) these (things) are about to begin to happen, look up, and raise your heads; because your redemption approacheth.' (29) And he spake (lit. said) a parable to them: See the fig-tree and all the trees: (30) if now they (are) about to unloose (their leaves), seeing by them, ye know that the summer approached. (31) Thus ye also, if ye should see these (things) about to happen, know that the kingdom of God approached. (32) Verily I say to you, that this generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished. (33) (The) heaven and (the) earth will pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (34) But give heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be heavy in surfeitings, and drunkenness (plur.), and cares of life, and suddenly that day come upon you (35) as a snare: for it shall come upon all who are (lit. sit) upon (the) face of all (the) earth. (36) Watch then always, praying that ye may be able to escape all these things which will happen, and stand before (the) Son of (the) man.' (37) And he was spending (lit. doing) the days, teaching in the temple; and the nights he was coming forth, resting himself upon the mountain which is called, 'of the Olives.' (38) And all the people were (coming) early to him in the temple to hear him.

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(1) Now (the) feast of the unleavened was approaching, which is called, 'the Passover.' (2) And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking in what manner they are to destroy him; for they were fearing the people. (3) And Satan entered (the) heart of Judas who is called, '(the) Iscariot,' being of the twelve. (4) And he went, he spake to the chief priests and the captains concerning (the) manner to deliver him to them. (5) And they rejoiced, and they settled with him to give to him silver. (6) And he consented, and he was seeking for opportunity that he might deliver him to them without multitude. (7) And the day of the unleavened came, in which the passover must be slain. (8) And he sent Peter and John, (saying): 'Go, prepare the passover for us, that we may eat it.' (9) And they said to him: 'Where wishest thou to prepare it (10) And he said to them: 'Lo, (as ye are) about to go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; walk after him to the house which he will enter. (11) And say to the owner [of house] of the house: "The Teacher said to thee: Which is the place in which I shall (lit. will) eat my passover with my disciples?'" (12) And that (man) will show to you a great room (lit. place) aloft, spread; prepare it there.' (13) And having gone, they found according as he said to them, and they prepared the passover. (14) And the hour came, he sat down to meat, and the twelve apostles with him. (15) And he said to them: With (lit. in) desire I desired to eat my passover with you before I suffer. (16) I say to you, that I shall not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' (17) And having taken a cup, he gave thanks, he said: Take this, divide it among you: (18) for I say to you, that I shall not drink henceforth of (the) fruit of this vine, until the kingdom of God come.' (19) And having taken bread, he gave thanks, he brake it, and gave it to them, saying: This is my body which will be given for you: this do for my remembrance.' (20) And the cup likewise (lit. thus again) after the supper, saying: This cup is the new testament in my blood for you. (21) But lo, (the) hand of him who will deliver me (up) is with me upon the table. (22) Because (the) Son of (the) man indeed will go according as it is appointed: but woe to that man by whom he will be delivered (up)!' (23) And they began to ask of (lit. with) one another, which then of them will do this. (24) And there was again a contention among them, which of them is the great (one). (25) And he said to them: The kings of the Gentiles are lords to them; and they who are in authority over them are called, "the benefactors." (26) But ye (are) not thus: but the great (one) who is among you--let him be as the young man; and the chief as the minister (lit. deacon). (27) For which is the great (one), he that sitteth down to meat or he that serveth (lit. is deacon)? Is not he who sitteth down to meat? I am in your midst as he who serveth (lit. is deacon). (28) But ye (are) they who stayed with me in my temptations. (29) I also will establish with you according as my Father established with me a kingdom, (30) that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and sitting upon thrones ye shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel. (31) Simon, Simon, behold, Satan shall ask for you to sift you as the wheat: (32) but I prayed for thee, that thy faith might not fail: and thou also return at once, strengthen thy brothers.' (33) And he said to him: Lord, I am prepared to go to (the) prison with thee and (the) death.' (34) And he said to him: 'I say to thee, Peter, that a cock shall not crow to-day, until thou deniest me three times, that thou knowest.' (35) And he said to them: When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoe, were ye in want of anything?' And they said: 'No (lit. of that).' (36) And he said to them: ' But now he who hath a purse, let him take it up, thus again a scrip: and he who hath not, let him sell his garment, let him buy a sword. (37) For I say to you, that that which is written must be fulfilled in me: He was numbered with the transgressors:" for that which is written concerning me hath its end.' (38) And they said: 'Lord, lo, two swords (are) here.' And he said to them: They suffice.' (39) And having come forth, he went, according to the custom, to the mountain of the Olives; and the disciples also walked after him. (40) And having come to the place, he said to them: Pray that ye shall come not to temptation.' (41) And he separated from them about a stone's cast (lit. the space to cast a stone forth); and having thrown himself upon his knees, he prayed, (42) saying: 'My Father, if thou wishest, let the cup pass from me: but not my will, but let thine be done.' (43) (44) (45) And having risen from the prayer, he came to the disciples, he found them sleeping for (lit. from the) grief. (46) And he said to them: 'Wherefore sleep ye? rise, pray that ye may not come into temptation.' (47) (As he is) yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he who is called, 'Judas,' one of the twelve, was walking before them, and he approached Jesus, he kissed his mouth. (48) And Jesus said to him: Judas, art thou to deliver (up the) Son of (the) man with a kiss?' (49) And they who were around him, having seen that which happened, said: 'Lord, (wilt thou) that we strike with (the) sword?' (50) And one of them struck at (the) servant of the chief priest, and took off his right ear. (51) And Jesus answered, he said: It is sufficient thus far (lit. until here).' And having touched his ear, he cured him. (52) And Jesus said to them who came at him, the chief priests, and the captains of the temple, and the elders: 'Came ye out, as coming at a robber with staves? (53) Being in the temple with you daily, ye stretched not (out) your hands upon me: but this is your hour, and (the) authority of (the) darkness.' (54) And having laid hold on him, they brought him, and took him into (the) house of the chief priest. Peter was walking after him afar off. (55) And (they) having lighted a fire in (the) midst of the court, and having sat, Peter also was sitting in their midst. (56) And a young maid servant having seen him sitting by the light, and having gazed, said: This (man) also was (imperf.) with him.' (57) But he denied, saying: I know him not, Woman.' (58) And after another little (time), another having seen him, said: Thou (art) of them also.' But Peter said: 'Man, I am not.' (59) And (the) space of an hour having been, another was affirming of him, saying: 'In truth this (man) also was (imperf.) with him: for (he) is a Galilæan.' (60) But Peter said: Man, I know not that which thou sayest.' And immediately, (as he is) yet speaking, a cock crew. (61) And the Lord, having turned himself, gazed at Peter. And Peter remembered (the) word of the Lord, as he said to him: Before a cock crow to-day, thou wilt deny me three times.' (62) And having come forth, he wept bitterly. (63) And the men, who were laying hold on him, were mocking him, beating him. (64) And having covered him, they were asking him, saying: Prophesy to us, who beat thee.' (65) And many other things they were saying against him, blaspheming. (66) And the day having come, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes assembled, and brought him into their council, (67) saying: If thou art Christ, say to us.' He said to them: If I should say to you, ye will not believe: (68) and if I also should ask you, ye will not answer. (69) Henceforth (the) Son of (the) man shall be sitting at the right hand of the power of God.' (70) And they all said: Art thou then (the) Son of God?' And he said to them: Ye say that I am.' (71) And they said: (Are) we having further need of witness? For we ourselves heard (it) from his mouth.'

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(1) And their whole multitude rose, they brought him to Pilate. (2) And they began to accuse him, saying: This (man) we found, who perverteth our nation, and (is) forbidding to give tax to (the) king, saying of himself: "I am Christ (the) king." ' (3) And Pilate asked him, saying: Art thou (the) king of the Jews?' And he answered Thou sayest.' (4) And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes: 'I find not any fault in this man.' (5) But they were more urgent (lit. finding power), saying: He troubleth the people, teaching in all Judea, having begun from Galilee unto this place.' (6) But Pilate, having heard, was asking whether this man is a Galilæan. (7) And having known that he was (lit. is) under (lit. from) (the) authority of Herod, he sent him to Herod, he also being in Jerusalem in those days. (8) Now Herod, having seen Jesus, rejoiced greatly: for he was wishing to see him for (lit. from) much time, because that he was hearing concerning him; and he was hoping to see a sign done by him (lit. from him doing it). (9) And he was asking him with many words; but he answered not anything. (10) The chief priests and the scribes were standing accusing him greatly. (11) And Herod with his soldiers having reviled him, and having mocked him, arrayed him in gorgeous raiment, he sent him to Pilate. (12) And Pilate and Herod became friends to one another in that day: for before they were (imperf.) in enmity to one another. (13) And Pilate, having called the chief priests and the rulers and the people, (14) said to them: Ye brought to me this man, as perverting the people: and lo, I, having examined him before you, found not any fault in this man as to the things in which ye accuse him. (15) But neither Herod also: for he sent him to us and lo, there is not any work in him, which he did, being worthy of (the) death. (16) (Let) me chastise (lit. teach) him then, and release him.' (17) (18) But all the multitude cried out: 'Take away this (man), release Barabbas to us.' (19) This (man was one) who was cast into (the) prison because of a tumult and a murder having happened in the city. (20) And again Pilate called them, wishing to release Jesus: (21) but they cried out, saying: 'Crucify him, crucify him.' (22) And he said to them (the) third time: 'Why, what evil did this (man)? I found not any cause of (the) death in him; (let) me chastise (lit. teach) him then, and release him.' (23) But they persisted with loud voices, asking him that he might be crucified. And their voices were more urgent. (24) And Pilate gave judgement that their request should be done. (25) And he released him who was cast into (the) prison because of a murder and tumult, whom they asked (for); but Jesus he delivered (up) according to their wish. (26) And as they (are) bringing him forth, they laid hold on one (named) 'Simon,' a Cyrenian, coming from (the) field; they placed the cross upon him, to carry (lit. raise) it behind him. (27) And a great multitude of the people was walking after him, and women who were lamenting and were wailing for him. (28) But Jesus, having turned himself to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me, but weep over yourselves, and over your sons. (29) Because lo, days come, in which they will say: "Blessed are the barren, and the wombs which bare not, and the breasts which fed not." (30) Then they will begin to say to the mountains: "Fall upon us;" and the hills: "Cover us." (31) Because if they do these (things) in the green (lit. moist) tree, what will be done in the withered?' (32) And they were bringing two malefactors also with him to kill them. (33) And having come upon the place which is called, the skull,' they crucified him there, and the malefactors, one indeed on the right hand, and one on the left hand. (34) And they divided his garments among them, they cast lot for them. (35) And the people were (sing.) standing, seeing (it). And the rulers also were deriding, saying: He saved others; let him save himself also; if this is Christ (the) Son of God, the chosen.' (36) And the soldiers also were mocking him; coming to him, they brought vinegar to him, (37) saying: If thou art (the) king of the Jews, save thyself.' (38) And there was also a superscription over him: 'This is (the) king of the Jews.' (39) And one of the malefactors, who were crucified with him, blasphemed him, saying: Art not thou Christ? Save thyself, and save us also.' (40) But the other answered, he rebuked him, he said: Fearest thou not even God, because we were in this one judgement? (41) And we indeed justly; having received according to (what was, lit. the) worthy of the things which we did: but this (man) did not anything evil.' (42) And he was saying: Jesus, remember me when thou shouldest come in thy kingdom.' (43) And he said: Verily I say to thee, that to-day thou shalt be with me in the Paradise.' (44) And it was now (the) sixth hour, and darkness happened upon all (the) earth until (the) ninth hour. (45) And the sun being about to fail, the veil of the temple was rent in its midst. (46) And Jesus, having called with a great voice, said: 'My Father, I give my spirit into thy hands:' and having said this, he gave (up) the spirit. (47) And the centurion, having seen that which happened, was glorifying God, saying: Really was this man righteous.' (48) And all the multitudes who came upon this sight, having seen the things which happened, returned striking their breast. (49) And all his acquaintance were standing afar off, and women also, who walked after him from Galilee, seeing these (things). (50) And behold, a man, his name being Joseph, being a councillor, being a good man and righteous. (51) This (man) was not agreeing in their counsel and their deed. He was of AriMatthewheas, a city of the Jews, (one) who was looking for the kingdom of God. (52) This (man), having come to Pilate, asked (for) the body of Jesus. (53) And having brought him down, he wrapped him in a linen cloth, and laid him in a sepulchre, which he hewed (in rock), in (which) they laid not yet any one: and he rolled a great stone against (the) door of the sepulchre. (54) And it was a day of Preparation. And (the) beginning (lit. early) of (the) sabbath had happened. (55) And the women who came with him from Galilee, having walked after him, saw the sepulchre, and the manner in which his body was laid. (56) And having returned, they prepared spices and ointments: and (during) the sabbath indeed they rested according to the commandment.

24

(1) On (the) first (lit. one) of the sabbaths, very early, they came to the sepulchre, having brought the spices, which they prepared. (2) And they found the stone having been rolled outside of the sepulchre. (3) And having entered, they found not (the) body of (the) Lord Jesus. (4) And it came to pass (as they are) being perplexed concerning this, behold, two men stood above them in dazzling raiment. (5) And having been in fear, and bowing their face to (the) earth, they said to them: Wherefore seek ye for the living with the dead? (6) He is not here, but he rose. Remember, as he spake to you, yet being in Galilee, (7) saying: "(The) Son of (the) man must be given into (the) hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and rise on the third day." (8) And they remembered his words, (9) and having returned from the sepulchre, they told all these (things) to the eleven, and all the rest. (10) And it was Mary the Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary of James, :and (the) rest who were with them, who were saying these (things) to the apostles. (11) And these words appeared before them as idle talk, and they were believing them not. (12) But Peter rose, he ran to the sepulchre; and having gazed in, he saw the garments alone, and went to his house, wondering at that which happened. (13) And behold, two of them were walking on that day, going to a village distant from Jerusalem about sixty stadia, its name being Emmaûs. (14) And they were speaking to one another concerning all these (things) which happened. (15) And it came to pass, (that as they are) speaking and questioning (lit. seeking), Jesus also himself approached them, he walked with them. (16) But their eyes were held (imperf. so as) not to know him. (17) And he said to them: What are these words, which ye say with one another, (as ye are) walking?' And they stood, being saddened. (18) And one, his name being Kleopas, answered, he said to him: Thou alone art in Jerusalem, and thou knewest not the things which happened in it in these days?' (19) And he said to them: What are (they)?' And they said to him: The things which happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a man--(a) prophet, being powerful in (the) work and (the) word before God and all the people; (20) and how the chief priests and the rulers gave him to judgement of (the) death, and they crucified him. (21) But we hoped that this (man) will redeem Israel. But beside all these (things), this is his third day since these (things) happened. (22) But beside, some women also of us made us wonder. Having gone to the sepulchre early; (23) and having not found his body, they came, saying: "We saw a vision of angels, who say of him that he is alive. (24) And some of us went to the sepulchre, they found as the women also said: but him they saw not."' (25) And he said to them: O [the] senseless, and slow in [their] heart to believe all things which the prophets spake. (26) Was it not (imperf.) laid (down) that Christ should suffer these (pains), and enter his glory?' (27) And having begun from Moses and all the prophets, he was interpreting to them what were the things which were in all the scriptures concerning him. (28) And they approached to the village, to which they were to go: and he made as going further (in) walking. (29) And they were laying hold on him violently, saying: Stay with us: because (it is) evening, and now the day declined.' And he came in that he might stay with them. (30) And it came to pass, (that) having sat down to meat with them, having taken the bread, he blessed it, and having broken it, he was giving to them. (31) And they--their eyes opened, and they knew him; and he disappeared from them. (32) And they said to one another Was not our heart burning in us, as he is speaking to us in the road, manifesting the scriptures to us?' (33) And they rose in that hour, they returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven assembled, and them who were with them, (34) saying: `Really the Lord rose, and manifested himself to Simon.' (35) And they were speaking of the things which were (done) in the road, and how he appeared to them in the breaking of the bread. (36) And (as they are) speaking of these (things), Jesus himself stood in their midst, and said to them: 'The peace to you.' (37) But they having been troubled, and having been in fear, were thinking that they saw (lit. see) a spirit. (38) And he said to them: Wherefore are ye troubled, and wherefore come thoughts upon your hearts? (39) See my hands and my feet, that (it) is I: handle me, and see; because there is not spirit having flesh and bone, according as ye see me having.' (40) And having said this, he shewed to them his hands and his feet. (41) And (as they are) yet unbelieving for (lit. from [the]) joy, and wondering, he said to them: 'Have ye something to eat here?' (42) And they gave to him part of a boiled fish, and a honey-comb. (43) And having taken (it) before them, he ate. (44) And he said to them: 'These were my words which I said to you, being yet with you; that all things which are written in (the) law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me, must be fulfilled.' (45) Then he opened their heart to make them understand the scriptures; and he said to them: (46) It was written thus for Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead on the third day; (47) and repentance be preached in his name for (the) forgiveness of sins in all the nations. Having begun from Jerusalem, (48) ye bear witness of these (things). (49) And I will send the promise of my Father upon you: but sit ye in the city, until ye receive power from (the) height.' (50) And he brought them out unto Bethany: and having lifted his hands up, he blessed them. (51) And it came to pass in his blessing them, he separated away from them, and was (imperf.) taken up to (the) heaven. (52) And they having worshipped him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy: (53) and they were (imperf.) always in the temple blessing God.

Gospel of St. John

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

1

(1) In (the) beginning was the Word, and the Word was (imperf.) with God, and God (indef. art.) was the Word: (2) this (one) [who?] was (imperf.) from beginning with God: (3) all things became through him; and without him did not anything become of (lit. in) that which became: (4) (the) life was that [which] is in him. And (the) life was (the) light of [the] men: (5) and the light gave light in the darkness, and the darkness did not apprehend it (lit. him). (6) There was (lit. became) a man sent from (lit. through) God, his name being John: (7) this (one) came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. (8) He was not the light, but (came) that he might bear witness of the light. (9) There was becoming the true light--that which giveth light to every man who cometh to the world. (10) He was being in the world, and the world became through him, and the world did not know him. (11) He came to them who were his own, and they who were his own received him not to them: (12) but they who received him to them--he gave authority to them to become (lit. do) sons of God (without the usual weak article)--them who believe his name. (13) And they were not of blood, nor were they of (the) wish of flesh, nor were they of (the) wish of man, but they were born of God (weak definite article). (14) And the word became (lit. did) flesh (indef. art.), and abode (lit. became) among us, and we saw his glory, as (the) glory of an only Son of his Father, full of grace and truth. (15) John beareth witness concerning him, and crieth out, saying: This (is) he, concerning whom I said, that he who cometh after me had precedence of me, because he was prior to me indeed.' (16) Because we all received from his fulness, and grace in exchange for grace. (17) Because the law was given through Moses, but the grace and the truth became through Jesus Christ. (18) God no one ever saw: the only-begotten God (without article), who is in the bosom of his Father, he spake. (19) And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him from Jerusalem priests and Levites, that they might ask him: Who (art) thou? (20) And he confessed, he denied not, and he confessed: I am not Christ.' (21) And they asked him: Art thou Elias?' he said: 'Nay." Art thou the prophet?' he answered: 'Nay.' (22) They said then to him: 'Who (art) thou? that we may give answer (lit. find (the) question) to them who sent us: what sayest thou concerning thyself? ' (23) He said: I am the voice which crieth out in (the) desert: "Make straight the road of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet."' (24) And they had been sent from the Pharisees: (25) and they asked him, saying to him: Wherefore baptisest thou, if thou art not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?' (26) John answered them, saying: 'I baptise you in water: there standeth in your midst he whom ye know not: (27) he who cometh after me: he of whom I am not worthy that I may unloose a latchet of his shoe.' (28) These (things) happened in Bêthania beyond the Jordan, the place in which John was baptising. (29) And on the (lit. his) morrow he saw Jesus coming to him, and he said: 'Lo, the Lamb of God who will take away (the) sin of the world. (30) This is he concerning whom I said, that there cometh after me a man who hath precedence of me, because he is prior to me indeed. (31) And I was knowing him not; but that he might appear to Israel, therefore I came to baptise in water.' (32) And John bare witness, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down upon him as a dove from (the) heaven; he stayed upon him. (33) And I was knowing him not; but he who sent me to baptise in water, he said to me: "He upon whom thou seest the Spirit coming down and staying upon him, this is he who will baptise in (the, lit. a) Holy Spirit." (34) And I saw, and bare witness, that this is (the) Son of God.' (35) And on the (lit. his) morrow again John was standing, and two of his disciples; (36) and having looked at Jesus walking, he said: 'Lo, the Lamb of God!' (37) And the two disciples of his heard him speaking, and they walked after Jesus. (38) And Jesus having turned himself, and having seen them walking after him, said to them: 'For what sought ye?' And they said to him: 'Rabbi,' which they interpret, Teacher, 'where art thou abiding?' (39) And he said to them: Come and see: ' they came then and saw where he is abiding; and they abode with him that day: and it was (the) tenth hour. (40) And Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John, and walked after him. (41) And this (man) found first his brother Simon, and said to him: 'We found Mesias: whose interpretation is Christ.' (42) This (man) brought him to Jesus: and Jesus having looked at him, said to him: Thou art Simon (the) son of John: thou shalt be called "Kepha,"' which they interpret Peter.' (43) And on the (lit. his) morrow he wished to come to Galilee; and he found Philip. and said to him: Walk after me:' (44) and Philip was a man of Bêthsaida, from (the) city of Andrew and Peter. (45) And Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: Him, concerning whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets, we found; it (lit. who) is Jesus (the) son of Joseph, the (man) from Nazareth.' (46) And Nathanael said to him: 'Is it possible that [a] good may be from Nazareth?' Philip said to him: 'Come and see.' (47) And Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said concerning him: Behold, truly [lo], an Israelite; there is not guile in him.' (48) Nathanael said to him: Where knewest thou me?' Jesus answered and said to him: Before that Philip called thee, thou being under the fig-tree, I saw thee.' (49) Nathanael answered him, he said to him: Rabbi, thou art (the) Son of God, thou art (the) King of Israel.' (50) Jesus answered, he said to him: 'Because I said to thee, that I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? greater (things) than these thou shalt see.' (51) And he said: Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall see (the) heaven opened, and the angels of God going up and coming down towards (the) Son of (the) man.'

2

(1) And on the third day there was a marriage in (the) Cana of Galilee; and (the) mother of Jesus was there: (2) and Jesus also and his disciples were invited to the marriage. (3) And the wine having failed, (the) mother of Jesus said to him: They have not wine.' (4) And Jesus said to her: What (bast) thou with me, thou Woman? mine hour cometh not yet.' (5) And his mother said to the servants (lit. deacons, also ver. 9): That which he will say to you, do.' (6) Now were (imperf.) set there six stone waterpots, according to (the) cleansing of the Jews, holding two or three firkins apiece. (7) Jesus said to them: Fill the waterpots with water:' and they filled them up to the brim. (8) He said to them: 'Draw out now, and bring to the ruler-of-the-feast:' and they brought. (9) And when the ruler-of-the-feast tasted the water made wine, and was not knowing whence it is; but the servants were knowing, they who filled the water. Then the ruler-of-the-feast called the bridegroom, (10) he said to him: 'All men set the good wine first, and if they should drink freely, they bring that which is worse: but thou kept the good wine until now.' (11) This is the first sign which Jesus did in (the) Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed. (12) After this he came into Kapharnaûm, he and his mother, and his brothers, and his disciples: and he stayed there not many days: (13) and (the) feast of theo Jews was approaching, and Jesus came up to Jerusalem. (14) And he found in the temple them who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers sitting. (15) And he made a scourge of cords, he cast them all out of the temple, the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the change of the changers, and overturned their tables: (16) and he said to them who sold doves: 'Take away these from here (lit. this): make not (the) house of my Father a house of merchandise.' (17) His disciples remembered that it is written: (The) zeal of thy house will eat me.' (18) The Jews answered, they said to him: What sign wilt thou show to us, because thou doest these (things)?' (19) Jesus answered, he said to them: Pull down this temple, and I will make it stand in three days.' (20) The Jews said: They spent (lit. did) forty-six years building this temple, and wilt thou make it stand in three days?' (21) But he was speaking concerning the temple of his body. (22) When, then, he rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he was saying this, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus said. (23) Now he being in Jerusalem in (the) feast of the passover, many believed his name, seeing the signs which he was doing. (24) But Jesus was not trusting himself to them, because that he was knowing all (men); (25) and had not (imperf.) need that any one should bear witness to him about [a] man; for he was knowing what is in [the] men.

3

(1) Now there was a man of the Pharisees, his name being Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. (2) This (man) came to Jesus by night, and said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou camest from God, as a teacher: for it is not possible for any one to do these signs which thou doest, unless God be with him.' (3) And Jesus answered, he said to him: Verily, verily, I say to thee, that unless a man be born another time, it is not possible for him to see the kingdom of God.' (4) Nicodemus said to him: How is it possible that a man should be born another time after his being old? Is it possible for him to go into (the) womb of his mother (the) second time and be born?' (5) Jesus answered and said: Verily, verily, I say to thee, that unless any one be born of [a] water and the (lit. a) Spirit, it is not possible for him to come into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born (lit. the birth) of (the) flesh is flesh: that which is born (lit. the birth) of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Wonder not because I said to thee, that ye must be born another time. (8) The wind (lit. spirit) bloweth whither it (lit. he, masc. again) willeth, and thou hearest its voice, but thou knowest not from where it is coining, and to where it (is) going: this is as every one who is born of the Spirit.' (9) Nicodemus answered and said to him: How is it possible that these (things) should be?' (10) Jesus answered and said to him: 'Thou art (the) scribe of Israel, and thou knowest not these (things)? (11) Verily, verily, I say to thee, that we speak that which we know, and we bear witness to that which we see, and our witness ye receive not. (12) If I said things of (the) earth to you, (and) ye believed not, how, if I should say things of (the) heaven to you, believe ye? (13) And no one went up to (the) heaven except him who came down from (the) heaven, who is (the) Son of (the) man, he who is in (the) heaven. (14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in (the) desert, thus must (the) Son of (the) man be lifted up: (15) that every one who believeth him (so throughout) may receive the eternal life. (16) For thus God loved the world, so that he gave his only Son, that every one who believeth him might not perish, but receive eternal life. (17) For God sent not his Son to the world, that he might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (18) He who believeth him will not be judged: but he who believeth not him hath been judged, because he believed not (the) name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) This is the judgement, that the light came to the world, and [the] men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were (imperf.) evil. (20) For every one who doeth the evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be convicted, that they are evil. (21) But he who doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may appear, that he did them in God.' (22) And after these (things) Jesus came and his disciples to (the) land of Judea; and he was (imperf.) there with them baptising. (23) And John also was baptising in Enôn by Salim, because there was much water there: and they were coining, and were being baptised. (24) For John was not yet cast into (the) prison. (25) A questioning then happened among (lit. from) the disciples of John with the Jews concerning cleansing. (26) And they came to John, they said to him: Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, he of whom thou bearest witness, behold this (man) baptiseth, and all come to him.' (27) John answered and said: It is not possible that a man should receive anything of himself, unless it was given him from (the) heaven. (28) Ye bear witness to me, that I said to you, that I am not Christ, but that I was sent before that (one). (29) He who hath the bride he is the bridegroom: but (the) friend of the bridegroom is he who standeth, and, hearing him with joy, rejoiceth because of (the) voice of the bridegroom. This then is my own joy, it was fulfilled. (30) That (one) then must grow (greater), but I must be humiliated. (31) He who cometh from above is above all: the (one) of (the) earth is of (the) earth, and speaketh of (the) earth. He who cometh from (the) heaven is above all. (32) That which he saw and which he heard, to this he beareth witness, and his witness no one receiveth. (33) He who will receive his witness, [this] sealed, that God is true. (34) For he whom God sent, (is he) who speaketh the words of God: for God was not giving the Spirit in measure. (35) The Father loveth (the) Son, and gave all things into his hands. (36) He who believeth the Son hath eternal life. But he who is disobedient to the Son shall not see (the) life, but (the) anger of God shall abide upon him.'

4

(1) When then Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus made him many disciples and baptiseth (more) than John, (2) although Jesus himself was not baptising, but it was his disciples, (3) he left Judea, and went again to Galilee: (4) and it was necessary for him to pass through (the) Samaria. (5) He came then to a city of (the) Samaria called 'Sychar,' being near to the field which Jacob gave to Joseph his son. (6) And a fountain of water of Jacob was (imperf.) there. Jesus then having been wearied from the road of walking, sat thus at (lit. upon) the fountain; it was the sixth hour. (7) A woman then came from (the) Samaria to fill water: Jesus said to her: Give to me that I may drink.' (8) And his disciples had gone to the city that they might buy victuals for them. (9) The Samaritan woman said to him: How dost thou, a Jew, ask from me to drink, I (being) a Samaritan woman?' for the Jews mingle not with the Samaritans. (10) Jesus answered and said to her: `If thou knewest (imperf.) the gift of God, and who saith to thee: "Give to me that I may drink," thou wouldest ask him, and he would give to thee living water.' (11) The woman said to him: Lord, thou hast not even a thing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then (art) thou having the living water? (12) Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave to us this well, and he himself drank of it, and his sons, and his cattle?' (13) Jesus answered, he said to her: Every one who will drink of the water, that which I will give to him, shall never thirst. (14) But the water, which I will give to him, shall be in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.' (15) The woman said to him: My Lord, give to me this water, that I may not thirst any more, nor come here to fill water.' (16) Jesus said to her: Go, call thy husband, and come here.' (17) The woman answered and said: I have not husband.' Jesus said to her: Well saidst thou, that I have not husband: (18) for thou tookest five husbands; and he who is with thee now is not thy husband; this is true which thou saidst.' (19) The woman said to him: My Lord, I see that thou (art) a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshipped upon this mountain; but ye say, that the place of worship in Jerusalem is the place in which it is lawful to worship.' (21) Jesus said to her: Woman, trust me, that an hour cometh, when neither upon this mountain nor in Jerusalem will they (be) worshipping the Father. (22) Ye worship that which ye know not: and we worship that which we know, because the salvation (is) of the Jews. (23) But an hour cometh, which now is, when the true worshippers will (be) worshipping the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father sought for such (to be) them who worship him. (24) God is spirit: and they who will worship him, ought to worship him in spirit and truth.' (25) The woman said to him: 'We know that Mesias cometh, who is called "Christ;" if he should come, he will shew to us all things.' (26) Jesus said to her: 'I who speak to thee am (he).' (27) And upon (lit. in) this his disciples came, and they were wondering that he speaketh to a woman; no one however said to him: For what soughtest thou?' or, Wherefore speakest thou to her?' (28) The woman then left her waterpot, and went to the city, and said to the men: (29) Come, see this man, who said to me all things which I did. Is this Christ?' (30) And they were coming from the city, and were coming to him. (31) His disciples were beseeching him *between them and him, saying: Rabbi, rise, eat.' (32) And he said to them: I have food to eat, which ye know not.' (33) His disciples then were saying to one another: Did not some one bring to him (aught) to eat?' (34) Jesus said to them: My own food is, that I may do (the) wish of him who sent me, and finish his work. (35) Say ye not, that yet four months (and) cometh the harvest? lo, I say to you: "Lift up your eyes, and see the fields (lit. countries), that they were white for (the) reaping them. (36) Already he who will reap will receive his reward, and will gather fruit to eternal life: that he who soweth may rejoice together with him who reapeth. (37) For in this true is the word, that one soweth, and another reapeth. (38) I sent you to reap that for which ye toiled not: others toiled, and ye went into their toil."' (39) And from that city many of the Samaritans believed him, because of (the) word of the woman bearing witness, that he said all things which I did. (40) When then the Samaritans came to him, they besought him that he would stay with them: and he stayed there two days. (41) And many more also believed because of his word. (42) They were saying then to the woman: `No longer because of thy speech we believe: for we ourselves heard (him), and we know truly that this is the Saviour of the world.' (43) And after the two days he came from there to Galilee. (44) For Jesus himself bare witness, that there is not a prophet honoured in the city which is his own. (45) When then he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him to them, having seen all things which he did in Jerusalem in (the) feast; for they also had come to (the) feast. (46) He came again to (the) Cana of Galilee, the place in which he caused the water to become wine. There was a king's-officer, having a son sick in Kapharnaum. (47) This (man) heard that Jesus came from Judea to Galilee: he went to him. and was beseeching him that he would come down, and cure his son; for he was about to die. (48) Jesus then said to him: Unless ye see signs and wonders, ye believe not.' (49) The king's-officer said to him: 'My Lord, come down before my child die.' (50) Jesus said to him: Go, thy son liveth:' and the man believed the word which Jesus said to him, and he walked (away). (51) (As he is) now coming down, lo, his servants met him, saying: Thy son liveth.' (52) And he was asking of them for the hour in which he was relieved: they said to him, that in the seventh hour of yesterday the fever left him. (53) His father then knew, that it was that hour (in) which Jesus said to him: Thy son liveth:' and he believed, and his whole house. (54) This is the second sign which Jesus did, having come from Judea to Galilee.

5

(1) After these (things) was (the) feast of the Jews; and Jesus came up to Jerusalem. (2) Now in Jerusalem by (lit. upon) the sheep (gate) there was a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethsaida,' having five porches: (3) and in these were lying the multitudes of them who were sick, blind, and lame, and some withered. And it came to pass, (that as they were) looking for a moving of the water, (4) there was an angel (who) came down every hour in the pool, and moved the water. And any (lit. every) one (who) shall come down first after the moving of the water shall be healed of every sickness which (may) be his. (5) And there was a man there, having been (lit. done) thirty-eight years in his sickness. (6) And Jesus having seen this (man) lying (lit. sleeping), and having known that he had been (lit. did) much time (in that state), [and] said to him: Wishest thou to be cured?'' He who was sick answered him, he said: (7) My Lord, I have not (a) man, that, if the water 'should be disturbed, he might put (lit. throw) me into the pool: but as I (am) coming, another getteth (lit. doeth) before me down.' (8) Jesus said to him: Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.' (9) And immediately the man was cured, and he took up his bed, he walked: (the) sabbath was that day. (10) The Jews then were saying to him whom he healed: 'It is (the) sabbath; and it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.' (11) But he said to them: He who caused me to be cured, he said to me, "Take up thy bed, go."' (12) And they asked him, saying: Who is the man who said to thee, "Take up thy bed, and walk?"' (13) But he who was cured was not knowing who it is: and Jesus had come forth, a multitude being in that place. (14) And after these (things) Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him: 'Lo, thou wast cured; sin not any more, lest greater evil happen to thee.' (15) The man then went, and he said to the Jews, that Jesus caused me to be cured. (16) Therefore, then, the Jews were persecuting Jesus; because he was doing these (things) on (the) sabbath. (17) And Jesus said to them: 'Until now my Father worketh, and I also work.' (18) Therefore, then, the Jews were seeking for him the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the sabbath, but he was saying, that God is my Father, making himself equal with God. (19) And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Verily, verily, I say to you, that it is not possible that (the) Son should do anything of himself, unless he see the Father doing it. For the things which the Father doeth, these likewise (lit. again) the Son also doeth. (20) For the Father loveth (the) Son, and will show to him all things which he doeth; and greater works than these will he shew to him, that ye may wonder. (21) For as the Father raiseth the dead, and maketh them live, thus again the Son also maketh live them whom he wisheth. (22) For the Father will not judge any one, but he gave all the judgement to the Son; (23) that all might honour the Son as they honour the Father. He who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not [again] the Father also who sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I say to you, that he who heareth my word, and believeth him who sent me, hath eternal life, and will not come to (the) judgement, but removeth from (the) death into (the) life. (25) Verily, verily, I say to you, that an hour cometh, which now is, when the dead will hear (the) voice of (the) Son of God, and they who will hear shall live. (26) For as there is life being in the Father, thus he gave to the Son also that life should be in him: (27) and he gave authority to him to execute judgement, because (he) is a son of man. (28) Wonder not at this; because an hour cometh, when all who are in the sepulchres shall hear his voice, (29) and shall come forth; they who did the good (plur.) to a resurrection of life, and they who did the evil (plur.) to a resurrection of judgement. (30) It is not possible that I should do anything of myself; as I hear, I judge: and my own judgement is true, because I seek not for my wish, but (the) wish of him who sent me. (31) If I should bear witness concerning myself, my witness is not true. (32) Another beareth witness concerning me; and I know that his witness is true which he bare concerning me. (33) Ye sent to John, and he bare witness to (the) truth. (34) But I was not receiving witness from [the] men: yet I say these (things) that ye might be saved. (35) That (man), he was the lamp which was kindled, and which gave light; and ye were willing (lit. wished) to be gladdened for an hour in his light. (36) But I have witness greater than that of John: for the works which my Father gave to me, that I might finish them, the works themselves which I do, bear witness about me that the Father sent me. (37) And the Father who sent me, himself beareth witness concerning me. Neither heard ye ever his voice, nor saw his form. (38) And his word is not in you, because him whom he sent ye believed not. (39) Search in the scriptures, of which ye think that there is eternal life being in them; and they bear witness concerning me; (40) and ye wish not to come to me, that life might be to you. (41) I will not receive glory from man. (42) But I knew you, that the love of God is not in you. (43) I came in (the) name of my Father, and ye receive me not; and if another should come in his own name, ye will receive him. (44) How is it possible for you to believe, receiving glory from one another, and (the) glory from the one alone, ye seek not for? (45) Think ye that I will accuse you to the Father? there is (one) who will accuse you: Moses, in whom ye hoped. (46) For if ye believed (imperf.) Moses, ye would believe me also, for he wrote concerning me. (47) If ye believe not the writings of that (man), how believe ye my words?'

6

(1) After these (things) Jesus went across the sea of Galilee of Tiberiados. (2) And a great multitude was walking after him, because they were seeing the signs which he was doing among them who are sick. (3) Jesus went up on the mountain, and he was sitting there with his disciples. (4) And the passover, (the) feast of the Jews, had approached. (5) Jesus then having lifted up his eyes, and having seen that there is a great multitude come to him, said to Philip: 'Where are we to find bread to buy, that these may eat?' (6) And this he said tempting him; for he was knowing what he was intending to do. (7) Philip answered him: Two hundred staters of bread will not suffice them, that they may take a little for each.' (8) One of his disciples, who is Andrew, (the) brother of Simon Peter, said to: (9) There is a child here having five barley loaves and two fishes: but how far (lit. whither) will these go (lit. reach) for these multitudes?' (10) And Jesus said: Let the men sit down to meat.' Now there was much grass in that place. The men then sat down to meat upon the grass; (in) their number making five thousand. (11) Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, he gave to them who sat at meat: thus again of the fishes also, all that which they wished. (12) When then they were satisfied, he said to his disciples: Gather the fragments which remained over, that there shall not be loss of them.' (13) They gathered the (fragments) which remained over, and they filled twelve baskets with (ft) fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over to them who ate. (14) When then the men saw the signs which Jesus did, they were saying, that truly this is the prophet who cometh to the world. (15) And Jesus having seen that they intend to come to take him by force, to make him king, withdrew upon the mountain himself alone. (16) And evening having come, his disciples came down to the sea; (17) and having entered into the ship, they were coming across the sea to Kapharnaum. And (the) dusk had now come, and Jesus had not yet come to them. (18) And the sea was being (lit. coming) disturbed (lit. awake), a great wind blowing. (19) Having then been distant about twenty-five stadia or thirty, they saw Jesus walking upon the sea, and drawing himself near to the ship, and they feared. (20) But he said to them: I am (he), fear not.' (21) They were wishing then to take (lit. place) him into the ship with them, and immediately the ship came to the shore to the land to which they were to go. (22) And on the (lit. his) morrow the multitude which was standing on the other side (lit. across) of the sea, saw (plur.) that there was (lit. is) not there another ship except one, and that Jesus entered not into the ship with his disciples, but his disciples had gone alone. (23) Other ships came from Tiberiados near the place in which they ate the bread, the Lord having given thanks over it. (24) When then the multitudes saw that Jesus (was) not there, nor his disciples, they themselves entered into the ships, and they came to Kapharnaum, seeking for Jesus. (25) And having found him across the sea, they said to him: Rabbi, when camest thou here (26) Jesus answered them and said: Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye sought for me not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves and were satisfied. (27) Work, not the food which will perish, but the food which will abide to eternal life, that which (the) Son of (the) man will give to you; for this (one) God the Father sealed.' (28) They said then to him: What shall (lit. will) we do, that we may work the works of God?' (29) Jesus answered, he said to them: This is the work of God, that ye believe him whom he sent.' (30) They said to him then: What sign doest thou, that we may see and believe thee? what work doest thou? (31) Our fathers ate the manna in (the) desert, according as it is written: "Bread from (the) heaven he gave to them to eat."' (32) Jesus said to them: Verily, verily, I say to you, that Moses gave not to you the bread from (the) heaven; but my Father (is he) who will give to you the true bread from (the) heaven. (33) For the bread of God is he who cometh down from (the) heaven, and (is) giving (the) life to the world.' (34) They said to him: 'Lord, give to us this bread always.' (35) Jesus said to them: 'I am the bread of (the) life: he who comoth to me shall not hunger, and he who believeth me shall not thirst for ever. (36) But I said (it) to you, and ye saw me, and ye believe not. (37) Every one (lit. all that) whom my Father gave to me will come to me, and he who will come to me I shall not cast out. (38) Because I came down from (the) heaven, not that I might do my will, but the (lit. his) will of him who sent me. (39) This is (the) wish of him who sent me, that of all (lit. all that) whom he gave to me I should not lose any of them, but should raise him in the last day. (40) For this is (the) wish of my Father, that every one (lit. all that) who seeth the Son, and believeth him, should be having eternal life, and that I should raise him in the last day.' (41) The Jews then were murmuring concerning him, because he said, that I am the bread which came down from (the) heaven. (42) And they were saying: Is this not Jesus (the) son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how saith he now, that I came down from (the) heaven?' (43) Jesus answered, he said to them: Murmur not with one another. (44) It is not possible that any should come to me, unless the Father who sent me draw him to me, and I raise him in the last day. (45) It is written in the prophets, that they shall be all the taught of God: every one (lit. all that) who heard of my Father, and learned (lit. known), will come to me. (46) Not that any one saw the Father, except him who is from God, this (one) saw the Father. (47) Verily, verily, I say to you, that he who believeth me hath eternal life. (48) I am the bread of (the) life. (49) Your fathers ate the manna in (the) desert and died. (50) And this is the bread which cometh down from (the) heaven, that he who will eat of it should not die. (51) I am the living bread, that which (or, he who) came down from (the) heaven: he who will eat of this bread shall live for ever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for (the) life of the world.' (52) The Jews then contended with one another, saying: How is it possible that this (man) should give his flesh to us to eat? ' (53) Jesus said to them: 'Verily, verily, I say to you, that unless ye eat (the) flesh of (the) Son of (the) man, and drink his blood, ye have not life in you. (54) He who eateth my flesh, and who drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him in the last day. (55) For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (56) He who eateth my flesh, and who drinketh my blood, will abide in me, and I also will abide in him. (57) As my Father, who liveth, sent me, and I also live because of the Father; so (lit. and) he who eateth me, also shall live because of me. (58) This is the bread which came down from (the) heaven: not as the fathers who ate, and died; he who will eat this bread shall live for ever.' (59) These (things) he said, teaching in their synagogue in Kapharnaum. (60) Many then of his disciples having heard, said: This word is hard, and who will be able to hear it?' (61) But Jesus having seen in himself, that his disciples murmured concerning this, said to them: 'Doth this offend you? (62) (What) if ye should see (the) Son of (the) man going up to the place in which he was being at first? (63) The Spirit maketh live: the flesh profiteth not anything. The words which I said to you are spirit and are life. (64) But there are some of you (who) believe not. For Jesus was knowing from (the) beginning who were they who believe not, and who was to deliver him (up). (65) And he was saying to them: Therefore I said to you, that it is not possible that any one should come to me unless it were given to him of the Father.' (66) Therefore many of his disciples fled back, and were walking with him no longer. (67) Jesus then said to the twelve: Wish ye also to go?' (68) Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom are we to go? for words of eternal life thou hast. (69) And we knew and believed that thou art Christ, the holy one (lit. he who is holy) of God.' (70) Jesus answered, he said: Chose not I you as (lit. under) the twelve, and one of you is for a devil?' (71) Now he was saying (it) of (lit, for) Judas Simon the Iscariot; for this (man) was intending to deliver him (up), being one of the twelve.

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(1) And after these (things) Jesus was walking in Galilee; for he was not wishing to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking for him to kill him. (2) Now (the) feast of the Jews, the feast-of-tabernacles, was approaching. (3) His brothers then said to him: 'Remove from here (lit. this), and go to Judea, that thy disciples may see thy works which thou doest. (4) For no one worketh in secret, and seeketh for himself to be manifested (lit. in manifest): if thou wilt do these (things) manifest thyself to the world.' (5) For neither were his brothers also believing him. (6) Jesus then said to them: My time cometh not yet; but your time is prepared always. (7) It is not possible that the world hate you; but me it hateth, because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil. (8) And go ye up to (the) feast: and I will not come up to the feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.' (9) And having said these (things), he (is) in Galilee. (10) But when his brothers went up to (the) feast, then he also came up not manifestly but as in secret. (11) The Jews then were seeking for him in (the) feast, and they were saying: Where. is that (man)?' (12) And there was a great murmuring in the multitude concerning him: some indeed were saying: 'He is good;' and others were saying: No, but he led the multitude astray.' (13) No one however spake concerning him manifestly, because of (the) fear of the Jews. (14) But now the feast having been half over, Jesus came up to the temple, and was teaching. (15) The Jews then were wondering, saying: How knoweth this (man) writing, he was not taught? (16) Jesus answered them, and said: 'My teaching is not mine. (17) He who will do the wish of him who sent me, shall know my teaching, whether it is of God, or (if) I speak from myself. (18) He who speaketh from himself, sought for his own glory: but he who seeketh for (the) glory of him who sent him, this (one) is true, and there is not unrighteousness in him. (19) Did not Moses give to you the law, and there is not any among you doing the law? wherefore seek ye for me to kill me? ' (20) And the multitude answered: There is a demon with thee: who seeketh for thee to kill thee?' (21) Jesus answered, he said to them: 'One work I did, and ye all wonder. (22) Therefore Moses gave to you the circumcision; not that the circumcision is of Moses, but it is of the fathers, and ye circumcise a man on (the) sabbath. (23) If a man is to receive the circumcision on (the) sabbath, that the law of Moses shall not be broken; wherefore are ye angry with me, because I caused a man to be wholly cured on (the) sabbath? (24) Judge not according to appearance (lit. face), but judge with righteous judgement.' (25) Some then of them of Jerusalem were saying: 'Is not this he whom they seek for to kill him? (26) Lo, he speaketh openly, and they say nothing to him? Did indeed the rulers know truly that this is Christ? (27) But we know this (man), from where (he) is: but if Christ should come, no one will know from where (he) is.' (28) Jesus then cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: Ye know me, and ye know from where I came. And I came not from myself, but he who sent me is true; he whom ye know not. (29) And I know him; because I am of him, and it is he who sent me.' (30) They were seeking then to apprehend him, and no one laid (lit. brought) his hands upon him, because his hour had not yet come. (31) Many then of the multitude believed him, and they were saying: 'If Christ should come, will he do more indeed than these signs which this (man) did?' (32) The Pharisees heard the multitudes murmuring these (things) concerning him; and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers that they might apprehend him. (33) Jesus then said: Yet a little time I am with you, and I will go to him who sent me. (34) Ye seek for me, and ye will not find me; and (the) place to which I will go, ye will not be able to come to it.' (35) The Jews then said to one another: Whither will this (man) go, and we will not find him? will he go to the scattered among (lit. of) the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? (36) What is this word which he said: "Ye will seek for me, and ye will not find me; and the place to which I will go, it is not possible for you to come to it?"' (37) Now in the last day of the great feast Jesus stood, and cried out, saying: He who thirsteth, let him come to me, and drink. (38) He who believeth me, according as the scripture said: "Rivers of water of life will flow from his belly."' (39) But this he said concerning the Spirit, which they who believe him were to receive: for (the) Spirit had not yet come; because Jesus had not yet been glorified. (40) And some of the multitude having heard these words, were saying: Truly this is the Prophet.' (41) And others were saying: `This is Christ:' but others were saying: 'Is Christ coming from Galilee? (42) Said not the scripture, that (he) is from (the) seed of David, and that Christ is coming from Bethlehem, the village where David was (imperf.)?' (43) A division then happened in the multitude because of him. (44) And some among them were wishing to apprehend him; but no one could lay (lit. bring) his hands upon him. (45) The officers then came to the chief priests and the Pharisees; and those said to them: 'Wherefore brought ye him not?' (46) The officers answered, saying: 'Never man spake thus.' (47) And the Pharisees answered them, sayingWent ye also astray? (48) Did any of the rulers believe him, or of the Pharisees? (49) But this multitude who know not the law are under (the) curse.' (50) Nicodemus said to them, he who came to Jesus (at) first by night, being one of them (51) Will our law judge the man, unless it hear him first, and know what he doeth? (52) They answered him, saying 'Art thou also from Galilee? 'Search and see, that thereis not (a) prophet to rise from Galilee.' (53) And they went each to his place.

8

(1) And Jesus went to the mountain of the Olives. (2) Then he came in the morning to the temple, and the multitudes came to him; and he sat to teachthem. (3) And the chief priests and the Pharisees brought to him a woman: they found her in adultery; and they made her stand in (the) midst, (4) and said to him: 'Teacher, this woman we found in adultery. (5) And (the) law of Moses commanded to stone her; but what sayest thou?' (6) And this they said tempting him, that they might find pretext against (lit. upon) him. But Jesus bent down hiseyes, he wrote with his finger upon the earth. (7) But they having delayed for his answer, he lifted his head, he said to them:Who among you (is) without sin, let him stone her first with a stone.' (8) Then he bent down his head, and wrote upon the earth. (9) Having heard this from him, [and] they understood his reproof. They began to come forth each (of them), until had come forth the elders and all of them (lit. their multitude); and left was Jesus alone with the woman who was (imperf.) set in (the) midst. (10) Jesus lifted up his head, he said to her O woman, where were they who judged thee? there is not one judging thee.' (11) She said to him: 'I see not one, my Lord.' Said Jesus to her: 'Neither (am) I judging thee: go, Henceforth return not to sin any more.' (12) Again Jesus spake to them, saying: 'I am (the) light of the world, he who will walk after me, shall not walk in the darkness, but shall receive (the) light of (the) life.' (13) The Pharisees then said to him: Thou thyself bearest witness about thyself; thy witness is not true.' (14) Jesus answered and said to them: 'Even if I should bear witness about myself, true is my witness, because I know whence I came, and whither I am to go. But ye know not whence I came, or whither I am to go. (15) Ye judged according to flesh; and I judge not any one. (16) And if I should judge, my judgement is true, because I am not alone, but I and he who sent me, the Father. (17) And it is written indeed again in your law, that (the) witness of two men is true. (18) I bear witness about myself, and the Father who sent me beareth witness about me.' (19) They were saying then: 'Where was thy Father?' Jesus answered: 'Ye know neither me, nor even my Father: if ye knew (imperf.) me, ye would know also my Father.' (20) These words he spake in the treasury, teaching in the temple; and no one could lay hold on him, because his hour had not yet come. (21) Again Jesus said to them: 'I will go, and ye will seek for me, and ye will not find me. And ye will die in your sins, and the place to which I will go, it is not possible for you to come to it.' (22) The Jews then were saying: Is he about to kill himself, because he saith, that the place to which I will go ye will not be able to come to it?' (23) And he was saying to them: 'Ye are of them who are beneath; and I am from above: ye are of the world; and I am not of this world. (24) I said then to you, that ye will die in your sins: for unless ye believe that I am (he), ye will die in your sins.' (25) They were saying then to him: Who (art) thou?' Jesus said to them: At the beginning I also told (lit. made (the) word also with) you. (26) I have many things to say concerning you, and to judge. But he who sent me is true, and the things which I heard from him these I also speak in the world.' (27) They knew not that he was speaking to them concerning the Father. (28) Jesus said to them: If ye should lift up (the) Son of (the) man, then ye shall know that I am (he); and I do not anything from myself; but according as the Father taught me, these (things) I speak. (29) And he who sent me is with me; and he left me not alone, because I do the things which please him always.' (30) (As he is) saying these (things), many believed him. (31) Jesus then was saying to the Jews who believed him: 'If ye should stay in my word, truly ye (will be) my disciples; (32) and ye shall know (the) truth, and (the) truth shall make you free.' (33) They answered, saying to him: We (are) of (the) seed of Abraam, and we served not any one ever, how sayest thou, that ye shall be made free?' (34) Jesus answered them: 'Verily, verily, I say to you, that every one who doeth (the) sin, is a servant of (the) sin. (35) And the servant stayeth not in the house for ever: but the son stayeth for ever. (36) If then the Son should make you free, ye will really be made free. (37) I know that ye (are) of (the) seed of Abraam, but ye seek for me to kill me, because my word is not in you. (38) The things then which I saw from my Father, these I speak; and the things which ye heard from your father ye do.' (39) They answered, they said to him: Our father (is) Abraam.' Jesus said to them: 'If ye were (the) sons of Abraam, the works of Abraam ye would do. (40) But now ye seek for me to kill me, a man saying (the) truth to you, which I heard from God: this did not Abraam. (41) Ye do the works of your father.' They said to him: 'We (were) not begotten (lit. generations) of (the) fornication: one (lit. a) Father alone we have, (even) God.' (42) Jesus said to them: If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came from God, and I came: for I came not of myself, but he sent me. (43) Wherefore ye know not my speech, because it is not possible for you to hear my word. (44) Ye are from your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye wish to do: that (one) was a murderer from (the) beginning, and stood not in (the) truth ever, because there is not truth in him. If the false (one) should speak, he speaketh from the things which are his own, because (he) is false, and his father also. (45) But I say (the) truth to you, (and) ye believe me not. (46) Which of you will convict me concerning sin? If the truth I say to you, wherefore believe ye me not? (47) He who is (lit. the) from God heareth the words of God: therefore ye hear not, because ye are not from God.' (48) The Jews answered and said to him: Well said we, that thou (art) a Samaritan, and there is a demon with thee.' (49) Jesus answered and said: There is not a demon with me; but I honour my Father; and ye despise me. (50) But I was not seeking for mine own glory, there is he who seeketh and who judgeth. (51) Verily, verily, I say to you, that if any one should keep my word, he shall never see (the) death.' (52) The Jews said: Now we know (lit.? knew) that there is a demon with thee. Abraam died, and the prophets also; and thou sayest: "He who will keep my word, shall never taste (the) death." (53) Art thou greater than our father Abraam, who died, and the prophets also died? whom madest thou thyself?' (54) Jesus answered, saying: If I should glorify myself, my glory is nothing: my Father is he who will glorify me. He (of) whom ye say, that (he) is our God. (55) And ye knew him not: but I know him. And if I should say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, false: but I know him, and I keep his word (56) .Abraam your father was (imperf.) glad, wishing to see a day of mine; and he saw, he rejoiced.' (57) The Jews said to him: Thou hast (lit. doest) not yet fifty years, and sawest thou Abraam?' (58) Jesus said to them: Verily, verily, I say to you, that before Abraam was, I am.' (59) They took up stones then, that they might cast upon him: but Jesus hid himself, he came from the temple, and he passed by, he was walking in their midst, and he was passing by.

9

(1) And passing, he saw a man blind from birth. (2) And his disciples asked him, saying: Rabbi, who sinned? this (man) is it, or his parents is it, that he was born being blind?' (3) Jesus answered: Neither this (man) sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God might appear in him. (4) We must work the works of him who sent us while it is the day; and the night cometh, when it is not possible that any one work. (5) While I am in the world, I am (the) light of the world.' (6) Having said these (things), he cast spittle down, and he made clay from the spittle, and he anointed (the) eyes of the blind from birth. (7) And he said to him: Go, wash thy face in the pool of the Siloam,' which they interpret he who was sent.' He went then, he washed his face, and he came seeing. (8) His neighbours then, and they who knew him at first, that he was one begging alms, were saying: 'Is this not he who was sitting, begging alms?' (9) Some indeed were saying that it is he; and others were saying: Nay, but he was like him.' And he was saying: I am (he).' (10) They were saying then to him: How were thine eyes opened?' (11) That (man) answered, he said: The man who is called "Jesus," he made clay, he anointed my eyes, and he said to me: "Go, wash thy face in the Siloam." I wont then, I washed my face, I saw.' (12) They said to him: Where also was that man?' He said: I know not.' (13) They then brought to the Pharisees him who was (imperf.) once blind. (14) Now it was (the) sabbath (on) which Jesus made the clay, and caused his eyes to be opened. (15) Again then the Pharisees were asking him: How sawest thou?' and he said to them: Clay he put upon mine eyes, and I washed myself, I saw.' (16) Some of the Pharisees then were saying: 'This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the sabbath.' But others were saying: 'How is it possible that a sinful man should do such signs? ' and a division was happening among them. (17) Again then they said to the blind man: What sayest thou concerning him, because he opened thine eyes? ' And he said: He is a prophet.' (18) The Jews trusted him not, that he was (imperf.) blind, and saw, until they called his parents, (19) and asked them, saying: Is this your son whom ye say that he was born (lit. we bare him) being blind? how then saw he now?' (20) His parents answered, and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was (lit. we) born being blind. (21) How then he saw now, we know not: or who opened his eyes, we know not: ask him; he himself has age also to speak concerning himself.' (22) These (things) said his parents, since they were fearing the Jews: for the Jews had settled, that if any one should confess that (he) is Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. (23) Therefore his parents said: 'He has age also; ask him.' (24) They called then the man (the) second time, this (one) who was (imperf.) blind, and they said to him: Glorify God: we know that this man is a sinner.' (25) He who was (imperf.) blind answered, saying: 'If (he) is a sinner, I know not: but one (thing) I know, that I was (imperf.) blind, but now I see.' (26) They said to him What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes?' (27) He answered them: told (lit. said) you already, and ye heard not. What again wish ye to hear? wish ye also to become disciples to him?' (28) And they railed at him, saying: Thou (art) a disciple of that (man): but we are disciples of Moses. (29) We know that God spake to Moses, but this (man) we know not from where (he) is.' (30) The man answered, he said to them: This indeed is the wonder, that ye know not from where he is, and he opened mine eyes. (31) We know that God heareth not sinners, but if any one is a worshipper of God, and (is) doing his wish; this (one) he heareth. (32) Since the beginning of the world (lit. from (the) age) we heard not, that any one opened (the) eyes of a (man) blind from birth. (33) If this (man) is not of God, he would not be able to do anything.' (34) They answered and said to him: Thou wast begotten (lit. art a generation) altogether in (the) sin; and wilt thou teach us?' And they cast him out. (35) And Jesus heard that they cast him out; and having found him, said: 'Believest thou (the) Son of God? ' (36) He answered, he said: Who is he, my Lord, that I may believe him?' (37) Jesus said to him: Thou seest him, and it is he who speaketh to thee.' (38) And he said: I believe, my Lord:' and he worshipped him. (39) And Jesus said: I came for judgement of the world, that they who are blind may see; and they who see may become blind.' (40) Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard, and they said to him: Are we blind also?' (41) Jesus said to them: If ye were blind, ye had not sin; but now ye say: "We see:" and your sin abideth.

10

(1) Verily, verily, I say to you, that he who cometh not in through the entrance to the fold of the sheep, but (is) coming up some other way, that one is a thief and a robber. (2) But he who cometh in through the entrance, this is a shepherd of the sheep. (3) To this (one) the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his sheep according to their names, and he bringeth them out. (4) And if he should bring out all them which are his own, he walketh before them, and the sheep walk after him, because they know his voice. (5) And they walk not after the stranger, but they shall flee from him, because they know not (the) voice of the stranger.' (6) This proverb Jesus said to them: but they knew not wherefore he spake to them. (7) Again, Jesus said to them: 'Verily, verily, I say to you, that I am the door of the sheep. (8) All who came before me are robbers and are thieves; but the sheep hearkened not to them. (9) I am the door of the sheep: he who will come in through me shall be saved; and he shall come in, and he shall come out, and shall find a pasture. (10) And the thief cometh not except haply that he may steal, and slay, and destroy; I came that life might be to them, and that abundance might be to them. (11) I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life (lit. soul) for his sheep. (12) But the hireling, and (he) who is not a shepherd, he whose own the sheep are not, if he should see the wolf coming, he fleeth and leaveth the sheep; and the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them. (13) Because (he) is a hireling, and he careth not for the sheep. (14) I am the good' shepherd, I know them who are mine, and they who are mine know me. (15) According as my Father knew me, I also know the Father; and I will lay (down) my life (lit. soul) for my sheep. (16) I have other sheep, who are not of this fold; I must bring the others, and they shall hear my voice, and they shall be one flock, one shepherd. (17) Therefore my Father loveth me, because I lay (down) my life (lit. soul), that I may take it again. (18) No one taketh it away from me, but I (am he) who lay it down of myself: I have authority to lay it (down); I have authority to take it again: this is the commandment which I took from my Father.' (19) A division then happened among the Jews because of these words. (20) And many then of them were saying: There is a demon with him, and he is mad: wherefore hear ye him?' (21) And others were saying: These words are not the (words) of a man having (lit. being) a demon with him: is it possible for a demon to open (the) eyes of blind men?' (22) The (lit. a) Dedication happened at that time in Jerusalem: it was (the) winter. (23) And Jesus was walking in the temple under the porch of Solomon. (24) The Jews then surrounded him, and they said to him: How long dost thou hold us in suspense? if thou art Christ, say to us openly.' (25) Jesus answered them: I said to you, and ye believe not: the works which I do in (the) name of my Father, they bear witness about me. (26) But ye believe me not, because ye (are) not of my sheep. (27) My own sheep hear my voice, and walk after me. (28) And I also will give to them eternal life; and they shall not perish for ever; and no one shall be able to snatch them from my hand. (29) That which my Father gave to me is greater than all; and there is not any one (who) will be able to snatch them from (the) hand of my Father. (30) I and my Father are one.' (31) The Jews then took up stones that they might cast upon him. (32) Jesus answered them, saying: Many good works I shewed to you from my Father, for which work then will ye stone me?' (33) The Jews answered him: For a good work we will stone thee not, but for blasphemy, because thou, a man thyself, makest thee God.' (34) Jesus answered and said: it not written in your law: "I said, that ye (are) gods?" (35) If he called (lit. said) them "god," to whom (the) word of God came, and it is not possible that the scripture should be broken, (36) (of) him whom the Father hallowed, and sent to the world ye say, that thou blasphemedst, because I said, that I am (the) Son of God. (37) If I do not the works of my Father believe me not. (38) But if I do them, even if ye should not believe me, believe the works, that ye may learn and know that I am in my Father, and my Father in me.' (39) Again they were seeking for him to apprehend him; and he fled from their hands; (40) and went again across the Jordan, the place in which John was baptising at first, and he abode there. (41) And many came to him, and they were saying: John indeed did not any sign: all things which he said concerning this (man) are true.' (42) And many believed him there.

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(1) Now there was one sick, namely, Lazarus of Bethany, of (the) village of Mary and Martha her sister. (2) And this was Mary who anointed the Lord with the ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was (imperf.) sick. (3) His sisters then sent to him, saying: Lord, lo, he whom thou lovest is sick.' (4) But Jesus having heard, said: This disease is not a disease of (the) death, but for (the) glory of God; that (the) Son of God may be glorified through it.' (5) Now Jesus was loving Martha and Mary her sister and Lazarus. (6) Then therefore having heard that he is sick, he abode in the place in which he was (imperf.) two days. (7) After this he said to his disciples: Let us go to Judea again.' (8) His disciples said to him: Rabbi, (just) now the Jews were seeking for thee to stone thee, and thou wilt go again thither.' (9) Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours in the day? he who walketh in the day stumbleth not, for (lit. and) he saw (the) light of the world. (10) But he who walketh in the night stumbleth, because the light (is) not in him.' (11) Having said these (things), after this (plur.) he said to them: Lazarus our friend slept, but I shall go, that I may raise him.' (12) The disciples said to him: Lord, if he slept, he shall rise.' (13) Now Jesus said (it) concerning the sleep of his death. But they were thinking that he said (it) concerning the sleep of the slumber. (14) Then Jesus said to them openly: Lazarus died. (15) And I rejoice because of you, that ye may believe, that I was (imperf.) not there; but let us go unto him.' (16) Thomas then, who is called Didymus,' said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.' (17) Jesus then having come, found him, having been four days (lit. being his four) in the sepulchre. (18) Now Bethany was (imperf.) near to Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia. (19) And many of the Jews had come to Mary and Martha, concerning their brother. (20) Martha then having heard that Jesus cometh, rose, she met him; but Mary was sitting in the house. (21) Martha then said to Jesus: My Lord, if thou hadst (imperf.) been here, my brother would not have died. (22) But now then I know, that that which thou wilt ask from God, God will give to thee.' (23) Jesus said to her: 'Thy brother will rise.' (24) Martha, said to him: I know that he will rise in the resurrection, in the last day.' (25) Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he who believeth me, even if he should die, shall live: (26) and every one who liveth and who believeth me shall not die for ever: thou believest this.' (27) She said to him: My Lord, I believe that thou art Christ, (the) Son of God, who cometh to the world.' (28) And having said this, she went, she called Mary her sister secretly, having said to her: 'The Teacher is here (lit. this), and calleth thee.' (29) And she having heard, rose quickly, and she came to him. (30) For Jesus had not yet come up to (the) village; but he was (imperf.) then in the place in which Martha came to him. (31) The Jews then who were (imperf.) with her within the house comforting her, having seen Mary, that she rose quickly, and came out, walked after her, thinking to themselves, that she is about to depart to the sepulchre, that she may weep there. (32) Mary then having come to the place in which Jesus was (imperf.); and having seen him, threw herself down at his feet, saying: My Lord, if thou hadst (imperf.) been here, my brother would not have died.' (33) Jesus then having seen her weeping, and the Jews also who came with her weeping, was pained in the spirit, and was troubled. (34) And he said to them: 'Where laid ye him?' They said to him: Lord, come and see.' (35) And his eyes shed (lit. gave) tears. (36) The Jews then were saying: 'See how he loveth him.' (37) But some of them said: Was it not possible for this (man), who opened (the) eyes of the blind from birth, that he should not permit this other (one) to die?' (38) Jesus then had compassion in himself, he came to the sepulchre. Now it was a cave, and there was a great stone put (lit. given) against it. (39) Jesus said to them: Take (away) this stone [there]:' Martha, (the) sister of him who died, said to him: 'Lord, he stinketh, for (it is) his four(th day) to-day.' (40) Jesus said to her: Said I not to thee, that if thou shouldest believe, thou wilt see (the) glory of God? ' (41) They then took away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre. And Jesus lifted his eyes up, and said: My Father, I give thanks to thee, because thou heardest me. (42) And I was knowing that thou hearest me always; but because of this multitude which surrounds me I said (it), that they may believe, that thou sentest me.' (43) And having said these (things), he cried out with a great voice: Lazarus, come forth.' (44) And he who died came forth, being bound as to his feet and his hands with grave-clothes, and his face bound with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Unloose him, send him away, let him go.' (45) Many then of the Jews who came to Mary, having seen the things which he did, believed him. (46) But some of them went to the Pharisees, they told to them that which Jesus did. (47) The chief priests then and the Pharisees assembled an assembly. and they were saying: `What shall (lit. will) we do? many are the signs which this man doeth. (48) If we should permit him thus, all will believe him, and the Romans will come, they will take away our place and our nation.' (49) But one of them answered, his name being Kaiapha, being chief priest for that year. He said to them: "Ye know not anything; (50) nor reason ye to yourselves, that it is profitable for you, that (one) man alone should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.' (51) Now he said not this from himself; but because he was (imperf.) chief priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus must die for the nation; (52) and not for the nation alone, but (must) assemble into one the sons also of God who are scattered. (53) From that hour they took counsel that they might kill him. (54) And Jesus was not walking any more manifestly in Judea, but he went from there to a country near the desert, to a city called 'Ephrem,' and he abode there with his disciples. (55) Now the passover of the Jews was approaching; and many came up to Jerusalem from the country before the passover, that they might hallow themselves. (56) The Jews then were seeking for Jesus, saying to one another, standing in the temple What think ye, that he will not come to (the) feast?' (57) The chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment, that if any one should know where he was, he should shew him to them, that they might apprehend him.

12

(1) Jesus then six days before the passover (lit. before six days of the passover) came to Bethany, the place in which Lazarus was (imperf.), who died, whom Jesus raised from the dead. (2) They made a supper for him in that place, and Martha was ministering, and Lazarus was one of them who sat at meat with him. (3) Mary then took a pound of ointment of pistic nard, being of great price, and she anointed (the) feet of Jesus with it, and she wiped them with (the) hair of her head; and the house was filled with (lit. from) the odour of the ointment. (4) But one of his disciples, who was (lit. is) Judas (the) Iscariot, who was to deliver him (up), said: (5) Wherefore was not this ointment sold for three hundred staters, and they be given to the poor?' (6) Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag he was carrying the things which he used to throw into it. (7) Jesus then said: Permit her that she may keep it to (the) day of my embalming. (8) For the poor are with you always, but I am not with you always.' (9) And a great multitude of the Jews knew that he is there; and they came not because of Jesus alone, but besides because of Lazarus also, that they might see him whom he raised from the dead. (10) But the chief priests took counsel that they might kill Lazarus also; (11) because many of the Jews were departing because of him, and were believing Jesus. (12) And on the (lit. his) morrow, the great multitude who came to (the) feast, having heard that Jesus cometh up to Jerusalem, (13) took branches from palm-trees, and met him, and were crying out, saying: Osanna, blessed is he who cometh in (the) name of the Lord, and (the) king of Israel.' (14) And Jesus having found an ass, mounted it, according as it is written: (15) Fear not, Daughter of Sion; behold, thy King cometh mounted on a colt (the) foal (]it. son) of an ass.' (16) And these (things) his disciples knew not at first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that they did these (things) to him. (17) The multitude then, which was (imperf.) with him, was bearing witness, that he called Lazarus from the sepulchre, and raised him from the dead. (18) Therefore the multitudes were coming forth to him, because they heard that he did this sign. (19) The Pharisees then said to one another: We see that we shall (lit. will) not gain anything; lo, the whole world went after (lit. behind) him.' (20) Now there were Greeks of them who came up to (the) feast that they might worship. (21) These then were coming to Philip the man of Bethsaida of Galilee, and they were beseeching him, saying: Our Lord, we wish to see Jesus.' (22) Philip came, he said (it) to Andrew; Andrew again and Philip came, they said (it) to Jesus. (23) And Jesus answered, he said to them: 'The hour came that (the) Son of (the) man should be glorified. (24) Verily, verily, I say to you, that unless the grain of wheat fall upon the earth and die, it abideth alone: but if it should die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (25) He who loveth his life (lit. soul) shall lose it; and he who hateth his life (lit. soul) in this world shall keep it to eternal life. (26) He who will minister to me, let him follow me; and (the) place in which I am, there shall be with me my minister; and he who will be minister to me, my Father will honour him. (27) Now was my soul troubled; and what shall (lit. will) I say? my Father save me from this hour; but therefore came I to this hour. (28) Father, glorify thy Son.' A voice came from (the) heaven, saying: I glorified, again I will glorify.' (29) The multitude then, which was standing (by), having heard were saying, that thunder happened. But others were saying, that an angel spake to him. (30) Jesus answered and said: This voice happened not because of me, but because of you. (31) Now (is the) judgement of this world; now shall (the) ruler of this world be cast out. (32) And if I also should be lifted up from (the) earth, I shall draw every one to me.' (33) But this he was saying, signifying with what death he will die. (34) The multitude answered him, saying: We heard from the law that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou that (the) Sou of (the) man must be lifted up? who is (the) Son of (the) man? (35) Jesus said to them: Yet a little time (is) the light among you: walk then in the light, while ye have the light; that the darkness apprehend you not, because he who walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he went. (36) While ye have the light, walk in the light, that ye may become sons of the light.' Jesus having said these (things) went, he hid himself from them. (37) But having done so many (lit. these multitudes of) signs before them, they believed him not. (38) That (the) word of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said: Lord, who believed our voice? and to whom was revealed (the) arm of the Lord?' (39) Therefore it was not possible for them to believe, and Esaias said again: (40) He hardened their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they might not see with their eyes, and understand in their heart, and might return to me, that I might cure them.' (41) These (things) said Esaias, because he saw (the) glory of God, and spake concerning him. (42) Nevertheless many of the rulers also believed him: but they were not confessing him because of the Pharisees, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: (43) for they loved (the) glory of [the] men rather than (the) glory of God. (44) And Jesus cried out and said: He who believeth me, believeth not me, but he believed him who sent me. (45) And he who seeth me seeth him who sent me. (46) I came for a light of the world, that every one who believeth in me might not stay in (the) darkness. (47) And he who will hear my words, and will keep them not, I am not (he) who will judge him; for I came not that I might judge the world, but that I might save the world. (48) He who denieth me, and who receiveth not my words, hath that which will judge him: the word which I spake, that will judge him in the last day. (49) Because I spake not from myself; but he who sent me, he gave commandment to me what I shall (lit. will) say or what I shall (lit. will) speak. (50) And I know that his commandment is eternal life; the (things) then which I say, according as my Father said to me, thus I speak.'

13

(1) Now before (the) feast of the passover, Jesus having seen that his hour came, that he should remove from this world, and (lit. about to) go to the Father; having loved them who were his own, who were in the world, he (lit. having) loved them until the end. (2) And supper having been (ended), the devil had already put (lit. thrown) into (the) heart of him who was to deliver him (up), who was (lit. is) Judas Simon (the) Iscariot. (3) And Jesus having seen that the Father gave everything into his hands, and that he came from God, and is to go to God, (4) rose from the supper, laid his garments down, and took a towel, he girt himself with it. (5) And he poured (lit. threw) water into a bason, and began to wash (the) feet of his disciples, and (is) wiping them with the towel with which he was (imperf.) girt. (6) He came then to Simon Peter, about to wash his foot: Peter said to him: Lord, wilt thou wash my foot?' (7) Jesus answered and said to him: That whichI do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know after these (things).' (8) Peter said to him: Thou shalt never wash my foot.' Jesus answered: Verily, verily, I say to thee: Unless I wash thy foot, thou hast not part with me.' (9) Simon Peter said to him: My Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.' (10) Jesus said to him: He who was washed hath not need except to wash his foot, but he is altogether clean, and ye also are clean, but not all.' (11) For he was knowing who was to deliver him (up); therefore he was saying: Ye are not all clean.' (12) When then he (had) washed their feet, he took his garments, and having sat down to meat again, he said to them: Ye know what I did to you. (13) Ye call me "Teacher" and "our Lord;" ye say well, for I am (it). (14) If then I washed your feet, your Lord and your Teacher, ye also ought to wash the (lit. their) feet of one another. (15) For I gave (lit. did) to you a pattern, that according as I did to you, ye also might do to one another. (16) Verily, verily, I say to you, that there is not a servant [being] greater than his Lord, nor an apostle [being] greater than he who sent him. (17) If ye know these (things), blessed are ye if ye should do them. (18) I was not saying (it) concerning you all: for I know them whom I chose, but that the scripture may be fulfilled: "He who eateth my bread with me raised his heel upon me." (19) [From] now I say to you before it happen, that if it should happen, ye may believe that I am (he). (20) Verily, verily, I say to you, that he who receiveth him whom I will send receiveth me; and he who receiveth me receiveth him who sent me.' (21) And Jesus having said these (things), was troubled in the spirit, and bare witness, and said: Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you will deliver me (up).' (22) His disciples then were gazing at one another, they knew not which of them he said it was. (23) And one of his disciples was reclining in the bosom of Jesus, whom Jesus was loving. (24) Simon Peter then beckoned to this (one), that he might ask him whom he said it was. (25) And that disciple having leant upon (the) breast of Jesus said to him: My Lord, who is (it)?' (26) Jesus answered, saying: He, to whom I will dip the sop and give it, is he:' and he dipped the sop, and he gave it to Judas Simon (the) Iscariot. (27) And after the sop Satan went into him. Jesus then said to him: 'That which thou wilt do, do quickly.' (28) Now no one among those who sat at meat knew of this word, wherefore he said (it) to him. (29) And some were thinking, that, since Judas was having the bag, [that] perhaps Jesus is saying to him: Buy that of which we shall (lit. will) have need for (the) feast; ' or, that he might give something to the poor. (30) That (man) then having received the sop came forth immediately; and it was night. (31) When then he came forth, Jesus said: Now (the) Son of (the) man was glorified, and God was glorified in him. (32) If God was glorified in him, [and] God will glorify him in himself, and immediately shall glorify him. (33) My sons, yet a little I am with you: ye shall seek for me, and according as I said to the Jews, that the place to which I will go, ye will not be able to come to it; so (lit. and) now to you also I say (it). (34) A new commandment I give to you, that ye may love one another; according as I loved you, that ye may love one another. (35) By this all will know that ye (are) my disciples, if ye should love one another.' (36) Peter said to him: Lord, whither art thou to go?' Jesus answered: The place to which I will go, it is not possible for thee to walk after me now (thither), but at (the) end thou shalt [walk].' (37) Peter said to him: Wherefore is it not possible for me to walk after thee now? I will lay (down) my life (lit. soul) for thee.' (38) Jesus answered him: Wilt thou lay (down) thy life for me? Verily, verily, I say to thee, that a cock shall not crow until thou deniest me three times.

14

(1) Let not your heart be troubled; believe God, and believe me also. (2) There are many mansions in (the) house of my Father: if there were not, I would have said (it) to you; because I will go and prepare a place for you. (3) And if I should go and prepare a place for you, again I shall come, and take you away to me; that in (the) place in which I am, ye also may be the with me. (4) And (to the) place to which I shall go, ye know the road.' (5) Thomas said to him: `Lord, we know not whither thou art to go, and how is it possible for us to know the road?' (6) Jesus said to him: am the road, and the truth, and the life; no one cometh to the Father, unless he come by me. (7) If ye know me, ye shall know my Father also; and henceforth ye know him, and ye saw him.' (8) Philip said to him: Lord, shew to us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. (9) 'Jesus said to him: All this time I have been (lit. am) with you, and thou knewest me not, Philip? he who saw me, saw the Father; how sayest thou: "Shew to us the Father?" (10) Believest thou not that I am in my Father, and my Father in me? these words which I say to you I was not speaking them by myself, but the Father who abideth in me, he doeth his works. (11) Believe me that I am in my Father, and my Father in me, otherwise even because of the works believe me. (12) Verily, verily, I say to you, that he who believeth me, the works which I do, he shall do also; and greater than these shall he do, because I will go to the Father. (13) And that which ye will ask in my name, I shall do it for you, that the Father may be glorified in (the) Son. (14) That which ye will ask in my name, this I will do. (15) If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. (16) And I will beseech the Father, and he shall give to you (a) Paraclete, that he may be with you for ever. (17) The Spirit of the truth; whom it is not possible for the world to receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him. But ye know him, because he abideth with you, and shall be in you. (18) I shall not leave you being orphans; I come to you. (19) Yet a little, and the world will no longer see me; but ye see me; because I am alive, [and] ye also shall live. (20) In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I also in you. (21) He who hath my commandments, and who keepeth them, that (one) loveth me; and him who loveth me my Father shall love, and I shall love him, and I shall manifest myself to him.' (22) Judas said to him, not (the) Iscariot: Lord, what happened that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not (to) the world?' (23) Jesus answered, saying to him: He who loveth me shall keep my word, and my Father shall love him, and we shall come to him, and make our abode in him. (24) He who loveth me not, will not keep my words; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but that of the Father who sent me. (25) And these (things) I said to you, abiding with you. (26) But if the Paraclete should come, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and he will remind you of all things which I said to you. (27) I will leave my peace to you, my own peace I will give to you; not as the world giveth, will I give. Let not your heart be troubled, nor be doubtful. (28) Ye heard that I said to you, that I will go, and I come to you. If ye loved (imperf.) me, ye would rejoice, because I will go to the Father; because my Father is greater than I. (29) And now I said (it) to you before it happeneth, that if it should happen, ye may believe. (30) 1 will not say many words to you any longer, for (the) ruler of this world cometh; and he hath nothing in me. (31) But that the world may know that I love my Father; and according as my Father ordered me, I do thus. Rise, let us go from here.

15

(1) I am the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch which is in me, which will not bring forth fruit he will cut away; and every one (lit. that) which will bring fruit, he will cleanse it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (3) Now ye were cleansed because of this word which I spake to you. (4) Abide in me, and I also in you. According as the branch--it is not possible that it should bring forth fruit from itself, unless it abide in the vine: thus ye also--it is not possible for you, unless ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine; ye are the branches: he who will abide in me, and I also in him, this (one) shall bring forth much fruit: because without me it is not possible for you to do anything. (6) Unless any one abide in me, he will be cast out as the branch; and he is withered; and they gather them, and cast them to the fire; and they are burned. (7) And if ye should abide in me, and my words abide in you. ask that which ye wish, and it will be clone for you. (8) In this is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit, and that ye be to me disciples. (9) As my Father loved me, I also loved you: abide in my love. (10) If ye keep my commandments, ye will abide in my love: as I also kept the commandments of my Father, and I abide in his love. (11) These (things) I said to you, that my joy may abide in you; and that your joy also may be fulfilled. (12) This is my own commandment, that ye love one another, as I loved you. (13) No one hath greater than this love, that he (lit. one) should lay (down) his life (lit. soul) for his friend. (14) Ye are my friends, if ye should do the things which I order you. (15) I will no longer call you "servant;" because the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but you I am to call "my friends;" because all things which I heard from my Father I shewed to you. (16) Ye chose not me, but I chose you; and I set you, that ye might go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit might stay. That that which ye will ask from the Father in my name, he might give it to you. (17) And these (things) I order you, that ye love one another. (18) If the world hate you, know that it first hated me. (19) If ye were from the world, the world would love that which is its own. But because ye are not from the world, but I chose you from the world, therefore the world hateth you. (20) Remember the word which I spake to you , that there is not a servant who is greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they shall persecute you also; if they kept my word, they shall keep yours also. (21) But all these (things) they will do to you because of my name; because they know not him who sent me. (22) If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin: but now they have not pretext concerning their sin. (23) He who hateth me hateth my Father also. (24) If I had not done the works among them which no other did, they had not had sin: but now they saw, and they hated me and my Father also. (25) But (this is) that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, that they hated me without a cause. (26) If the Paraclete should come, whom I will send to you from my Father, the Spirit of the truth, who cometh from the Father, he will bear witness concerning me. (27) And ye also bear witness, because ye are with me from (the) first.

16

(1) These (things) I said to you, that ye might not be offended, (2) if they should put you out of the synagogue. But an hour cometh, that every one, who will kill you, shall (conj.) think that he offered sacrifice to God. (3) And these (things) they shall do to you, because they knew not the Father, nor knew they me. (4) But these (things) I said to you, that if the hour should come, ye may remember them that I have said them to you; and these (things) I said not to you from (the) beginning, because I was (imperf.) with you. (5) But now I will go to him who sent me, and no one of you asketh me, "Whither wilt thou go'?" (6) But because I said these (things) to you, (the) grief filled your heart. (7) But (the) truth I say to you; it is profitable for you that I go. For unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I should go, I will send him to you. (8) And if that (one) should come, he shall convict the world concerning (the) sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgement. (9) Concerning (the) sin indeed, because they believe me not; (10) and concerning righteousness, because I will go to the Father, and ye will see me no longer; (11) and concerning judgement, because (the) ruler of this World hath been judged. (12) I have yet many things to say to you, but ye will not be able to bear them now. (13) Howbeit if that (one), the Spirit of the truth, should come, he shall guide you in all truth. For he is not to speak from himself, but the things which he is to hear he will speak; and the things which come, he shall show to you. (14) That (one) will glorify me, because he is to take of that which is mine own, and will show to you. (15) All things which my Father hath are mine; therefore I said to you, that he is to take of that which is mine own, and shew to you. (16) Yet a little, (and) ye will not see me; and again, yet a little, (and) ye will see me.' (17) Some of his disciples said to one another: What is this word which he saith to us, that yet a little, (and) ye will not see me; and again, yet a little, (and) ye will see me; and, because I will go to the Father?' (18) They were saying then: 'What is this which he saith, "Yet a little?" we know not what he said.' (19) Jesus knew that they were wishing to ask him, and he said to them: 'Ye seek for this word with one another, because I said to you, that yet a little, (and) ye will not see me; and again, yet a little, (and) ye will see ine. (20) Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; ye will be grieved, but your grief will become to you joy. (21) The woman if she should be going to bear is grieved, because her hour came: but if she should bear the son, she remembereth not the tribulation because of the joy, that she bare a man into the world. (22) And ye also now indeed shall have grief; again I will see you, and ye will rejoice; and your joy no one will take away from you. (23) And in that day ye will ask me not anything. Verily, verily, I say to you, that which ye will ask from the Father in my name, he shall give to you. (24) Till now ye asked not yet anything in my name: ask, and ye will receive, that your joy may be complete. (25) And these (things) I said to you in proverbs; and an hour cometh, when I will speak to you no longer in proverbs, but openly I will shew to you concerning the Father. (26) In that day ye shall ask in my name, and I will not say to you, that I will beseech the Father concerning you. (27) For the Father himself also loveth you, because ye loved me, and ye believed that I came from the Father. (28) I came from the Father, and I came into the world; again I will leave the world, and I will go to the Father.' (29) His disciples said to him: Lo, now thou speakest openly, and thou sayest not any proverb. (30) Now we know, that thou knowest all things, and thou past not need for any one to ask thee; in this we believe, that thou camest from God.' (31) Jesus answered: 'Now ye believe. (32) Lo, an hour cometh, and it came, that ye may be scattered, each one to his place, and may leave me alone, and I am not alone, because my Father is with me. (33) These (things) I said to you, that peace might be to you in me: ye have tribulation in the world, but be of good cheer; I conquered the world.'

17

(1) These (things) Jesus spake, and having lifted up his eyes to (the) heaven, he said: My Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. (2) As thou gavest to him authority over all flesh, that to every one (lit. that) whom thou gavest to him he should give to them eternal life. (3) And this is the eternal life, that they may know thee the one true God alone, and him whom thou sentest, Jesus Christ. (4) I glorified thee upon the earth, having finished the work which thou gavest to me, that I might do it. (5) And now glorify thou me, my Father, with (apud) thee in the glory which I had (imperf.) at first, before the world was, with thee. (6) I manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest to me from the world: thine they are, and thou gavest them to me, and they kept thy word. (7) And now they knew that all things which thou gavest to me are from thee. (8) Because the words which thou gavest to me, I gave to them; and they also received them, and they knew truly that I came from thee, and they believed that thou sentest me. (9) I pray for them: I was not praying concerning the world, but concerning them whom thou gavest to me, because they are thine. (10) And they who are mine are thine; and I was glorified in them. (11) And I am no longer in the world; but these, they are in the world, and I come to thee. My Father, the holy (one), keep them in thy name which thou gavest to me, that they may be one as we are. (12) When I was (lit. being) with them I was keeping them in thy name which thou gavest me. I kept them, and not any of them perished except (the) son of (the) perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. (13) But now I am coming to thee, and these (things) I speak in the world, that my joy may be complete in them. (14) I gave to them thy word, and the world hated them, because they are not from the world, as I also am not from the world. (15) I was not beseeching that thou shouldest take them away from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (16) They are not from the world, as I also am not from the world. (17) Hallow them in the truth; thine own word is the truth. (18) According as thou sentest me into the world, I also sent them into the world. (19) And I hallow myself for them, that they also may be hallowed in truth. (20) And I was not beseeching concerning these alone, but besides for them who believe me through their word; (21) that they all may be one, according as, [the] Father, thou art in me, I also in thee; that they also may be in us one; that the world may believe that thou sentest me. (22) And the glory which thou gavest to me, I gave to them, that they also may be one, as we also are one: (23) that they may be complete (in) one, that the world may know that thou sentest me. (24) My Father, they whom (lit. that which) thou gavest to me,-- I wish that (in the) place in which I am, they may be there with me; that they may see my glory, which thou gavest to me; because thou lovedst me before (the) foundation of the world. (25) My Father, the righteous (one), though the world knew not thee; I knew thee, and these also knew that thou sentest me. (26) And I shewed to them thy name, and I will shew to them, that the love with (lit. in) which thou lovedst me may be in them, and I also in them.'

18

(1) Jesus having said these (things) came forth with his disciples across the torrent (lit. stray-water) of the cedar trees, the place in which there is a garden; into this entered Jesus and his disciples. (2) And Judas also, who was to deliver him (up), was knowing that place, because many times Jesus assembled thither with his disciples. (3) Judas then having received the multitude and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. (4) And Jesus knowing all things which come upon him, came forth, he said to them: For whom sought ye?' (5) They answered, they said to him: Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them: I am (he).' Judas, who was to deliver him up, was standing with them. (6) When then he said to them: I am (he),' they fled back, and they fell down. (7) Again he asked them: For whom sought ye?' And they said: Jesus of Nazareth. (8) 'Jesus answered: said to you, that I am (he); if ye sought for me, send these away, let them go; (9) that the word might be fulfilled which he said: Them whom thou gavest to me, I lost not any of them.' (10) Simon Peter then having a sword drew it, and struck at (the) servant of the chief priest, and cut off his right ear; now (the) name of the servant is Malchos. (11) Jesus then said to Peter: Put (lit. throw) the sword into its sheath: the cup which my Father gave to me, shall (lit. will) I not drink it?' (12) The multitude then and the Chiliarch and the officers of the Jews laid hold on Jesus, they bound him; (13) and they brought him first to Anna; for he was (the) father-in-law to Kaiapha, who was (imperf.) chief priest for that year. (14) Now it was this Kaiapha who counselled the Jews, saying, that it is profitable that one man should die for the people. (15) And Simon Peter was walking after Jesus, and another disciple: now that disciple was (imperf.) known to the chief priest. And he came in with Jesus to the court of the chief priest. (16) Peter was standing outside by the entrance. The disciple then, who was (imperf.) an acquaintance of (lit. to) the chief priest, came, he spake to the porteress, and he brought Peter in. (17) The porter-maid said to Peter: Art thou also one of (the) disciples of this man?' and he said: Nay.' (18) Nov the servants and the officers were standing (by), having lit a fire for themselves, because it was (the) winter; and they were warming themselves: and Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. (19) The chief priest, then asked Jesus concerning his disciples, and concerning his teaching. (20) Jesus answered him, saying: 'I spake to the world openly. And I was teaching in the synagogues always, and in the temple, the place to which all the Jews assemble. And I said not any word in secret. (21) Wherefore askest thou me? ask them who heard, what I said to them. Behold, these know the things which I said.' (22) Jesus having said these (things), one of the officers who stood (by) struck Jesus, saying: Is this (the) manner of answering the chief priest?' (23) Jesus answered, he said to him: If evil I spake, bear witness of the evil: but if well, wherefore beatest thou me?' (24) Then Anna sent him bound to Kaiapha the chief priest. (25) Now Simon Peter was standing, warming himself: they said to him: Art thou also one of his disciples?' and he denied, he said: Nay.' (26) One of the servants of the chief priest, being kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, said: Did I not see thee with him in the garden?' (27) Again Peter denied; and immediately a cock crew. (28) They then brought Jesus from Kaiapha into the Prætorium; and it was early; and they themselves came not into the Prætorium, that they shall not be defiled, until they eat the passover. (29) Pilate then came forth to them, and said to them: What accusation bring ye against this man?' (30) They answered, they said to him: If this were not a wicked (man), we would not have delivered him to thee.' (31) Pilate said to them: Take ye him, judge him according to your law.' The Jews said to him: It is not lawful for us to kill any one:' (32) that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he said, signifying with what death he will die. (33) Again Pilate came into the Prætorium, and he called Jesus, he said to him: Art thou (the) king of the Jews?' (34) Jesus answered and said: Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others say (it) to thee concerning me?' (35) Pilate answered, saying: Am I a Jew also? thine own nation and the chief priests, they delivered thee (up): what didst thou?' (36) Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of the world: if my kingdom were of this world, my servants (lit. officers) would have fought (lit. given) for me, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not of the world.' (37) Pilate then said: (Art) thou a king then?' Jesus answered: 'Thou sayest that I (am) a king. For I was born for this work, and therefore I came into the world for my bearing witness to the truth; all who are of the truth hear my voice.' (38) Pilate said to him: What is the truth?' and having said this, again he came forth to the Jews, he said to them: I find not any guilt in this man. (39) But your custom is that I should release one to you in the passover, wish ye then that I should release to you (the) king of the Jews?' (40) And they all cried out, saying: Release not this (man); but release Barabbas.' Now this Barabbas was a robber.

19

(1) Then Pilate took Jesus, he scourged him. (2) And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, they put (lit. gave) it upon his head, and they arrayed him in a purple garment. (3) And they were coming to him, saying: king of the Jews ' and they were striking him. (4) Again Pilate came, and said to them: Lo, I will bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find not any guilt in (lit. to) him.' (5) Then Jesus came out, wearing the thorn-crown and the purple garment, and Pilate said to them: Behold, the man!' (6) When then the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him.' Pilate said to them: 'Take him yourselves, crucify him, for I find not any guilt attaching (lit. taking) to him.' (7) The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to our law he is worthy of (the) death, because he made himself Son of God.' (8) When then Pilate heard this word, he feared the more. (9) And he came into the Prætorium, he said to Jesus: 'Whence art thou?' ' But Jesus answered him not. (10) Pilate said to him: Wherefore speakest thou not to me? or knowest thou not that I have authority to crucify thee, I have authority again to release thee?' (11) Jesus answered: Thou hast not any authority over (lit. into) me, if it had not been given to thee from above; therefore he who gave me to thee hath greater sin.' (12) Because of this (lit. therefore) then Pilate was seeking to (lit. for) release him. The Jews then cried out, saying: 'If thou shouldst release this (man), thou (art) not (the) friend of (the) king; for every one who maketh himself king, (is) opposing (the) king.' (13) And Pilate having heard these words, brought Jesus forth, and he sat on the judgement-seat in the place which is called the Lithostrôton,' but in Hebrew Gabbatha.' (14) Now it was (the) Preparation of the Passover, and it was (the) sixth hour. And Pilate was saying to the Jews: Behold, your king!' (15) And they cried out: Take him away, take him away, crucify him.' Pilate said to them: Should I (conj.) crucify your king?' The chief priests answered: We have no king except Kesar.' (16) Then, therefore (lit. then), he delivered to them Jesus, that they might crucify him. They took then Jesus. (17) And he carrying his cross, came to the place which is called the skull,' but in Hebrew Golgotha;' (18) the place in which they crucified him: and they crucified two robbers also with him on this side and this side of him, and Jesus in (the) midst. (19) And Pilate wrote a title also, and set it upon the cross. And it was written: Jesus of Nazareth, (the) king of the Jews.' (20) And many of the Jews read the title, because the place in which Jesus was crucified was (imperf.) near to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, in Greek. (21) The chief priests of the Jews were saying then to Pilate: Write not, "(The) king of the Jews," but that he said: "I am (the) king of the Jews." ' (22) Pilate answered: That which I wrote I wrote.' (23) The soldiers then having crucified Jesus, took his garments, they made four portions, and the coat also: now the coat was seamless, woven from above all of it. (24) They said then to one another: Let us not rend it, but let us cast lot for it, to which of us it is to belong.' That the scripture might be fulfilled, saying: They divided my garments among them, and they cast lot for my raiment.' These (things) then the soldiers did. (25) But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and (the) sister of his mother, Mary of (lit. that of) Kleopa, and Mary the Magdalene. (26) And Jesus having seen his mother, and the disciple whom he was loving, standing (by), said to his mother: thy son!' (27) Then he said to the disciple: 'Behold, thy mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her away to his house. (28) After these (things), Jesus having seen that now all things were finished, that the scripture might be finished, he said: thirst.' (29) And there was a vessel full of vinegar set down; they filled a sponge with vinegar, they placed it upon hyssop, they put (lit. threw) it by his mouth. (30) When then Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said: 'It is finished:' and having bent down his head, he delivered (up) the spirit. (31) The Jews then, since it was the Preparation, that the bodies might not stay upon the cross on (the) sabbath for great was the day of that sabbath--they besought Pilate, that they might break their legs, and take them away. (32) The soldiers then came, and (of) the first indeed they brake his legs; and they brake those of the other who was crucified with him. (33) But having come to Jesus, they found him--he was already dead; they brake not his legs. (34) But one of the soldiers pierced his side with his spear; and immediately came out water and blood. (35) And he who saw bare witness; and true is his witness; and he also, that (one), knoweth that he said truth, that ye might believe. (36) For these (things) happened, that the scripture might be fulfilled: A bone of his shall not be broken.' (37) And again the scripture saith: They shall see him whom they pierced.' (38) And after these (things) came Joseph the man of Arimatheas, he besought Pilate--being himself a disciple of Jesus; but he was (imperf.) in secret (lit. hid) because of (the) fear of the Jews--that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate commanded to give it. He came then and took away the body of Jesus. (39) And there came also Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night at first, having a mixture (of) myrrh and aloe, about a hundred pound. (40) They took then the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the custom of the Jews for embalming. (41) Now there was a garden in the place in which he was crucified; and there was a new sepulchre in the garden: no one was ever yet put (lit. thrown) in (it). (42) Since the sepulchre was (imperf.) near to them, because that it was the Preparation of the Jews, they laid Jesus in it.

20

(1) Now on (the) first (lit. one of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene came to the sepulchre early, it being yet dusk [out], and she saw the stone taken away from the mouth of the sepulchre. (2) She ran then, she came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved (imperf.), and she said to them: They took away our Lord from the sepulchre, and we know not where they laid him.' (3) Peter then came forth and the other disciple, and they were coming to the sepulchre. (4) And they were running both together. And the disciple ran before Peter, and came (lit. did) first before (lit. to) him to the sepulchre. (5) And he gazed in, he saw the garments laid down; however he entered not. (6) And there came also Simon, Peter walking after him, and he went on into the sepulchre, and he saw the garments laid down: (7) and the napkin, which was (imperf.) upon his head, was (imperf.) not with the garments, but wrapped (up), laid apart alone. (8) Then came in also the other disciple who came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, he believed. (9) For they had not yet known the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. (10) The disciples went again to their place. (11) But Mary was standing outside by the sepulchre weeping: and as she (was) weeping, she looked into the sepulchre: (12) she saw two angels sitting in white vesture, one at the head, and one at the foot, in the place in which the body of Jesus was lying. (13) And those (angels) said to her: Woman, why weepest thou? ' She said to them: They took away my Lord, and I know not where they laid him.' (14) Having said these (things), she turned herself back, she saw Jesus standing, and she was not knowing that it is Jesus. (15) Jesus said to her: Woman, wherefore weepest thou? for whom sought thou?' And she, thinking that it is the gardener, said to him: My Lord, if thou carriedst him (away), show to me where thou laidest him, and I will take him away.' (16) Jesus said to her: Mariam:' and she turned herself, she said to him in Hebrew: 'Rabbouni,' which is this: 'Teacher.' (17) Jesus said to her: Touch me not: for I went not yet up to my Father: but go to my brothers, and say to them, that I will go up to my Father, who is your Father; and my God, who is your God.' (18) And Mary the Magdalene came, she told (lit. shewed) to the disciples: I saw the Lord, and these (things) he said to me.' (19) And it was evening of that day, (the) first (lit. one) of the sabbaths, and the doors being shut of the place in which the disciples were assembled, because of (the) fear of the Jews, then (he) Jesus came, he stood in their midst, he said to them: (The) peace to you.' (20) And having said this, he shewed to them his hands and his side: the disciples then rejoiced having seen the Lord. (21) And he said to them again: (The) peace to you; according as my Father sent me, I also send you.' (22) And having said this, he breathed in their face, and said to them: 'Receive to you the (lit. a) Holy Spirit. (23) Whose sins ye will forgive [to them], they are forgiven to them; and them which ye will retain, they shall be retained.' (24) But Thomas who is called Didymus,' one of the twelve, was (imperf.) not there with them, Jesus having come to them. (25) The disciples then were saying to him We saw the Lord.' But he said to them: Unless I see (the) print of the nails in his hands, and put (lit. throw) my finger into (the) print of the nails, and put (lit. throw) my hand into his side, I will not believe.' (26) And after eight days again the disciples were assembled within, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came within, the doors being shut, and he stood in their midst, he said to them: (The) peace to you.' (27) Then he said to Thomas: 'Reach (lit. give) thy finger hither, and see my hands, and put forth thy hand, thrust (lit. throw) it into my side, and be not faithless.' (28) Thomas answered and said: My Lord and my God.' (29) Jesus said to him: Because thou sawest me, thou believedst: blessed are they who saw not, and believed.' (30) Many other signs indeed Jesus did before his disciples, which are not written in this book. (31) But these were written, that ye may believe that Jesus Christ is (the) Son of God, and that, believing, eternal life may be to you in his name.

21

(1) And after these (things) again Jesus manifested himself to his disciples at the sea of Tiberiados; and he manifested himself thus. (2) There were (imperf.) at a place Simon Peter, and Thomas who is called Didymus,' and (the) sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. (3) Simon Peter said to them: I will go and catch fish.' They said to him: I We come also with thee;' and having come forth, they entered into the ship; and in that night they caught not any. (4) But morning being about to come, Jesus stood on the shore; however the disciples knew not that it was (lit. is) Jesus. (5) Jesus then said to them: Children, have ye anything to eat?"They answered: Nay.' (6) He said to them: Cast the net on the right of the ship, and ye shall find.' And they cast, and they could not draw it up for (the) abundance of the fishes. (7) The disciple whom Jesus loved (imperf.) said to Peter: It is the Lord.' Simon Peter then having heard that it was (lit. is) the Lord, girded himself in his clothing, for he was (imperf.) naked, and threw himself into the sea. (8) But the other disciples came in the ship--for they were (imperf.) not distant from the shore, but about two hundred cubits--drawing the net of the fishes. (9) And when they came to the land, they looked, they saw a fire laid [down], and fish upon it, and bread. (10) Jesus said to them: Bring of the fishes which ye caught now.' (11) Simon Peter then came up, and he drew the net up on the land, full of great fish, being a hundred (and) fifty-three in it; and though (lit. being) this number (was) in it, the net was not rent. (12) Jesus said to them: Come, eat.' And there was (imperf.) not any of his disciples (who) dare ask him:: Who (art) thou?' knowing that it is the Lord. (13) Jesus then came, he took the bread and gave to them, and the fish thus. (14) And this is (the) third time that Jesus manifested himself to his disciples, having risen from the dead. (15) When then they (had) eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter:: `Simon, (son) of John, lovest thou me (more) than these?' He said to him: 'Yea, my Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' He said to him: Feed my lambs.' (16) Again he said to him (the) second time: Simon, (son) of John, lovest thou me?' He said to him: Yea, my Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' He said to him: Feed my sheep.' (17) He said to him again (the) third time: Simon, (son) of John, lovest thou me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him (the) third time: Lovest thou me.' And he said to him: 'Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.' He said to him:' Feed my sheep. (18) Verily, verily, I say to thee that, thou being a child, thou girdest thyself, and goest whither thou wiliest; but if thou should be old, thou shalt stretch out thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and they shall take thee away, whither thou willest not.' (19) Now having said this, he signified in what death he is to glorify God: and having said this, he said to him: Walk after me.' (20) And Peter turned himself, he saw the disciple whom Jesus loved (imperf.), who reclined on his breast at (lit. in) the supper, who said to him: Lord, who will deliver thee (up)?' (21) Peter then having seen this (man), said to Jesus: My Lord, and this (man) what (shall) he (do)? ' (22) Jesus said to him: If I should wish to leave him until I come, what (is it) to thee? but thou follow me.' (23) And this word came forth among the brothers, that that disciple will not die, but Jesus said not to him, that he will not die; but if I should wish to leave him until I come, what is it to thee? (24) This is the disciple who bare witness of these (things); and he wrote them; and we know that his witness is true. (25) And there are many other things again which Jesus did; these, if they had been written one by one, I know that the world would not be able to contain the books which would have been (lit. will be) written.

Acts of the Apostles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1

(1) The first treatise indeed I made concerning all things, O Theophylle, amongst those which Jesus began to do [them] and to teach, (2) until the day (in which), having charged the apostles through the holy spirit, those whom he chose, he was taken away to (the) heaven. (3) These to whom he manifested himself alive after having suffered, in many signs, through forty days manifesting himself to them, and speaking to them concerning the kingdom of God: (4) and eating with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to stay for the promise of the Father, which ye heard from me: (5) because Iōannēs indeed baptised in [a] water, but ye (pron.) will be baptised in [a] holy spirit: after not many days these (things) happened. (6) They indeed then having assembled were asking him, saying: Lord, in this time wilt thou restore the kingdom to Israel?' (7) He said to them: 'It is not yours to know times or seasons, these which the Father put under his authority. (8) But ye shall receive [a] power, if the holy spirit should come upon you: and ye will be to me witness in Jerusalem, and all [the] Ioudea and (the) Samaria, and unto the (lit. his) end of (the) earth.' (9) And having said these things, as they gaze, he was lifted up; and a cloud received him from their eyes. (10) But they were [as] staring one at another (lit. one) of them, as he goeth (lit. he walking) up to (the) heaven. Behold, two men stood with them in white raiment; (11) and they said, [The] men, [the] Galileans, why stand ye gazing up to (the) heaven? This is Jesus who has been taken away up from you: this also is as he is coming, as ye saw him going (lit. walking) up to (the) heaven. (12) Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain which is called 'That of the olives,' which is near to Jerusalem a sabbath journey. (13) Then, having gone in, they went up to a room (lit. place) aloft, where was abiding Petros with Iōannēs, Iakōbos and Andreas, Philippos and Thōmas, Bartholomeos and Matthewtheos, Iakōbos, he of Alpheos, and Simōn the zealot, and Ioudas, he of Iakōbos. (14) But all these (were) continuing together for the prayer, with (next) women, and Maria (the) mother of Jesus, and his brethren. (15) And in these days Petros rose in. (the) midst of the brethren, but there were many assembled together who were to be numbered (lit. make) a hundred (and) twenty names: he said, (16) [The] men, [the] brethren, it is necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the holy spirit said before from the mouth of David concerning Ioudas who guided them who overpowered Jesus. (17) Because he was being numbered amongst us, and the lot came to him of the heritage of this ministry. (18) This (man) indeed then bought a field from (the) reward of (the) iniquity; and he fell upon his face, he burst in the (lit. his) midst, and all that (plur.) which was inside him was poured out. (19) And he was manifest to all who dwelt in Jerusalem; so that they call (the) name of that field in their language 'Acheldamag,' which (is) the field of the blood. (20) For it is written in (the) book of the Psalms: 'Let his habitation be desolate, and let there not be him who dwelleth in it. His bishopric let another take.' (21) It is necessary then, among the men who came in among us, in all the time which our Lord Jesus came in and came out over us, (22) having begun from the baptism of Iōannēs until the day (in) which he was taken away up from us, that one of these should witness with us of his resurrection. (23) And they set up two, Joseph who is called 'Barsabbas,' who was named Ioustos,' and Matthewhias. (24) And having prayed, they said: 'Lord, thou (art) he who knoweth (the) heart of all, manifest him whom thou chosest from these two one, (25) to take (the) place of this ministry and this apostleship which Ioudas transgressed, having gone to his place which is his.' (26) And they gave lot for them; the lot came upon Matthewhias; he was counted with the eleven apostles.

2

(1) And the day of the Pentēcostē having been fulfilled, they were all assembling in a place. (2) Suddenly there came a sound from (the) heaven as a wind rushing, and it filled all (the) house in which they were sitting. (3) And there appeared to them as tongues of fire, divided; and they sat upon each of them. (4) And they all were filled with [a] holy spirit, and they began to speak other tongues, according as the spirit gave to them to utter. (5) But there were some dwelling in Jerusalem, men, Jews, devout, from all nations which are under (the) heaven. (6) But this sound having come, the multitudes were assembled, and they were confounded, because each was hearing them speaking in his (lit. their) language. (7) But they were all being amazed, wondering, saying: 'Are not all these who speak Galileans? (8) How hear we (pron.) each of us in our language in which we were begotten? (9) The Parthians and the Medes and the Elamites, and they who dwell in [the] Mesopotamia, [the] Ioudea and [the] Kappodokia, Pontos and [the] Asia, (10) [the] Phrikia and [the] Pamphilia, Chēmi and the parts of [the] Lybē, that which is near the parts of [the] Kyrinnē, and the Romans who are among us, (11) the Jews and the strangers, the Cretans and the Arabians, we hear them speaking in tongues the great things of God.' (12) But they were all amazed, staring one at another, saying: What is this which happened?' (13) But others were deriding, saying: These filled themselves with new wine,' but others were saying: These are drunken.' (14) But Petros stood (up) with the eleven also, he lifted up his voice, he answered them, [The] men, [the] Jews and all they who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be manifested to you, and listen to my words. (15) For (it is) not as ye (pron.) think, that these are drunken; for it is the third hour of the day; (16) but this is that which he said through the prophet Iōēl: (17) 'It shall come to pass in the last days, said God, I shall pour out from my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; and your young men shall see visions; and your old men shall dream dreams; (18) and even I shall pour out from my spirit upon my servants and my handmaids in that day; and they shall prophesy. (19) I shall give wonders in (the) heaven above, and signs upon (the) earth below; [a] blood, and [a] fire, and a blackness of smoke. (20) (The) sun shall be removed, it shall become darkness; and the moon shall become blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord come. (21) And it shall be to every one who will pray (the) name of the Lord, (that) he shall be saved.' (22) [The] men, [the] Israelites, hear these my words, Jesus the Nazōreos, a man whom God manifested unto you in powers and signs and wonders, which God did through him in your midst according as ye (pron.) know. (23) This (man), in the ordained counsel and the foreknowledge of God, having delivered into (the) hands of the lawless, ye crucified and ye killed). (24) This whom God raised (up), having loosed the pangs of Amenti: because it was not possible that he should be overpowered by it. (25) For David saith of him: I foresaw the Lord before me always; being at my right hand, that I may not be moved: (26) therefore my heart was delighted, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also shall dwell in [a] hope : (27) because thou shalt not leave my sou/ in Amenti, neither shalt thou give the holy one of thine to see (the) corruption. (28) The ways of (the) life thou manifestedst to me, thou shalt fill me with delight with thy face.' (29) [The] men our brethren, it is lawful to speak to you openly concerning our patriarch David, that he died, and he was embalmed, and his sepulchre (is) among us until to-day. (30) Being then a prophet, and knowing that in an oath God sware to him from (the) fruit of his loins to make one sit upon his throne; (31) having seen then from (the) first, he spake concerning (the) resurrection of Christ, that he left him not in Amenti, nor did his flesh see (the) corruption. (32) This [is] Jesus whom God raised (up), this to whom all we (pron.) are witness. (33) Having been exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy spirit from the Father, he poured out this which ye (pron.) see and ye hear. (34) For David went not up to (the) heaven: he himself saith: The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, (35) until I put thine enemies below thy feet."' (36) Assuredly then let the whole house of Israel know, that God made him Lord and he made him Christ. This [is] Jesus, this whom ye (pron.) crucified. (37) But having heard, their heart was pained, they said to Petros and (the) rest of the apostles: What is that which we shall (lit. will) do, [the] men, our brethren?' (38) But Petros said to them: 'Repent, and let each of you receive baptism unto (the) name of Jesus Christ unto (the) forgiveness of your sins; and ye will receive the free gift of the holy spirit. (39) For yours is the promise, and your fathers, and all who are far off, whom the Lord our God will call.' (40) But in many other words he was witnessing to them, and he was entreating them, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.' (41) They indeed then who received the word were baptised: and there were added to them on that day three thousand souls. (42) But they were continuing in the teaching of the apostles, And the fellowship of the breaking of the bread, and the prayer. (43) But a fear was being to every soul. But many signs and wonders were being done through the apostles in Jerusalem: but a great fear was being upon them all. (44) But all who believed were being in a place; and all things were being to them in common; (45) and they were selling their fields and possessions; and they were dividing them among all, according as each one had need. (46) But they were continuing daily in (e) the temple, breaking [a] bread in house, and they were taking [a] food in [a] gladness and a pure heart, (47) blessing God, having [a] grace with all the people. But the Lord addeth to them who are being saved daily, together.

3

(1) But Petros and Iōannēs were going up to the temple at (the) hour of the prayer of the ninth hour. (2) But there was a man, being lame from (the) womb of his mother. This (man) they were wont to carry (lit. raise) daily and lay him at (the) door of the gate of the temple which is called (the) beautiful,' for him to receive an alms from them who go into the temple. (3) This (man) having seen Petros and Iōannēs going into the temple was praying them, wishing to receive an alms from them. (4) But Petros looked at him, with Iōannēs, he said: 'Look at us.' (5) But he (pron.) was thinking that he was to receive an alms from them. (6) But Petros said to him: '[A] silver and [a] gold are (lit, is) not to me; but that which I have I give to thee. In (the) name of Jesus Christ the Nazōreos, rise, walk.' (7) But he caught hold of his hand, he raised him (up). But immediately his soles and the ankle bones of his feet were made firm. (8) He sprang up, he stood, he walked; and he went into the temple with them, walking, springing up, blessing God. (9) And all the people saw him, walking, praising God: (10) but they were knowing him, that this is he who was sitting needing alms at the beautiful gate of the temple: they all were filled with [a] fear and [an] astonishment over this which happened. (11) But he caught hold of Petros and Iōannēs: all the people ran off to them at the porch which is called 'that of Solomōn,' being in.[a] fear. (12) But Petros having seen, answered the people. [The] men, [the] Israelites, because of what a wonder ye at this? Or why look ye at us, as though in our power or our piety we did this to cause this (man) to walk? (13) God of Abraam and God of Isaak and God of Iakōb, God of our fathers glorified his servant (lit. child) Jesus; He whom ye (pron.) gave (up); ye denied him before Pilatos: he indeed having decided to release him; (14) but ye (pron.) denied the holy, the righteous. Ye ask to be released to you a man (a) murderer; (15) but (the) author of (the) life ye kill, this whom God raised from them who are dead; this to whom we (pron.) witness. (16) And in (the) faith of his name, this (man) whom ye see and ye know,--his name (is) that which cured him, and the faith, (which) is through him, gave to him the soundness before you all. (17) But now, my brethren, I know that ye did it in [an] ignorance, as also your rulers. (18) But God fulfilled thus the things which he said since (the) first from the mouth of all his prophets for his Christ to suffer. (19) Repent then and return for your sins to be wiped away, that times of refreshment may come to you from before (the) presence (lit. face) of the Lord; (20) and he shall send to you him whom he foreordained, Jesus Christ: (21) this whom the heavens must receive until (the) time of restoration of all things, which (plur.) God spake from the mouth of his prophets since (the) age (began). (22) Mōysēs indeed said: The Lord God shall raise a prophet to you from your brethren (of) them like me; hearken to him according to all things which he will say to you. (23) But it shall be to every soul who will not hearken to that prophet--that soul shall be wiped away from her people.' (24) And all the prophets since Samuel, and those who came after him, spake and proclaimed concerning these days. (25) But ye are (the) sons of the prophets, and the covenant which God established with our fathers, saying to Abraam: 'All the families of (the) earth shall become blessed in thy seed.' (26) First indeed God raised his servant (lit. child) to you, he sent him to bless you, that each one of you might depart from his evil things.

4

(1) But as they speak to the people the priests and the captains of the temple and the Sadducees rose upon them, (2) objecting that they were teaching the people, and they were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection [the] from them who are dead. (3) And they put forth (lit, brought) their hands upon them, they threw them into ward until the morrow: already evening had come. (4) But many from them who heard the word believed; and (the) number of the men who believed came to be five thousand. (5) But it came to pass, the morrow having come, (that) the rulers and their presbyters and the scribes assembled in Jerusalem; (6) and Anna and Kaiapha, the chief priests, and Iōannēs and Alexandros, and all who were from (the) kindred of the chief priest. (7) And having set them in their midst they were asking them: ' In what power, or in what name do ye (pron.) this?' (8) Then Petros was filled with the holy spirit, he said to them: [The] rulers of the people, and [the] presbyters, (9) if we (pron.) to-day are examined concerning a good deed which was done to a feeble man, as to by whom this man was cured; (10) let the deed be manifest to you all, and all the people of Israel, that in (the) name of Jesus the Nazōreos, this whom ye (pron.) crucified, this whom God raised from them who are dead, in this (one) standeth this (man) before you cured. (11) This is the stone which was despised by you the builders, this became a chief corner (stone). (12) And there is not another in whom is being (the) salvation, nor is there another name below (the) heaven which was given to [the] men in which they must be saved. (13) But having seen the boldness of Petros and Iōannēs, and having known that they were men who knew not writing, and were unlearned, they were wondering; but they were knowing them, that they were being with Jesus. (14) But the man also they were seeing standing with them cured; but they were not being able to resist them in anything. (15) But having commanded that they should put (lit, throw) them out of the council, they were speaking to one another, (16) saying: What shall (lit. will) we do to these men? That indeed a sign was done through them which is manifest, all who dwell in Jerusalem know: it is not possible for us to deny. (17) But that the thing may not spread abroad further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak not to any man in this name.' (18) And having called them they ordered them not to utter at all, nor to teach in (the) name of Jesus. (19) But Petros and Iōannēs said to them, If it is righteous before God to hearken to you rather than God, judge ye: (20) for it is not possible for us (pron.) not to speak the things which we saw and which we heard. (21) But they (pron.) having threatened them, released them; they found no pretext against them concerning the manner of pnnishing them, because of the people; because all were glorifying God because of that which was done. (22) The man had been more than forty years (old), on whom this signal work of curing was done. (23) But having been released, they came unto them of their own, they showed to them all things which the chief priests and the presbyters did to them. (24) But having heard, they lifted up their voice toward God together, they said: Our Master, thou (art) he who made (the) heaven and (the) earth, the sea and all things which are in it: (25) he who said in the holy spirit from the mouth of our father David concerning thy servant (lit, child): "Why cried out Gentiles? Peoples meditated empty things. (26) The kings of (the) earth stood (up), the rulers also assembled together to oppose the Lord and his Christ." (27) For in [a] truth assembled in this city upon thy servant (lit, child) Jesus whom thou anointedst, Ērōdēs and Pontios Pilatos, with other Gentiles and peoples of Israel, (28) to do all things which thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to be done. (29) And now, Lord, look upon their angers: give to thy servants to speak in all boldness, (30) in (the) stretching forth thy hand for healings and signs and wonders, to be done through thy holy servant (lit, child) Jesus.' (31) And having prayed, the place in which they were being assembled was shaken. And they all were filled with the holy spirit, and they were speaking the word of God in a great boldness. (32) But the multitudes who believed were being of one heart and one soul. There was not any one saying of any of his goods that they were his own; but (i.) all things were being to them in common. (33) But in [a] great power were the apostles giving [the] witness of (the) resurrection, of Jesus Christ our Lord: but [a] great grace was being upon all. (34) For there was not he who had need among them: for they who had fields were selling them; they were bringing (the) price of the things which are sold; (35) they were laying them at the feet of the apostles: but they were giving to each that of which he had need. (36) But Joseph, who was named 'Barsabas'; from the apostles, which is being interpreted (the) son of (the) consolation,' being a Levite, Cypriote in his race, (37) having (a) field, he sold it, he brought the money, he laid it at (the) feet of the apostles.

5

(1) But a man also whose name is Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a field for its price; (2) his wife knowing, he took away by stealth from the price of the field, but he brought a part, he laid it at the feet of the apostles. (3) But Petros said to him: 'Ananias, why did Satan fill thy heart to say falsehood to the holy spirit, and to take away by stealth from the price of the field? (4) Abiding, was it not abiding to thee? And having sold it, was it not under thine authority? Why then puttest thou this thing in thy heart, having said falsehood not to man but to God?' (5) But Ananias hearing these words fell, he expired. But a great fear came upon all who heard these (things). (6) The young men rose, they wrapped him round, and having brought him out, they buried him. (7) But it happened (that), nearly three hours having passed, his wife came in, not knowing that which happened. (8) Petros said to her: Say to me whether ye sold the field for this silver.' But she said: Yea, for this.' (9) But Petros said to her: Why was this thing agreed upon by you to tempt the spirit of the Lord? Behold the feet of them who buried thy husband are at the doors, they will carry thee out also.' (10) But she fell at his feet, she expired. The young men having come in, found her dead; having taken her away, they laid her by her husband. (11) A great fear came upon all the church, and on all who heard these (things). (12) But through (the) hands of the apostles many signs and wonders Were being done among the people; and they all were assembling together at the porch of Solomōn. (13) But among the rest no one dared join himself to them, but the people were exalting them; (14) but the more were adding themselves to the Lord, believers many men and women. (15) So that they brought out them who were sick into the streets, and laid them upon beds and resting-places, that as Petros is to pass by, at the least his shadow may come upon one of them. (16) But the multitudes of the cities which were around Jerusalem were coming, bringing them who were sick, and them who were vexed with the unclean spirits: but all these are cured through them. (17) But the chief priest rose, and all they who were with him, which (is) (the) sect of the Sadducees; they were filled with jealousy; (18) they put forth (lit. brought) their hands upon the apostles, and they put them into the common prison. (19) But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison in the night, he brought them out, he said to them: (20) 'Go ye, speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.' (21) But having heard, they (rose) early, they went to the temple, they were teaching. But the chief priest having risen, and all they who were with him, they assembled to the council, and all the elders of (the) sons of Israel, and they sent to the prison-house to bring them. (22) But the officers having come, found them not in the prison; but having returned, they showed to them, (23) saying: 'We found indeed the prison-house shut in all security, and the keepers standing at the doors; but (these) having been opened, we found not any within.' (24) But the captains of the temple and the chief priests having heard these words, were being amazed concerning them, as towhat was this which happened. (25) But one came, he showed to them: Behold, the men whom ye put in the prison stand in the temple, teaching the people.' (26) Then the captain went with the officers, they brought them, not by force; for they wore fearing the people lest by any means they should stone them. (27) But having brought them, they set them in the council. The chief priest asked them, (28) saying: 'In an order we ordered you not to teach in this name: lo, ye filled all Jerusalem with your teaching; and ye think to bring (the) blood of this man upon us.' (29) Petros answered and the apostles, they said: We ought to hearken to God rather than [the] men. (30) God of our fathers raised Jesus. This (one) upon whom ye (pron.) put forth your hands, having hanged him on a tree: (31) this (one) God exalted as prince, as saviour with his right hand, to give [a] repentance to Israel, and (the) forgiveness of sins. (32) And we (pron.) in him are witness of these very words: but God gave the holy spirit to them who hearken to him.' (33) But having heard these (things) they gnashed their teeth at them, and they were wishing to kill them. (34) One rose (up) in the council, he was a Pharisee whose name was Gamaliēl, he was a teacher of the law honoured by all the people. He commanded to put (lit. throw) the men forth for a little. (35) He said to them: [The] men, [the] Israelites, give heed to yourselves concerning these men, as to what it is which ye do. (36) For before these days rose one called Theutēs, saying that I am (he). Four hundred of men in number followed him, and he having been killed, all who were obeying him were overthrown, having become nothing. (37) After this rose Ioudas the Galilean in the days of the enrolment, and he drew many after (lit. behind) him, and he also perished; all who were obeying him were overthrown. (38) And now, I say to you, withdraw from these men, and release them: because if this counsel or this work is from [the] men, then it will be overthrown, (39) If it is from God, it is not possible for you to overthrow it, lest haply ye be found opposers of God.' (40) They hearkened to him; they called the apostles; they beat them; they ordered them not to teach in (the) name of Jesus; they released them. (41) They (pron.) indeed then were walking (away) rejoicing, from (the) presence (lit. face) of the council, because they were made worthy to be dishonoured for this name. (42) They were being in the temple daily, and they cease not teaching in house, proclaiming Jesus Christ.

6

(1) But in these days the disciples having been multiplied, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because they were not attending to the daily ministry of their widows. (2) But the twelve apostles called the multitude of the disciples, they said to them, The thing is not pleasing to us to leave the word of God, and minister at tables. (3) Make (lit. find) inquiry then, our brethren, for seven men from you, witnessed unto, full of (the) spirit and wisdom, that we may put them over the need; (4) and we (pron.) may have leisure for the prayer, and the ministry of the word. (5) And the word pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephanos from them, he was a man full of (the) faith and the holy spirit, and Philippos, and Prochōros, and Nicanōr, and Timōn, and Parmena, and Nikolaos, the stranger, native of (the) Antiochia. (6) Having set these before the apostles, and having prayed, they laid hand upon them. (7) And the word of God grew; (the) number of the disciples was multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; but a great multitude of the priests hearkened to (the) faith. (8) But Stephanos, full of grace and power, was doing great signs and wonders and powers among the people. (9) But (there) rose (up) some from the synagogue, whom they call the Libertines and the Cyrenians and the men of Rakoti and the men of (the) Kylikia and [the] Asia, questioning (lit, seeking) with Stephanos. (10) And they could not oppose the wisdom and the spirit in which he was speaking. (11) Then came men, saying: We (pron.) heard him saying words of blasphemy at Mōysēs and God.' (12) But they moved the people and the presbyters and the scribes; they rose, they carried him off, they brought him into the council, (13) they set up false witnesses, saying: This man ceaseth not, saying words against this holy place and the law: (14) for we heard him saying, that Jesus the Nazōreos himself will overthrow this holy place, he will change the customs which Mōysēs delivered to us.' (15) They who sat in the council, having all gazed upon him, saw his face as (the) face of an angel.

7

(1) But the chief priest said to him: 'Are these (things) thus? (2) But he (pron.) said, [The] men, our brethren and our fathers, hear: God of (the) glory manifested himself to our father Abraam, being in [the] Mesopotamia, before that he dwelt in Charran, (3) he said to him: 'Come from thy land and from thy kindred, come to the land which I shall (lit. will) show to thee.' (4) Then he came from (the) land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Charran: but from there, after his father died, he removed to dwell in this land, this on which ye (pron.) now dwell. (5) He gave not to him an inheritance in it, not even, a step of a foot: he promised to give it to him in a possession, and (to) his seed after him, but he had not son. (6) But God spake thus: Thy seed shall be sojourners in a strange land, and they shall make them servants, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. (7) And the nation to which they will be servants I (pron.) shall judge, said God, and after these (things) they shall come out, they shall serve me in this very place.' (8) And he gave to him a covenant of (the) circumcision: and thus he begat Isaak, and he circumcised him in the eighth day. And Isaak begat Iakōb, Iakōb begat the twelve patriarchs. (9) And the patriarchs were jealous of Iōsēph, they sold him into Chēmi; and God was being with him. (10) He saved him from all his afflictions; he gave to him [a] grace and [a] wisdom before Pharaō (the) king of Chēmi; he made him governor over Chēmi and over all his house. (11) But a famine came over all Chemi and Chanaan, and a great affliction: and our fathers were not finding corn. (12) But Iakōb heard that they sell corn in Chēmi; he sent our fathers first. (13) And in the second time Iōsēph manifested himself to his brethren; and (the) race of Iōsēph was made known to Pharaō. (14) But Iōsēph sent, he called Iakōb his father and all his kindred, Amounting to seventy-five souls. (15) But Iakōb came down to Chēmi; and be died, he and our fathers. (16) And they removed him to Sychem, they laid him in the sepulchre which Abraam bought for a price of silver from (the) sons of Emōr in Sychem. (17) But according as (the) time of the promise concerning which God sware to Abraam approached, the people grew and was strengthened, it multiplied in Chēmi. (18) Until rose another kin over Chēmi, knowing not Joseph. (19) This (one) dealt craftily with our race, he afflicted our fathers, to make them cast out their little children (so as) not to keep them alive. (20) But in that time Mōysēs was born; he was exceeding fair; this (one) was nourished three months in (the) house of his father. (21) But having been cast out, (the) daughter of Pharaō took him away. (22) And Mōysēs was taught all wisdom of the men of Chēmi; he was being strong in his words and his works. (23) But forty years of time having been completed, it came upon his heart to visit his brethren, (the) sons of Israel. (24) But having seen one being wronged, he had compassion, he avenged him who was being afflicted, he killed the man of Chēmi. (25) But he was thinking that his brethren will understand that God will give [a] salvation to them through him. But they (pron.) understood not. (26) But on the morrow he manifested himself to others who were disputing, and he was reconciling them for [a] peace, saying: Ye are men (and) brethren, why do ye wrong to one another?' (27) But he who did wrong to his neighbour denied him, saying: 'Who made thee ruler or judge over us? (28) Wishest thou (pron.) to kill me, as thou killedst the man of Chēmi yesterday?' (29) But Mōysēs fled at this word; he was a sojourner in (the) land of Madiam, where he begat two sons. (30) But forty years having been completed, an angel manifested himself to him in (the) desert of (the) mountain of Sina in a flame of fire upon a bush. (31) But Mōysēs having seen the vision, wondered: but being about to come to behold it, a voice of the Lord came, saying: (32) 'I am God of thy fathers, God of Abraam and God of Isaak and God of Iakōb.' But Mōysēs trembled, he dared not to behold him. (33) But the Lord said to him: 'Loose the shoe from thy feet: for the place upon which thou standest is a holy ground. (34) In a seeing I saw (the) affliction of my people which are in Chēmi; and I heard their groaning, I came down to save them. But now come that I may send thee up to Chēmi.' (35) This is Mōysēs whom they denied, saying: 'Who made thee ruler or judge over us?' But this (one) God sent as ruler and redeemer by (the) hand of the angel, he who manifested himself to him in the bush, (36) he who brought them out, Having done signs and wonders in (the) land of Chēmi, and the sea of Shari, and in (the) desert forty years. (37) This is Mōysēs who said to (the) sons of Israel: 'God shall raise a prophet to you from your brethren of (them) the figures which ye made to worship them. I shall remove you to the parts of Babylon.' like me, hearken to him.' (38) This (is) he who was in the church on (the) desert with the angel who spake to him upon (the) mountain of Sina and our fathers. This (one) who received words of life to give them to you. (39) This to whom our fathers wished not to hearken, but they put him (aside), and they returned in their heart up to Chēmi. (40) Saying to Aarōn: 'Make for us gods, those (lit. these) which will go before us: for this [is] Mōysēs ho brought us from (the) land of Chēmi, we know not what it is which happened to him.' (41) And they made for them a calf in those days, and they offered a sacrifice to the idol, and they delighted in the works of their hands. (42) But God turned them to minister to the host of (the) heaven, according as it is written on (the) book of the prophets: 'Did ye offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices on (the) desert forty years, (the) house of Israel? (43) And ye took the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rēphan, (44) The tabernacle of the witness which our fathers were having on (the) desert--as he commanded who spake to Mōysēs, to make it according to the figure which he saw. (45) This, which having received, our fathers with Iēsou took away in with them in (to) the possession of the nations, whom God cast out before (the) face of our fathers, until the days of David; (46) who found [a] grace before God. He asked to make a dwelling-place for the God of Iakōb: (47) but Solomon built a house for him. (48) But the highest was not dwelling in fabrics of hand, according as the prophet saith: (49) (The) heaven is my throne, but (the) earth is (the) footstool of my feet. What house (is) that which ye will build for me, saith the Lord, or what is (the) place of my resting-place? (50) Did not my hand make all these things?' (51) [The] stiff-necked and uncircumcised in both their heart and their ears, ye (pron.) always oppose the holy spirit: as even your fathers, so (lit. and) also ye. (52) Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed them who before proclaimed (the) coming of the righteous one; this whom ye (pron.) gave (up) and ye kill him. (53) Ye (pron.) receive the law as ordinances of angels, ye kept it not. (54) But having heard these (things) they were being cut to their heart, and they were gnashing their teeth upon him. (55) But Stephanos, full of the holy spirit and (the) faith, looked up to (the) heaven, he saw (the) glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, (56) and he said: Lo, I see the heavens opened, and (the) Son of (the) man standing on the right hand of God.' (57) They all cried out in a great voice; they stopped their ears, and they ran all together upon him; (58) they cast him outside of the city; they stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the foot of a young man, his name being Saulos. (59) And they stoned Stephanos, beseeching, saying: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' (60) He threw himself upon his knees, he cried out in a great voice: Lord, thou shalt not reckon this sin to them.' But having said this, he slept.

8

(1) But Saulos was consenting to his being killed. But at that time happened a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem. But all were scattered to the countries of [the] Ioudea and (the) Samaria save the apostles only. (2) But devout men took away Stephanos, and they made a great wailing over him. (3) But Saulos was fighting against the church, going into the houses, dragging off men and women, casting them to (the) prison. (4) They indeed then who were scattered were passing (along) preaching good tidings of the word. (5) But Philippos having come into a city of (the) Samaria proclaimed the word of God. (6) The multitudes together were giving heed to the things which Philippos was saying, in (the) hearing and seeing the signs which he was doing. (7) But many of them who (had) the unclean. spirits with them, (the spirits) were coming from them, crying out in a great voice: but many also paralysed, and some being lame, he was curing [them]. (8) But a great joy happened in that city. (9) But a man, his name being Simon, was being before in that city, being a sorcerer, putting all the nation of (the) Samaria beside itself, saying: 'I (am) a great (one).' (10) But to this (man) all were giving heed, the small and the great, saying: This is the power of God, that which is called "the great."' (11) They all were giving heed to him, because he had spent a great time deceiving them in his magic (plur.). (12) when they believed Philippos preaching good tidings to them of the kingdom of God and (the) name of Jesus Christ, men and women were coming to be baptised. (13) But Simon also having believed and having been baptised was continuing with Philippos, seeing the signs and the great powers being done through him, he was wondering. (14) But the apostles who were in Jerusalem having heard that [the] Samaria also received the word of God, sent Petros and Iōannēs unto them: (15) these having come thither were praying for them that they might receive the holy spirit: (16) for he had not yet come upon any of them: but rather they were being baptised unto (the) name of the Lord Jesus. (17) Then they laid hand upon them, and they were receiving the holy spirit. (18) But Simon having seen that through the laying hand of the apostles they receive the holy spirit, brought to them money, (19) saying: Give this authority to me also, that he, upon whom I shall (lit. will) lay hand, may receive the holy spirit.' (20) But Petros said to him: Thy silver with thee shall be unto (the) destruction, because thou thoughtest to get for thee through money the free gift of God. (21) Part shall not be to thee nor lot in this word: for thy heart is not right before God. (22) Repent then from this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord; perhaps this thought of thy heart will be forgiven thee. (23) I see thee in a gall of a bitterness, and a bond of (the) iniquity.' (24) Simōn answered, he said: Pray ye (pron.) for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye said shall come upon me.' (25) They then indeed, having witnessed and having spoken the word of God, returned to Jerusalem: to many villages of the Samaritans they were preaching good tidings. (26) But an angel of the Lord spake to Philippos, saying: `Arise, go at (the) hour of midday upon the road which thou comest from Jerusalem to Gaza: this is a desert.' (27) And he arose, he went: and behold, a man, (an) Ethiopian eunuch, (a) powerful (man) of Kandakēs, of the queen of the Ethiopians. This (man) was being over all her treasure; he had come to worship in Jerusalem. (28) But he had returned, sitting in his chariot, and he was reading in the prophet saēas. (29) But the spirit said to Philippos: 'Go, join thyself to this chariot.' (30) But Philippos ran, he heard him reading in the prophet Ēsaēas. He said to him Knowest thou then the things which thou readest?' (31) But he (pron.) said: How is it possible for me to know, unless one guide me?' But he prayed Philippos that he should get up and sit with him. (32) But (the) place which was written, which he was reading, was this, As a sheep will be brought to (the) slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before him who sheareth it, thus he openeth not his mouth: (33) his judgement was taken away in his humiliation: but his generation who will be able to speak; because his life will be taken away from upon (the) earth? (34) But the eunuch answered, he said to Philippos: 'I beseech thee show me concerning whom this prophet saith this, concerning himself or concerning another.' (35) But Philippos opened his mouth, he began to preach good tidings to him of Jesus from this Scripture. (36) But as they were journeying on the road they came upon [a] water. The eunuch saith Behold, [a] water ! What is it which stoppeth me from being baptised?' (37) Omitted (38) And he commanded to stop the chariot: and they came down to the water, both Philippos and the eunuch; and he baptised him. (39) But having come up from the water a spirit of the Lord carried off Philippos; and the eunuch saw him no more; for he was journeying on his road rejoicing. (40) But Philippos was found in Azōtos: he was going about, preaching good tidings in all the cities, until he came to Kesaria.

9

(1) But Saulos, still full of anger and murder of the disciples of the Lord, came unto the chief priest; (2) he asked for letters from him to Damaskos unto the synagogues; that those, whom he will find, being of the way, the men and the women, he might bind and bring into Jerusalem. (3) But having journeyed, it came to pass (that), having approached Damaskos, suddenly shone upon him a light from (the) heaven, (4) and, having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him: 'Saoul, Saoul, why persecutest thou me?' (5) But he said: Who (art) thou, Lord?' But he (pron.) said: I am Jesus whom thou (pron.) porsecutest : (6) but rise, go into the city; that which is right that thou should do shall be spoken to thee.' (7) But the men who were walking with him were standing, being amazed, hearing the voice though they were not seeing any one. (8) But Saulos having risen from upon the earth, his eyes were opening, but he was not seeing any one; but they caught hold of his hand, they took him away into Damaskos. (9) He spent three days there, he seeth not, he ate not, nor drank. (10) But there was a disciple in Damaskos, his name being Ananias; but the Lord said to him in a vision: 'Ananias.' But he (pron.) said: 'Lo, I, Lord.' (11) But the Lord said to him: Arise, go to the street which is called "that which is straight," seek in (the) house of a Jew for him whose name is Saulos, the man of Tharsos: lo, he prayed; (12) and he saw a man in a vision, his name being Ananias; he came in, he laid his hands upon him that he might see.' (13) But Ananias answered: Lord, I heard concerning this man by many, concerning all the evil things which he did to the saints of thine in Jerusalem. (14) And in this place also he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all who pray to thy name.' (15) But the Lord said: Go, because this is a chosen vessel for me, being about to bear my name before the Gentiles, and the kings, and (the) sons of Israel: (16) for I (pron.) shall (lit. will) show to him all the pains which he will receive for my name.' (17) But Ananias went, and he entered the house, he laid his hands on him, he said: Saoul, my brother, the Lord Jesus (is) he who sent me, he who manifested himself to thee on the road on which thou comest, that thou mightest see, and be filled with [a] holy spirit.' (18) And quickly fell from his eyes scales; he saw, and he rose; he was baptised. (19) Having received [a] food, he was strengthened. But he was some days with the disciples who were in Damaskos. (20) And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, that this is (the) Son of God. (21) But all were being amazed who heard, saying: 'Is not this he who was troubling them who prayed to this name in Jerusalem? And he came to this place for this thing, that he might bind them and take them up unto the chief priests.' (22) But Saulos rather was increasing in strength' and he was troubling the Jews who were in Damaskos, showing to them, that this is Christ. (23) But many days having been completed, the Jews took counsel that they might kill him. (24) But to Saulos was shown their counsel; but they were keeping the gates by the day and the night, that they might kill him. (25) But the disciples took him away by night, they let him down in a basket from upon the wall. (26) But having come into Jerusalem, he was trying to join himself to the disciples: and they all were fearing him, and they trust him not that he is a disciple. (27) But Barnabas caught bold of him, he brought him unto the apostles, he spake to them in what manner he saw the Lord on the road; and that he spakc to him; and in what manner he spake boldly in Damaskos in (the) name of Jesus. (28) And he was being in Jerusalem, going in and out with them, speaking boldly in (the) name of the Lord Jesus: (29) but he was speaking, he was questioning the Greeks; but they (pron.) were wishing to lay (lit. bring) their hands upon him to kill him. (30) But the brethren having known (it), brought him to Kesaria, they sent him into Tharsos. (31) The church indeed then of all [the] Ioudea and [the] Galilea and (the) Samaria had [a] peace, being edified and continuing in the fear of the Lord, and they were going on (lit. coming) growing in the consolation of the holy spirit. (32) But it came to pass as Petros was about to pass through all the brethren, (that) he came unto the saints who dwelt in Lydda. (33) But he found a man there, his name being Enea, having spent eight years prostrate upon a bed; but he was [being] paralysed. (34) But Petros said to him: 'Enea, Christ Jesus healeth thee: rise, make thy bed.' Immediately he rose. (35) But all they who dwelt in Lydda and Sarōn saw him, they who turned to the Lord. (36) But in Ioppē there was a female disciple, her name being Tabitha, who is interpreted and called 'the Gazelle'; she was being full of good work and the alms which she was doing. (37) But it came to pass in those days (that) she sickened, she died. But having washed her, they laid her in the upper place. (38) But Lydda was being near to Ioppē: the disciples then, having heard that Petros is there, sent two men to him, saying, (and) praying him: 'Delay not to come to us.' (39) But Petros arose, he walked with them. But he having come, they took him away into the upper place; all the widows stood by him weeping, showing to him the coats and the garments (which) the Gazelle (was) making, being with them. (40) Petros put (lit. threw) them all out; having thrown himself upon his knees, he prayed; having turned himself to the body, he said: Tabitha, rise.' But she (pron.) opened her eyes; but having seen Petros, she sat (up). (41) But he helped her, he made her stand. But having called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive. (42) But this work was manifested in all Ioppē: and many believed the Lord. (43) But he abode many days in Ioppē with one Simōn' the tanner.

10

(1) But there was a man in Kesaria, his name being Kornēlios, being a centurion from the band which is called 'the Italian,' (2) being pious, fearing God with all his house, doing much alms to all the people, praying to God always. (3) He saw in a vision manifestly an angel of God: he went in unto him in (the) ninth hour: he said to him, Kornēlie.' (4) But he (pron.) having gazed at him, having been in [a] fear, said: 'What is (son) it, Lord?' But he said to him: 'Thy prayers and thine alms came up for a remembrance before God. (5) Now then send men to Ioppē; let them call one "Simon," who is called "Petros." (6) He (lit. this) lodgeth with one "Simon" the tanner, whose or defiled.' house is by the sea.' (7) The angel who spake to him having gone, he called two servants of his and a pious soldier from them who waited upon him; (8) having said all things before them he sent them to loppē. (9) But on the (lit. his) morrow (as they were) walking in the way, and having approached the city, Petros went up on the housetop to pray at the sixth hour. (10) But he had been hungry, he was wishing to eat: but as they prepare for him, a trance came upon him; (11) he saw (the) heaven opened. And a vessel let down as a great sheet of four corners; (12) being in it all the quadrupeds and the creeping things of (the) earth and the birds of (the) heaven. (13) And a voice came to him: 'Rise, Peter, slay and eat.' (14) But Petros said: 'Not so, Lord; because I never ate anything unclean (15) Again came to him the voice (the) second time: The things which God cleansed do not thou (pron.) indeed make them unclean.' (16) But this was done even three times, and the vessel was taken away up to (the) heaven. (17) But as Petros was thinking in himself what was (He) the vision which he saw, behold, the men whom Kornēlios sent, having asked for (the) house of Simon, stood at the porch. (18) Having called, they were asking: Doth Simon who is called "Petros" lodge here?' (19) But as Petros was meditating in himself concerning the vision, [but] the spirit said to him: Lo, three mon seek for thee: (20) but rise, go down, and walk with them, doubting not: because it is I who sent them.' (21) But Petros having come down unto the men, said: Lo, it is I whom ye seek for; what is the thing concerning which ye came?' (22) But they (pron.) said: Kornēlios the centurion is a righteous man and fearing God, being witnessed unto by all the nation of the Jews. It was shown to him by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, to hear words from thee.' (23) He called them in, he received them. But on the morrow he rose, he came forth with them, and other brethren from Ioppē came forth with him. (24) But on the morrow they came into Kesaria. But Kornēlios was expecting them. And he called his kinsfolk and his near neighbours. (25) But it came to pass (that) Petros having come in, Kornēlios met him; he threw himself down at his feet, he worshipped. (26) But Petros raised him, saying: `Rise; I also am a man.' (27) And he went in, he spake to them: and he found many assembled. (28) He said to them: Ye (pron.) know that it is unlawful for a man (being a) Jew to join himself to or to walk with an alien; and (yet) to me (pron.) God showed, not to say of any man that he (29) Therefore I came, ye having sent for me, I made not objection; I ask then concerning what thing ye sent for me?' (30) And Kornēlios said: 'Four days ago until this hour I was praying at (the) ninth hour in my house: behold, a man stood before me in [a] white raiment, (31) and he said: "Kornēlie, thy prayer was heard, and thine alms were remembered before God. (32) Send then into Ioppē; let them call Simon who is called 'Petros,' he lodgeth at (the) house of Simon the tanner by the sea." (33) Now then I sent for thee then; but thou (pron.) didst well having come. Now we (pron.) all are here, being before God, to hear all the things which the Lord ordained to thee.' (34) But Petros having opened his mouth, said: In [a] truth I see that God is not a respecter of persons: (35) but in every nation (he) who feareth him, and who worketh the righteousness is accepted with him. (36) He sent his word to (the) sons of Israel preaching good tidings of [a] peace through Jesus Christ, he is the Lord of all. (37) Ye (pron.) know the word which came in all [the] loudea, having begun from [the] Galilea, after the baptism which Iōannēs proclaimed. (38) Jesus the Nazarene, according as God anointed him in a holy spirit and [a] power: he who came to do the good, and healing every one over whom the devil had power, because God was being with him. (39) And we (pron.) are witness of all things which he did in (the) country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. He whom they killed, and they hanged him on a tree (40) This (one) God raised in the third day, and he gave him to manifest himself, (41) not to all the people, but to the witnesses whom God chose before, that is us, namely we who ate and we drank with him after he rose from them who are dead. (42) And he ordered us to proclaim to the people, and to witness, that this is he whom God ordained judge of them who are alive and them who are dead. (43) This of whom all the prophets witness, that through his name all who believe him should receive (the) forgiveness of their sins.' (44) As Petros was yet speaking these words, the holy spirit came upon 'all who heard the word. (45) And they of (the) circumcision, the faithful who came with Petros, were amazed, because the free gift of the holy spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles also. (46) For they were hearing them speaking in tongues, and exalting God. Then Petros answered: (47) Is it possible for any to forbid the water, that these should not be baptised, these who received the holy spirit as we also (did)?' (48) But he commanded them to baptise them in (the) name of Jesus Christ. Then they besought him to abide with them some days.

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(1) But the apostles and the brethren who were in [the] Ioudea heard that the Gentiles received the word of God. (2) When Petros went into Jerusalem, they of (the) circumcision pleaded against him, (3) saying: Thou wentest in unto men uncircumcised, and thou atest with them. (4) But Petros having begun, was speaking to them, saying, (5) I (pron.) was being in Ioppē the city, praying: and I saw in a trance a vision, a vessel as a great sheet coming down, let down by four corners from (the) heaven; and it came unto me. (6) This having gazed at, I was giving heed; and I saw the beasts of (the) earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the birds of (the) heaven. (7) But I heard a voice also, saying: Rise, Peter, slay and eat.' (8) But I said: Not so, Lord, because never did anything unclean or defiled go into my mouth.' (9) But the voice answered (the) second time from (the) heaven, saying: The things which God cleansed do not thou (pron.) make them unclean.' (10) But this was done even three times: and everything (11) And behold, immediately three men stood at (the) door of the house in which I was being, having been sent to me from Kesaria. (12) But the spirit said to me: 'Go with them, doubting not anything.' But these six brethren also came with me; and we wont into (the) house of the man. (13) But he showed to us how he saw the angel in his house, standing and saying angel: 'Send to Ioppē, and call Simon who is called "Petros"; (14) he will speak to thee words, those (lit. these) in which thou and all thy house will be saved.' (15) But I having begun to speak, the holy spirit came upon them, as he came upon us at first. (16) But I remembered (the) word of the Lord, how he was saying: Iōannēs indeed baptised in [a] water; but ye (pron.) will be baptised in [a] holy spirit. (17) If then God gave to them the equal free gift, who believed the Lord Jesus Christ as we also (did), who (was) I indeed to stop God?' (18) But having heard these things they held their peace, and they glorified God, saying: Then God gave the repentance to the Gentiles also unto (the) life.' (19) They indeed then who were scattered since the tribulation which happened at (the time of) Stephanos came even unto [the] Phoinikē and Kypros and (the) Antiochia, and spake to none the word except the Jews only. (20) But there were some from them, Kyprian men, and some Kyrinnean, these having come to (the) Antiochia were speaking to the Greeks, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. (21) And (the) hand of the Lord was being with them: but a great multitude believed, and they turned to the Lord. (22) But the word went unto (the) ears of the church which was in Jerusalem concerning them: and they sent Barnabas unto (the) Antiochia. (23) He having come, and having seen the grace of God, rejoiced; and was encouraging all in [the] exhortation to stay in the Lord: (24) because he was a good man, full of the holy spirit and (the) faith. And a great multitude followed the Lord. (25) But having come to Tharsos, seeking for Saulos; (26) and having found him, he brought him into (the) Antiochia. But it came to pass (that) having spent a whole year, assembling in the church, they taught a great multitude: but the disciples who were in (the) Antiochia were named first `the Christians.' (27) But in those days came prophets from Jerusalem to (the) Antiochia. (28) But one from them rose, his name being Agabos, he signified through the holy spirit a great famine about to happen over the whole world, which is that which happened at (the time of) Klaudios. (29) But the disciples, according as each one had means, each of them decided for [a] ministry to send to the brethren who dwelt in [the] Ioudea; (30) this having done, to send (it) to presbyters through Barnabas and Saulos.

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(1) But in that time Ērōdēs (the) king brought his hand (2) And he killed Iakōbos (the) brother of Iōannēs with (the) sword. (3) But having seen the thing was pleasing to the Jews, he went on (lit, added) to arrest Petros also. But the days wore (those) of the unleavened (plur.). (4) Him having arrested, he put in the prison, having delivered him to four bands of soldiers to keep him, thinking to bring him up to the people after the Paseha. (5) Petros indeed then was being kept in the prison: but the church was praying for him greatly to God. (6) But when Ērōdēs was about to bring him up, in that night Petros was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: but there were keepers at the doors keeping the prison. (7) And behold, an angel of the Lord came, and a light shone in the house: but having shaken (the) side of Petros, he raised him (up), saying: 'Rise quickly.' And the chains fell from his hands. (8) But the angel said to him: Gird thyself, and put (lit. give) thy sandal to thy foot.' But he did thus. And he said: 'Fold thee with thy garment, and walk after me.' (9) And having come out, he was walking after him; and he was not knowing that (it was) true which was being done through the angel, but he was thinking that (it was) a vision which he saw. (10) But having passed from the first place of keeping and the second, they came to the iron gate which cometh out to the city; this opened to them of itself: but having come out, they passed (through) one of the streets; and immediately the angel went from him. (11) But Petros having come to himself, said: 'Now I know truly that the Lord sent his angel and he saved me from (the) hand of Ērōdēs, and all (the) expectation of the people of the Jews.' (12) But having seen, he went to (the) house of Maria (the) mother of Iōannes who is called Markos,' the place in which many were assembling, praying. (13) But Petros having knocked at (the) door of the porch, a young maidservant came out to answer to him, her name being Rōdē. (14) And having known (the) voice of Petros, from [the] joy she opened not the gate, but having run in, she showed to them that Petros stood at the porch. (15) But they (pron.) said to her: 'Thou art mad.' But she (pron.) was affirming that thus it was. But they (pron.) said: 'It is his angel.' (16) But Petros was continuing knocking: but having opened, and having seen him, they were amazed. (17) But he beckoned to them with his hand: 'Hold your peace.' And he spake before them in what manner the Lord brought him from the prison. But he said to them: 'Show to Iakōbos and the brethren these things.' And having come forth, he went to another place. (18) But the day having come, there was no small trouble among the soldiers as to what then (is) that which happened to Petros. (19) Ērōdēs having sought for him, and having found him not, he tortured the keepers, he commanded to kill them. And having come from [the] Ioudea into Kesaria, he abode there. (20) But he was being in [a] wrath, opposing them of Tyros and Tsidōn: but they came together unto him. And having persuaded Plastos, who was over the chamber of (the) king, they were asking [a] peace, because that their country was being nourished from his kingdom. (21) But on a day ordained Ēroōdēs clothed himself with a kingly raiment, and having sat on the judgement seat was speaking to them. (22) But the multitude was crying out, saying: 'This is a voice of god, and it is not that of man.' (23) But immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because that he glorified not God: and having been eaten of worms, he died. (24) But the word of God grew and was going on (lit. coming) multiplying. (25) But Barnabas and Saulos returned from Jerusalem, having completed the ministry, having brought Iōannēs also who was named 'Markos:

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(1) But there were prophets and teachers in the church of (the) Antiochia, Barnabas, and Simōn who is called Niker,' and Loukios the Kyrinnean, and Manaē the foster-brother of Ērōdēs the Tetraarchēs, and Saulos. (2) But as they are ministering to the Lord, fasting, The holy spirit said: Separate to me Barnabas and Saulos for the work to which I called them.' (3) Then having fasted and having prayed, they laid hand upon them, and they sent them away. (4) They (pron.) indeed, then, having been sent by the holy spirit, went into Seleukia; from there they sailed to Kypros. (5) And having come to Salaminē, they were proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: but Iōanēs also was being with them, being minister. (6) But having passed (through) the whole island even unto Paphou, they found a man, sorcerer, false prophet, Jew, his name being Bariēsou, (7) who was being with the proconsul Sergios Paulos, an understanding man. But he called Barnabas and Saulos, he was seeking to hear the word of God. (8) But Elymas the sorcerer was the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, [The] men, our brethren, he who hath a word of exhortation among you unto the people, say it. opposing them, for his name is interpreted (was) thus, seeking to pervert the proconsul from (the) faith; (9) but Saulos, who is Paulos, having been filled with the holy spirit (10) said, O he who is full of (it) all subtlety and all evil, (the) son of the devil, the enemy of all righteousness, ceasest thou not perverting the straight ways of the Lord? (11) And now, behold, (the) hand of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing (the) sun unto a season. And immediately came upon him a mistiness and a darkness; he was going about asking for him who will help him. (12) Then the proconsul having seen that which was done, believed; he wondered at the teaching of the Lord. (13) But they of Paulos and Barnabas having come from Paphou, came to Pergē of [the] Pamphilia. But lōannēs separated from them, he returned into Jerusalem. (14) But they (pron.), having come from Pergē, went to (the) Antiochia of [the] Pisidia; and having come to the synagogue on the day of the sabbaths, they sat. (15) But after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, [The] men, our brethren, he who hath a word of exhortation among you unto the people, say it. (16) But Paulos having risen, and having beckoned with his hand, said, [The] men, [the] Israelites, and they who fear God among you, hear. (17) God of the people of Israel chose our fathers and he exalted the people in the sojourn in (the) land of Khēmi, and with an exalted arm he brought them out of it. (18) And he nourished them forty years time in (the) desert. (19) And having hurled (out) seven nations in (the) land of Chanaan, he caused them to inherit their land (20) four hundred years: and after these things he gave judges until Sammiēl the prophet. (21) And from there they asked for a king: and God gave to them Saoul (the) son of Kis, a man from (the) tribe of Benjamin, forty years. (22) And having removed him, he raised (up) David to them as king; this concerning whom he witnessed having said: I found David (the) son of Iesse, a man according to my heart, this (one) who will do all things which I will.' (23) And from (the) seed of this (one) God according to a promise brought to Israel a saviour, Jesus. (24) Iōannēs having first proclaimed before his entrance a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. (25) But Iōannēs having completed his course was saying, Who think ye that I (am)? For I am not (he), but lo, coming after me (is) he whose shoe of his feet I am not worthy to unloose.' (26) [The] men, our brethren, [the] sons of (the) race of Abraam, and they who fear God among you, [ye] to whom was sent the word of this salvation. (27) For they who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers also of this were ignorant, and also (of) the voices of the prophets, these which are read on every sabbath, having judged (him), having fulfilled them, (28) and having not found any cause of (the) death in him, they asked Pilatos to kill him. (29) But having fulfilled all things which were written concerning him, they put him down from the tree (lit. wood), they put him within a sepulchre. (30) But God raised him from them who are dead, (31) he who manifested himself many days to them who came with him from [the] Galilea into Jerusalem, these now who witness to him unto the people. (32) And we (pron.) preach good tidings to you, of the promise which was made to (lit. in) the fathers, (33) that God fulfilled this to the children, having raised Jesus; as it is written in the second psalm: Thou art my son, I begat thee to-day.' (34) But that he raised him from them who are dead, (and) he will no more return to (the) corruption, He said thus: shall give to you the holy (things) of David which are sure.' (35) Therefore again he saith in another place: Thou shalt not give to the holy (one) of thine to see (the) corruption. (36) For David indeed in his generation was serving the counsel of God, he fell asleep, and he was laid with his fathers, and he saw (the) corruption: (37) but he whom God raised saw not (the) corruption. (38) Let the thing then be manifested to you, [the] men, our brethren, that through this (man) is proclaimed to you (the) forgiveness of your sins: and from all the things in which ye could not be justified in (the) law of Mōysēs, (39) [but] in this (one) all who believe will be justified. (40) See, then, lest by any means that which he said in the prophets come upon you: (41) See, [the] despisers, and wonder and turn yourselves, because I shall (lit. will) do a work in your days, a work which ye believe not, if one should declare it to you.' (42) But coming forth, they were thinking right that they should speak on the next sabbath. (43) But the synagogue having been dismissed, many of the Jews, and they who were devout among the strangers, walked after Paulos and Barnabas (who were) persuading them to abide in the grace of God. (44) But on the next sabbath almost the whole city assembled to hear the word of God. (45) But the Jews having seen the multitudes, were filled with jealousy, and they were opposing the things which Paulos was saying, (and) blaspheming. (46) But Paulos and Barnabas were emboldened, they said: It was necessary to speak to you first the word of God. Since ye cast it away from you, and ye reckon yourselves not to be worthy of the eternal life, lo, we shall (lit. will) turn to the Gentiles. (47) For this is as the Lord ordered us: "I put thee for a light of the Gentiles, to be for a salvation unto the end of the earth."' (48) But the Gentiles having heard, rejoiced, and they were glorifying the word of God. And all they who were ordained to the eternal life believed. (49) But they were going about with the word of the Lord in all the country. (50) But the Jews were instigating the devout women, and those of honourable estate, and the first (men) of the city, and they raised a persecution against Paulos and Barnabas, and they cast them away from their boundaries. (51) But they (pron.) shook off (the) dust of their feet against (lit. upon) them, they came into Ikonion. (52) But the disciples were being full of joy and the holy spirit.

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(1) But it Came to pass in Ikonion according to the same manner that they went into the synagogue of the Jews, and spake thus so that a great multitude believed of the Jews and the Greeks. (2) But the Jews who were disobedient arose, and they gave pain to the souls of the Gentiles concerning the brethren. (3) They indeed then spent a great time there, speaking openly in (the) name of the Lord. He who witnessed for (the) word of his grace, giving signs and wonders to be done through their hands. (4) But the multitude of the city was divided. Some indeed were being with the Jews, but others were being with the apostles. (5) But the Gentiles having run with the Jews and their rulers also to insult them and to stone them, (6) they having seen, fled into the cities of Lykaonia, Lystra, and Terbē, and the region, round about. (7) They were preaching good tidings there. (8) And there was a man impotent in his feet in Lystra; he was sitting, being lame since he was in (the) womb of his mother; he walked not ever. (9) And this (man) heard Paulos speaking. But he (pron.) having gazed at him, and having known that there was faith in him to be saved, (10) he said in a great voice: 'Arise, stand upon thy feet.' And he was springing up, and he was walking. (11) The multitudes indeed then having seen that which Paulos did, lifted up their voice in Lykaonian, saying: The gods became as the men, they came down unto us. (12) They were calling indeed Barnabas [the] Zeus,' but Paulos Ethel Ermēs,' since he (pron.) was chief of the word. (13) But the priest of [the] Zeus, who was being before the city, brought calves and crowns up to the porches, he was wishing to slay, with the multitude. (14) But the apostles Barnabas and Paulos having heard, rent their garments, they ran unto the multitude, crying out, (15) saying: '[The] men, why do ye these (things)? We also are men, men of passion like you, preaching good tidings to you, to depart from the vanities and to turn to the living God, he who made (the) heaven and (the) earth and the sea, and all things which are in them: (16) he who was in the generations which passed (by); he let all the nations walk in their ways. (17) And yet he let not himself be without witness, doing good things, he gave to them rains from (the) heaven and fruitbearing times, satiating your hearts with food and delight.' (18) And saying these (things) scarcely they caused the multitude to be quiet (so as) not to slay to them. (19) But Jews went from (the) Antiochia and Ikonion, they persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paulos, and they dragged him outside of the city, thinking that he died. (20) But as the disciples were around him, having risen, he came into the city. And on the (lit. his) morrow he came forth with Barnabas into Terbē. (21) But having preached good tidings in that city, and having taught a great multitude, they returned into Lystra and Ikonion and (the) Antiochia, (22) confirming the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to stay in the faith, and that through much tribulation we must go into the kingdom of God. (23) But they laid hand upon presbyters for them in every church; and having prayed in fastings, they committed them to the Lord, whom they believed. (24) But having passed (through) [the] Pisidia, they came to [the] Pamphylia. (25) And having spoken the word in Pergē, they came into Attalia; (26) and from there they sailed to (the) Antiochia, the place in which they were given in the grace of God for the work which they completed. (27) But having come, and having assembled the church, they were showing to them concerning all things which God did with them; and that he opened a door of (the) faith to the Gentiles. (28) But they abode there with the disciples not a little time.

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(1) And some having come from [the] Ioudea, were teaching the brethren, that if ye should not be circumcised according to (the) custom of Mōysēs it is not possible for you to be saved. (2) But no little trouble having happened to Paulos and Barnabas and others of thern, they ordained Paulos and Barnabas to go unto the apostles and the presbyters who were in Jerusalem to see concerning this question. (3) They (pron.) indeed then having been escorted by the church, passed through [the] Phoinikē and (the) Samaria, speaking concerning (the) return of the Gentiles: and they were making a great joy with all the brethren. (4) But having come into Jerusalem, they of the church and the apostles and the presbyters received them; but they showed to them all things which God did with them. (5) But some from (the) sect of the Pharisees who believed arose, saying: It is right that they should circumcise them, and to order to keep (the) law of Mōysēs.' (6) But the apostles and the presbyters assembled to see concerning this word. (7) But a great questioning having happened, Petros stood, he said to them, [The] men, our brethren, ye (pron.) know that since the early days God chose among you from my mouth to cause the Gentiles to hear (the) word of the Gospel, and believe. (8) And God, he who knoweth the hearts, witnessed to them, and he gave to them the holy spirit, as he gave to us also; (9) and he put not any difference between us and them, having cleansed their hearts in the faith. (10) Now then why tempt ye God, to place a yoke on (the) shoulders of the disciples, this which not our fathers nor we (pron.) could bear? (11) But through the grace of our Lord Jesus we believe that we shall be saved, according as the others. (12) But all the multitude was silent, and they were hearing Barnabas and Paulos speaking of all the signs and the wonders which God did among the Gentiles through them. (13) But after they were silent, Iakōbos answered, saying, [The] men, our brethren, hear me: (14) Symeōn spake how at first God visited, to take a people from the Gentiles in his name. (15) And with this agree the words of the prophets; according as it is written : (16) 'After these things I shall return, and I shall build the tabernacle of David, which was fallen; and the things which were overturned of it I shall build: and I shall (lit. will) set it up: (17) that (the) rest of [the] men may seek for the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name was called, saith the Lord, he who caused these things (18) to be manifest since (the) age. (19) 'Therefore I (pron.) give judgement, not to molest them who will turn from the Gentiles; (20) but to send to them, to cause them to depart from things slain for idols, and [the] fornication, and things strangled, and the dead blood (plur.). (21) For Mōysēs since the early generations hath them who proclaim him in every city in the synagogues, being read on every sabbath. (22) Then it seemed good to the apostles and the presbyters with the whole church to choose men from them, to send them to (the) Antiochia with Paulos and Barnabas; Ioudas, who is called Barsabbas,' and Silas, chief men among the brethren: (23) having written through them, The apostles and the presbyters to the brethren who are in (the) Antiochia and [the] Kylikia and [the] Syria, the brethren who are of the Gentiles, (24) Since we heard that some from us having come forth troubled you, perverting your souls in words, these which we said not; (25) it seemed good then to us, having come together, to choose men to send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paulos, (26) Men who gave their soul for (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27) But we sent Ioudas and Silas, they also shall show to you the same things through (the) word. (28) For it pleased the holy spirit and us also, not to put more burden upon you except these of necessity. (29) Keep yourselves from them, the things slain for idols, and the dead blood (plur.), and things strangled, and [the] fornication; keeping yourselves from these and doing well. Farewell. (30) They (pron.) indeed then having been dismissed, came to (the) Antiochia; and having assembled the multitude, they gave the epistle. (31) But having read, they rejoiced for the consolation. (32) Ioudas and Silas, (who) were prophets also, through many a word consoled the brethren and assured them. (33) But having spent some time with them, they were dismissed in [a] peace to go unto them who sent them. (34) Omitted (35) But Paulos and Barnabas abode in (the) Antiochia, teaching and preaching good tidings, with many others, of the word of God. (36) But after some days said Paulos to Barnabas: 'Let us return and visit our brethren in every city, those in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see what happened to them.' (37) But Barnabas was wishing to take away Iōannēs also with them, who is called Markos.' (38) But Paulos was thinking good that him who separated from them since (the) Pamphylia, and who came not with them to the work, they should not take with them. (39) But [an] anger arose, so that they separated from one another; but Barnabas took Markos, he sailed to Kypros; (40) but Paulos chose Silas, he came forth, having been delivered to the grace of God by the brethren. (41) But he was passing through (the) Syria and (the) Kylikia confirming the churches.

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(1) But he came into (the) Terbē also and Lystra: and lo, a disciple was being there, his name being Timotheos, (the) son of a believing Jewess; but his father was a Greek. (2) Concerning this (man) were witnessing the brethren who were in Lystra and Ikonion. (3) Him Paul wished to come forth with him; and having taken him away, he circumcised him, because of the Jews who were in that place: for they all were knowing that his father was a Greek. (4) But going round among the cities they were delivering to them to keep the decrees which were established by the apostles and the presbyters who were in Jerusalem. (5) The churches indeed then were going on (lit. coming) being confirmed in the faith, and they were going on (lit. coming) multiplying in their number daily. (6) But they passed through [the] Phrikia and the country of [the] Galatia, the holy spirit having prevented them from speaking the word of God in [the] Asia. (7) But having come into the places of [the] Mysia, they were trying to go to [the] Bēthenia; and the spirit of Jesus was not allowing them. (8) But having passed from [the] Mysia, they came into Trōas. (9) And a vision. was manifested to Paulos in the night; a man of Makedon standing, praying him, saying: 'Come to (the) Makedonia, help us.' (10) But when we saw the vision we immediately sought for coming to (the) Makedonia, considering that God called us to preach good tidings to them. (11) But having come from Trōas, we went quickly to Samothrakē: but (on) the (lit. his) morrow we came into Neapolis; (12) and from there we came to Philippois, which [it] is the first (city) of the district of (the) Makedonia, a colony city: but we were abiding in that city some days (13) But on the day of the sabbaths we came outside of the city by the river, the place (of which) we were thinking that there would be [a] prayer there. And having sat, we were speaking to the women who came forth. (14) And a woman, her name being Lydia, being a seller of purple, of a city called Thyatērōn, worshipping God, was hearing. This (one) God opened her heart, to attend to the things which Paulos was saying. (15) But having been baptised, and her house, she besought us, saying: 'If ye reckoned me faithful to the Lord, come into my house, abide.' And she took us by force. (16) But it came to pass (that) as we were going to the prayer a young maidservant, there being a spirit of divination with her, met us, she who was giving much profit to her masters, being (a) diviner. (17) She having walked after Paulos and us, was crying out, saying: 'These men are servants of most high God; these who proclaim to you a way of salvation.' (18) But this she was doing many days. But Paulos, having been grieved, and having turned to the spirit, said: I order thee in (the) name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out in that hour. (19) But her masters, having seen that the hope of their profit came out of her, laid hold on Paulos and Silas; they dragged them away to the marketplace unto the rulers. (20) And having brought them to the captains, they said: These men trouble our city being Jews: (21) and they proclaim to us other customs, these which it is not lawful for us to receive nor to do, being Romans.' (22) And the multitude rose upon them; and the captains rent their garments, they commanded that they should beat them with (the) staff. (23) Having given to them many stripes, they cast them to the prison, having ordered the jailor a to keep them securely. (24) This (man) having received an order of this kind, cast them into the inner prison, and he secured their feet to the wood. (25) But at midnight Paulos and Silas, praying, were blessing God: they all his house. who were bound were hearing them: (26) suddenly happened a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the place of binding were moved: but immediately all the doors were opened; and all the bands of theirs were loosed. (27) But the jailor having woke, and having seen the doors of the prison open, drew his sword, being about to kill himself, thinking that they who were bound fled. (28) But Paulos cried out in a great voice, saying: ‘Do not any evil to thyself: for we are all here.' (29) But he took a light; he ran in, and having been in a trembling, cast himself down at the feet of Paulos and Silas; (30) and having brought them out, he said to them: 'My masters, what ought I to do that I may be saved? (31) But they (pron.) said: 'Believe the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.' (32) And they spake to him the word of the Lord, him and all his house. (33) And he took them away in that hour of the night, he washed their wounds; and he was baptised, he and (34) But baving brought them into his house, he put a table before them, and was being glad and all his house, having believed God. (35) But the day having come, the captains sent lictors, saying: 'Release those men.' (36) But the jailor showed to Paulos these words: The captains sent that ye should be released: now then come forth, go in [a] peace.' (37) But Paulos said to them: Having beaten us publicly, being Roman men, (when) also we are not condemned, they cast us to (the) prison; and they cast us (pron.) out secretly. Nay, but let them come themselves and bring us out.' (38) The lictors showed to the captains these words: but they feared, having heard that they were Romans. (39) And having come, they entreated them, and having brought them out, they besought them to go out of their city. (40) But having come out of the prison, they went into (the) house of Lydia, and having seen, they comforted the brethren, and they came forth.

17

(1) Having passed through [the] Amphipolis and [the] Apollōnia, they came to Thessalonikē, the place in which there was a synagogue of the Jews: (2) but according to the custom of Paulos, he went in unto them, and he was speaking to them from the Scriptures for three sabbaths, (3) manifesting and putting (it) before them, that Christ must suffer and rise from them who are dead, and that Jesus Christ is this, this whom I (pron.) proclaim to you. (4) And some indeed from them believed, and there were numbered with Paulos and Silas a great multitude of them who worship of the Greeks, women also of the first (rank) not few. (5) But the Jews were jealous, and they took men, evil, of the baser sort, and having assembled a multitude they troubled the city, and they came at (the) house of Iassōn seeking for them that they might bring them out to the multitude. (6) But having not found them, they dragged Iassōn out and other brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying out: These are they who troubled the world, and they are present here; (7) whom Iassōn received. And all these oppose the decrees of (the) king, saying that there is another king, Jesus.' (8) But they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city hearing these (things). (9) And having taken what is right from Iassōn and the rest also, they released them. (10) But the brethren immediately escorted Paulos and Silas by night into Beroia: but they (pron.) having come thither, went into the synagogue of the Jews. (11) But these were (more) noble than they who were in Thessalonikē: these having received the word in all readiness of heart, (were) searching daily in the Scriptures whether these things were thus. (12) Many indeed then from them believed; and some also from the Greeks, women of honourable state, and men also not a few. (13) But the Jews of Thessalonike having known that Paulos proclaimed in (the) Beroia also the word of God, came to that place also, moving the multitudes, troubling them. (14) Then immediately the brethren escorted Paulos to make him go toward the sea: but Silas and Timotheos were left there. (15) But they who escorted Paulos brought him into Athēnnas. And having received commandment to give message to the brethren Silas and Timotheos, that they might come to him quickly, they came forth, they went (away). (16) But Paulos was being in Athēnnas looking out for them. But his spirit was angered within him, seeing the city abounding with idolatry. (17) He was speaking indeed then in the synagogue to the Jews, and them who worship, and all who assemble daily in the marketplace. (18) But some from the Epicurean and the Stoic philosophers were encountering him; and others were saying: 'What wisheth to say this babbler?' But others were saying that he is a proclaimer of strange demons: because he was proclaiming to them Jesus and his resurrection. (19) But they laid hold of him, they brought him into the Ariopagos, saying: 'It is possible for us to know what this new doctrine is, which thou speakest. (20) Thou bringest strange words into our ears: we wish to know what these (things) are.' (21) But all the Athenians and the strangers who came thither were spending their time in nothing, except to speak and hear (a) new thing. (22) But Paulos stood in (the) midst of the Ariopagos, he said: [The] men, [the] Athenians, by everything I see [you] that ye are worshippers of demons more (than others). (23) For passing by, and having seen the things which ye worship, I found an altar, (and) written upon it, "God whom we know not." Him then whom ye worship, (and) ye know him not, this (one) I (pron.) proclaim to you: (24) God who made the world and all things which are in it, this is the Lord of (the) heaven and (the) earth. He was not dwelling in temples formed by hand; (25) nor were hands of man wont to serve him, having no nead of anything, he (pron.) it is who giveth (the) life and (the) breath to all: (26) having made all nations of [the] men from one, to cause them to dwell upon (the) face of all (the) earth. Having ordained times ordained from (the) first, and the ordinance of their dwelling; (27) to cause them to seek for God, that haply they will feel after him and find him, although he is not far from each one of us: (28) for we lived in him and we moved and we existed. As some also from the poets which are among you said: "For we (are) his offspring." (29) We being an offspring then of God, ought not to cause ourselves to think of gold, or silver, or stone graven by art or imagination of man that God was like to them. (30) The times indeed of the ignorance God let (pass) away; but now he proclaimeth to [the] men to cause all to repent in all places: (31) according as he established a day, in which he will judge the world in [a] righteousness through the man whom he ordained; having given assurance to all, having raised him from them who are dead.' (32) But having heard 'The resurrection of the dead,' some indeed mocked; but others said: We shall hear thee concerning this. (33) And thus again Paulos came from their midst. (34) But men who believed joined themselves to him; these among whom were being Dionēsios the Ariopagitēs, and a woman, her name being Damaris, and others with them.

18

(1) After these (things), having come from Athēnnēs, he came to Korinthos. (2) He found a Jew, his name being Akyllas, who was a Pontian in his race, having come immediately from [the] Hytalia, and Priskylla his wife, because Klaudios had commanded to cause all the Jews to depart from Rōmē. He came unto them; (3) and he abode with them, because that he was a fellow craftsman of his; and they were working, for they were makers of tents in their craft. (4) But they were speaking in the synagogue on every sabbath, and they were persuading the Jews and the Greeks. (5) But Silas and Timotheos having come from (the) Makedonia, [but] Paulos was persevering in the word, witnessing to the Jews that Jesus is Christ. (6) But they opposing him and blaspheming, he shook out his garments; he said to them: Your blood upon your head; I (pron.) am clean: henceforth I shall go to the Gentiles,' (7) And having removed from there, he came to (the) house of one, his name being Titos, this (was) a believer, worshipping God, whose house was adjoining to the synagogue. (8) But Krispos, the ruler of the synagogue, believed the Lord with his whole house; and many from the Korinthians hearing were believing and were being baptised. (9) But the Lord said to Paulos through a vision in the night: Fear not, but speak, and hold not thy peace: (10) because I (pron.) am with thee, and no one shall rise upon thee to give pain to thee: because I have a great people in this city.' (11) But he sat a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God. (12) But Galiōn being proconsul of [the] Achaia, the Jews came together upon Paulos, and they brought him to the place of the judgement, (13) saying: This (man) persuadeth [the] men to worship God contrary to the law.' (14) But Paulos being about to open his mouth, Galiōn said to the Jews: 'If there were wrongdoing or wicked villany, O [the] Jews, well: I would bear with you: (15) but if they are questions concerning a word and names and your law ye shall take care (of it) yourselves; I (pron.) wish not to be judge of these (things).' (16) And he cast them away from the judgement seat. (17) But they all laid hold on Sōsthenēs, the ruler of the synagogue; they beat him before the judgement seat. And it was not being a care to Galiōn concerning any of these (things). (18) But Paulos having abode yet many days with the brethren, took leave of them; he sailed to (the) Syria, Priskylla being with him and Akyllas; having shorn his head in Konchrees: for he was being in a vow. (19) But he came to Ephesos, and he left those there: but he (pron.) having gone into the synagogue was speaking to the Jews. (20) But they praying him that he should spend a great time with them, he wished not; (21) but he took leave of them, having said: I shall (lit, will) return to you in the will of God.' But he sailed from Ephesos. (22) But having come into Kesaria, and having saluted the church, He came into (the) Antiochia. (23) And having spent [a] time there, he came forth, passing from place (to place) of the country of [the] Galatia and [the] Phrikia, confirming all the disciples. (24) But there was a Jew, his name being Apellēs, being a man of Rakoti in his race, being a notable man, who came to stay at Ephesos; being powerful in the Scriptures. (25) This (man) had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he was speaking and he was teaching in [an] accuracy concerning Jesus, only the baptism of Iōannēs being (that) which he knoweth. (26) But this (man) began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priskylla and Akylla having heard him, received him, and they showed to him in [an] accuracy the way of God. (27) But he wishing to come forth to [the] Achaia, the brethren incited him, they wrote to the disciples that they should receive him. But this (man) having come, was very profitable to them who believed through the grace. (28) He was confuting the Jews in [an] assurance, manifestly showing to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is Christ.

19

(1) But it came to pass, Apellēs being in Korinthos, [but] that Paulos having passed by the places which were above, came to Ephesos, and having found disciples, (2) he said to them: Did ye receive the holy spirit, having believed ?' But they (pron.) said: But neither heard we even that there is a holy spirit.' (3) But he (pron.) said: 'Unto what did they baptise you ?' But they (pron.) said: The baptism of Iōannēs.' (4) But Paulos said: `Iōannēs indeed gave baptism in a water of repentance to the people, saying that they should believe him who was coming after him, that is to say, Jesus.' (5) But having heard, they were baptised unto (the) name of the Lord Jesus. (6) And Paulos having laid hand on them, the holy spirit came upon them. But they were speaking in (the) tongue, and they were prophesying. (7) But they (pron.) all were being twelve men. (8) But having gone into the synagogue he was speaking boldly three months, speaking and persuading them concerning the kingdom of God. (9) But some having become hardhearted, being disobedient, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he fled from them, having separated the disciples, Speaking daily in the school of Tyrannos. (10) But this he was doing two years; so that all who dwelt in [the] Asia heard the word of the Lord, the Jews and the Greeks. (11) But God was doing mighty works not few through (the) hands of Paulos: (12) so that they took handkerchiefs and aprons from his body and laid them upon those who were sick, and the sicknesses were wont to go from them, and the evil spirits were coming out. (13) But some from the Jews who went about as exorcists took in hand to say (the) name of the Lord Jesus over them who (had) the evil spirits upon them, saying: I adjure you by (it) Jesus, whom Paulos proclaimeth.' (14) But there were seven sons of one Skeva,' being a Jew, chief priest, doing this. (15) The evil spirit answered, he said to them: Jesus I know, and Paulos also I know, but who are ye?' (16) And the man with whom the evil spirit (was) threw himself upon them, he mastered them together, he prevailed over them, so that they fled from that house naked with their heads wounded. (17) But this became manifested to all the Jews and the Greeks, who dwelt in Ephesos; and a fear came upon them all, and (the) name of the Lord Jesus Christ was going on (lit. coming) being exalted. (18) But many (sing.) from them who believed were coming, confessing, and saying their works. (19) But many (plur.) among them who were doing curious arts, having brought their books, burnt them before all: and they took count of their prices, having found them being there fifty thousand of silver. (20) But thus mightily grew (the) word of the Lord and it prevailed. (21) But these (things) having been completed, Paulos purposed in his spirit that, should he pass throughout (the) Makedonia and [the] Achaia, he might go to Jerusalem, having said: 'After my going there, I must see also Rōmō. (22) But he sent two to (the) Makedonia among them who serve him, Timotheos and Erastos, but he (pron.) spent a time in [the] Asia. (23) But at that time happened no small trouble concerning the way. (24) For one, his name being Dimētrios, a silversmith forming silver temples of [the] Artemis, was giving much of work to the craftsmen not few. (25) He having assembled these with the workmen also who were occupied with these (things), said: '[The] men, ye know that from this business cometh the getting of gain to us. (26) And ye see and ye hear, that not only indeed Ephesos, but almost in all [the] Asia this "Paulos" turned away a great multitude, saying that these are not gods which are made through formings of hand. (27) Not only will this trade become to us for a danger to cause us to come to [a] reproof; but the temple also of the great goddess [the] Artemis will be no more reckoned anything, and her greatness will be overthrown, this which all [the] Asia and all the world worshippeth.' (28) But having heard these (things), and having been filled with anger, they were crying out, saying: '[The] Artemis of them of Ephesos is great.' (29) And the city was filled with trouble: but all ran hurriedly together to the theatre; they carried off Gaios and Aristarchos, being Makedonians, they came on travel with Paulos. (30) But Paulos wishing to go into the multitude, the disciples were not letting him. (31) But some also from the rulers of [the] Asia, being friends to him, sent to him, beseeching him not to give himself to the theatre. (32) Others indeed then were crying out saying another thing: for the assembly was troubled; and the most of them knew not why they were assembled. (33) But from the multitude the Jews brought out Alexandros. Alexandros beckoned to them with his hand, wishing to make defence to the multitude. (34) But having known that he is a Jew, there arose one shout from all, about two hours, crying out: [The] Artemis of them of Ephesos is great.' (35) But the town clerk having caused the multitude to be quiet, said: [The] men, [the] Ephesians, [for] who among [the] men (is there) who knoweth not (the) city of the Ephesians, that it is temple-keeper of the great Artemis and the Diopetēs? (36) No one them opposeth these (things). It is worthy then that ye should be sedate and do not anything lightly. (37) For ye brought these men hither, neither are they temple-robbers, nor do they blaspheme your gods. (38) If then Dimētrios and the craftsmen also who are with him have a word against any one, the law courts will be held, and there is (a) proconsul, let them implead one another. (39) But if ye seek for another Matthewter, in the regular assembly it shall be decided. (40) For we are even in danger to be accused concerning the trouble of to-day, there being no pretext with which it is possible for us to give account for the trouble.' (41) And having said these (things), he dismissed the assembly.

20

(1) But after the trouble was ended, Paulos sent for the disciples and comforted them, he saluted them, he came forth to go to (the) Makedonia. (2) Having passed through that place and having comforted them in many a word, he came to [the] Elias. (3) But having spent three months there, an evil plan was made concerning him by the Jews. Being about to come to (the) Syria, a plan was made to return through (the) Makedonia. (4) But Sōsipatros of Pyrrus the man of Beroia was with him; but (of) them of Thessalonikē, Aristarchus and Sekounthos; and Gaios the man of Terbē, and Timotheos; but they of [the] Asia, Tyehikos and Trophēmus. (5) But these having been before us, stayed for us in Troas. (6) But we (pron.) after the days of the unleavened (plur.) sailed from Philippois, and we came unto them to Trōas in five (days), and we abode there with them seven days. (7) But on (the) first (lit. one) of the sabbaths, we having assembled to break [a] bread, Paulos was speaking to them, being about to come forth on the (lit. his) morrow; but he was spreading out the word unto midnight. (8) But there were many lamps in the upper place, the place in which they were being assembled. (9) But a young man was sitting, his name being Eutychos, upon the window, forgetting (himself) in a deep (lit. great) sleep; but as Paulos was speaking, the sleep overcame him more, he fell down from the third storey, and he was taken up dead (10) But Paulos came down, he threw himself upon him, and having embraeed him, he said: Trouble not; for his life (is) in him.' (11) But having gone up, and having broken the bread, and having tasted, he prolonged the word until (the) light came forth, and thus he came forth. (12) But they brought the boy alive, and they received no little consolation. (13) But we (pron.) went before on board the ship, we came into Assos arranging to take in Paulos at that place: for he had ordered us thus, being about to walk on foot. (14) But having met with us in Assos, we took him in, we came to Militinē. (15) But on the morrow we sailed from there, we came opposite Chios, but in the evening we came to Samos; afterwards we came to Milētos. (16) For Paulos had ordained to sail past Ephesos, that he might not delay in [the] Asia, for he was hasting, that, if it were possible, he might spend (the) day of the Pentēcostē in Jerusalem. (17) But from Milētos he sent to Ephesos, he called the presbyters of the church. (18) But they having come unto him, he said to them: Ye (pron.) know, since the first day (in) which I came to [the] Asia, in what manner I was with you in all this time; (19) being servant to the Lord in all humbleness of heart, and tears, and the trials which came upon me, in the evil plans of the Jews: (20) how I hid not anything of the things which were profitable, without showing them to you, and teaching you, (21) witnessing publicly and in every house to the Jews and the Greeks [the] repentance toward God, and the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (22) And now, lo, I (pron.) being bound in the spirit shall (lit. will) go to Jerusalem, I know not that which will befall me in it. (23) Except that the holy spirit witnesseth to me in every city, saying: "Bonds and afflictions stay for thee." (24) But my life I put it not, that it is precious to me, in any account, until I complete my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to witness to the Gospel of the grace of God. (25) And now, lo, I (pron.) know that ye see my face no more, all ye, they among whom I was passing, proclaiming the kingdom of God. (26) Therefore, I witness to you in this very day that I (pron.) am pure from the blood of you all. (27) For I hid not myself so as not to show to you (the) whole wish of God. (28) Take heed to yourselves and all the flock, in which the holy spirit put you as overseers, to feed the church of the Lord, which he got through his own blood. (29) But I (pron.) know that after my going (away) grievous wolves will come in to you, they will not spare the flock; (30) and men will rise from among you, saying perverse words, for them to draw the disciples after them. (31) Therefore then watch yourselves, remembering that I spent three years, I ceased not by the day and the night admonishing each one of you in tears. (32) And now I commit you to the Lord and (the) word of his grace, for which it is possible to establish and to give inheritance among all them who were sanctified. (33) [A] silver or [a] gold or a garment I coveted not them of any one. (34) Ye (pron.) know that these my hands ministered to my need, and (to) them who were with me. (35) I showed to you all things, that it is right to toil thus and help them who are weak, and for you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he (pron.) said: "It is a blessedness rather to give than to receive."' (36) And having said these (things), he threw himself on his knees with them all; they prayed. (37) But there was a great weeping of all of them; and they threw themselves upon (the) neck of Paulos, and they kissed his mouth, (38) grieving most concerning the word which he said, that they will see his (lit. my) face no more. But they were escorting him toward the ship.

21

(1) But it came to pass (that) having put to sea, we separated from them, we sailed with straight courses, we came into Kō; but on the (lit. his) morrow we came to Rodos, and from there we came to Patara (2) and having found a ship being about to cross over to [the] Phoinikē, we went on board; we put off. (3) But having seen Kypros, we left it on the left hand, we sailed to (the) Syria, and we came to Tyros: For the ship was being about to unlade its freight there. (4) But having found the disciples, we abode there with them seven days, these who were saying to Paulos through the spirit not to go into Jerusalem. (5) But it came to pass (that) having completed the days, we came forth, we walked (away), all of them escorting us, with women also and their children, unto outside of the city: and we threw ourselves upon our knees upon the shore, we prayed, (6) and we took leave from one another, we went on board the ship, but they returned to their own. (7) But we (pron.) sailed from Tyros, we came into Ptolemais, and having saluted the brethren, we abode with them a day. (8) But on the (lit. his) morrow having come forth, we came to Kesaria, and having gone into (the) house of Philippos the preacher of good tidings, being one from the seven, we abode with him. (9) But this (man) had four daughters, virgins, prophesying. (10) But we having abode there many days, One came from [the] Ioudea, being a prophet, his name being Agabos. (11) And having come unto us, he took away the girdle of Paulos, he bound his hands and his feet, he said: These (things) are they which the holy spirit saith: "The man, whose is this girdle, the Jews will thus bind in Jerusalem, and will deliver him to (the) hands of Gentiles."' (12) But we having heard these (things), were beseeching, we and the brethren of that place, for him not to go to Jerusalem. (13) Then answered Paulos: 'What do ye, weeping and paining my heart? For not only to be bound, but I (pron.) am prepared to die in Jerusalem for (the) name of the Lord Jesus.' (14) But he having not been persuaded, we held our peace, saying: Let the will of the Lord be done.' (15) But after these days having prepared ourselves, we were going to Jerusalem. (16) But some from the disciples came with us from Kesaria, having brought him with whom we should (lit. will) lodge, one 'Nassōn,' a Kyprian, an early disciple. (17) But having come into Jerusalem, the brethren received us in [a] joy. (18) But on the (lit. his) morrow Paulos came with us unto Iakōbos; but all the presbyters came to him. (19) And having saluted them, he was narrating to them one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his ministry. (20) But they (pron.) having heard, glorified God. But they said to him: 'Thou seest, our brother, how many ten thousands there are from the Jews who believed; and all are zealots for the law: (21) but they were shown concerning thee, that thou teachest the Jews who are among the Gentiles to depart from Moses, saying: "Circumcise not your children, nor walk according to the customs. (22) What, then? They will certainly hear that thou camest. (23) This then do which we shall (lit. will) say to thee." We have four men who have a vow to be paid; (24) take these, purify thyself with them, and pay expense for them, that they may shave their head: and all shall know that the things which were said concerning thee are nothing; but that thou also agreest to keep the law. (25) But concerning the Gentiles who believed, we (pron.) sent, having judged to cause them to keep. themselves from the things slain to idols, and the blood (plur.), and the things strangled, and the fornication.' (26) Then Paulos- took the men; on the day which cometh he purified himself with them; he went into the temple, manifesting the completion of the days of the purification, until they brought the offering of each one of them for each one. (27) But the seven days being about to be completed, the Jews of [the] Asia, having seen him being in the temple, troubled all the multitude, and they laid their hands upon him, (28) saying: '[The] men, [the] Israelites, help. This is the man who opposeth the people and the law and this place, teaching all in every place: but further also having brought Greeks into the temple, [and] he defiled the holy place.' (29) For they had before seen Trophēmos with him in the city, the Ephesian; this (man) they were thinking that Paulos took away into the temple. (30) But the whole city was moved, and there happened a running together of all the people; and having overpowered Paulos, they drew him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. (31) But as they are seeking to kill him, The news went up to the chiliarchos of the band, that the whole of Jerusalem was troubled. (32) But immediately he took soldiers and centurions, he ran upon them. But they (pron.) having seen the soldiers and the chiliarchos, ceased beating Paulos. (33) Then the chiliarchos having approached, laid hold on him, and he commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he was asking who he is, and what he did. (34) But others were crying out saying another thing. But having not been able to know the certainty because of the tumult, he commanded to take him away into the castle. (35) But when he was mounting the stairs, it came to pass that the soldiers carried him because of (the) violence of the multitude; (36) for the multitude of the people were walking after him, crying out: Take him away there.' (37) But as they are about to bring him into the castle, Paulos said to the chiliarehos: 'Is it lawful for me to say anything to thee?' But he (pron.) said to him: Knowest thou indeed Greek? (38) Art thou not then the man of Chērni who before these days madest tumults, and thou tookest four thousand men of the Assassins out to (the) desert?' (39) But Paulos said to him: 'I indeed (am) a man, Jew, a man of Tarsos, of [the] Kylikia, a citizen of a city which is not inconspicuous: I pray thee then to command me that I may speak to this people.' (40) But he having commanded him, Paulos standing upon the stairs waved his hand against the people; but a great silence having been made, he cried out in the language of Hebrew, saying:

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(1) [The] men, [the] brethren, and [the] fathers, hear my defence which is mine unto you now.' (2) But having heard that he answered them in the language of Hebrew, [but] they held their peace the more. And he said: (3) 'I indeed am a man, Jew, I was born in Tarsos of [the] Kylikia, having been brought up in this city, at (the) feet of Gamaliēl he who taught me accurately (the) law of our fathers, I being a zealot for God according as all ye (pron.) also are being to-day, (4) having persecuted this way even unto (the) death. Binding men and women, casting them to (the) prison. (5) As the chief priest witnesseth to me, and all the presbyters: from whom having received epistle unto the brethren, [But] I was going to Damaskos, to bring others who were there bound into Jerusalem, that they might give pain to them. (6) But it happened, that as (I was) walking and having approached Damaskos about midday, suddenly shone upon me a great light from (the) heaven. (7) But I fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me: "Saoul, Saoul, why persecutest thou me?" (8) But I (pron.) answered: "Who (art) thou, Lord?" But he said to me: "I am Jesus the Nazōreos, he whom thou (pron.) persecutest." (9) But they who were being with me were seeing indeed the light, but they heard not (the) voice of him who spake to me. (10) But I said: "What shall (lit. will) I do, Lord?" But the Lord said to me: "Rise, go into Damaskos; and it will be spoken to thee there concerning all things which were ordained for thee to do." (11) But it came to pass, that as I saw not for (the) glory of that light, they who were with me laid hold of my hand; I came to Damaskos. (12) But one, called Ananias, a man devout according to the law, all the Jews who dwelt there witnessing to him, (13) [but] having come unto me, and having stood, he said to me: "Saoul, my brother, see." But I also in that hour gazed at him. (14) But he (pron.) said: "God of our fathers chose thee before to know his will, and to see the righteous (one), and to hear a voice from his mouth. (15) Because thou wilt be for him witness with all men concerning the things which thou sawest and which thou heardest. (16) And now what wilt thou do? Rise, be baptised and wash thee from thy sins, praying to his name." (17) But it came to pass (that) having returned to Jerusalem, and praying in the temple, I was in a trance; (18) I saw him saying to me: "Come quickly from Jerusalem, because they will not receive witness from thee concerning me." (19) I also said: "Lord, they (pron.) know that I was casting to (the) prison, and I was beating in (every) synagogue them who believed thee: (20) and when they were about to shed (the) blood of Stephanos the martyr I also was standing, consenting, and I was keeping the garments of them who were killing him." (21) And he said to me: "Go (lit. walk): because I (pron.) will send thee to distant Gentiles."' (22) But they were hearing him unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, saying: 'Take away such an one from (the) earth: for he is not worthy of living.' (23) But (as they are) crying out, and throwing (off) their garments, and throwing dust to the air, (24) the chiliarchos commanded them to take him into the castle, having told them to give pain to him with scourges, that he might know concerning what cause they cry out thus upon him. (25) But when they strained him in the thongs, Paulos said to the centurion who was standing (by): 'A man, Roman, not even condemned, it is lawful for you to scourge him.' (26) But the centurion having heard, went unto the chiliarchos, he showed to him, saying: What wilt thou do? For the man is a Roman.' (27) But the chiliarchos came unto him; he said to him: Say to me that thou (art) a Roman.' But he (pron.) said: Yea.' (28) The chiliarchos answered: I (pron.) bought this citizenship for me with a great sum.' But Paulos said: I (am one) who was born in it.' (29) Immediately then they departed from him who give pain to him: and the chiliarchos feared, having known that he was a Roman, and that he bound him. (30) But on the (lit. his) morrow, wishing to know the certainty why the Jews accused him, he loosed him, and he commanded to come the chief priests and all the council, and he brought hullos down, he set him among them.

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(1) But Paulos having gazed at the council, said, [The] men, our brethren, in all good (plur.) conscience I (pron.) lived before God up to this day. (2) But the chief priest Ananias commanded them who stood by him to strike on his mouth. (3) Then said Paulos to him: God will strike thee thus, [the] wall which is smeared with white; thou sittest even judging me according to the law, and thou commandest to strike me contrary to the law.' (4) But they who stood (by) said: 'Thou reviledst the chief priest of God.' (5) But Paulos said: I was not knowing, my brethren, that he is chief priest: for it is written, "A ruler of thy people thou shalt not say evil against."' (6) But Paulos having known that there is a part (of them) indeed belonging to the Sadducees, but the other part belonging to the Pharisees, he cried out in the council, [The] men, our brethren, I (am) a Pharisee; concerning a hope and a resurrection of the dead I (pron.) am judged. (7) But he having said this, there happened a tumult between the Pharisees and the Sudducees: and the multitude was divided. (8) For the Sadducees indeed say that there is not resurrection, nor angel, 'nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess them both. (9) But a great noise happened, and some from the Pharisees rose, they disputed, saying: We find nothing of evil in this man. If a spirit spake to him or an angel.' (10) But a great tumult having happened, the chiliarchos feared lest by any means Paulos should be carried (off) by them, he commanded the soldiery that they should go up and snatch him from their midst, and bring him into the castle. (11) But in the night which cometh the Lord stood by him, he said: 'Take courage; as thou witnessed concerning me in Jerusalem, thus thou must also witness concerning me in Rōmē.' (12) But the day having come, the Jewsassembled, they adjured themselves, saying (that they would) not eat nor drink until they killed Paulos. (13) But they were being more than forty men, they who made this oath. (14) These came unto the chief priests and the presbyters, they said: an anathema we adjured ourselves not to taste anything until we kill Paulos: (15) now then make known to the chiliarchos, with the council, that he may bring him unto you as that ye may know accurately concerning him: but we (prom) before that he approacheth you, are prepared to kill him.' (16) But (the) son of (the) sister of Paulos having heard of the plot, he came, he went in to the castle, he showed to Paulos. (17) But Paulos called one of the centurions, he said: Take this young man in unto the chiliarchos; for he hath a thing to say to him.' (18) He (pron.) indeed then took him; he brought him unto the chiliarchos, and he said: The prisoner Paulos called me, he told me, To bring this young man in unto thee, having a thing to say to thee.' (19) But the chiliarchos seized hold of his hand, and having withdrawn apart alone, he was asking him: What (is) it which thou wishest to say to me?' (20) But he said: The Jews settled to pray thee to-morrow, that thou should bring Paulos to the council, as thou wilt know concerning him accurately. (21) Thou then be not persuaded by them: for there are more than forty men from them lying in wait for him; these who adjured one another not to eat nor to drink until they kill him: and now they are prepared, looking out for the promise about to be from thee.' (22) The chiliarchos then dismissed the young man, having ordered him not to say to any one that thou showedst to me these (things). (23) And he called two from the centurions; he said to them: 'Prepare two hundred soldiers, that they may go unto Kesaria, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, from (the) third hour of the night, (24) and may take beasts also, that they may mount Paulos, and bring him safe unto Phylix the governor.' (25) But he wrote a letter having a form thus, (26) Klaudios Lysia to the most excellent governor Phylix, hail. (27) This man the Jews seized, and as they are thinking to kill him, I went with the soldiery; . I saved him, having known that he is a Roman. (28) But wishing to know the cause concerning which they found fault with him, I brought him to their council: (29) whom I found found fault with concerning questions of their law, but I found not sin in him worthy of (the) death or bonds for an offence. (30) But having been shown concerning an evil plan which would be made against this man by them, immediately I sent him to thee, having ordered his accusers to speak with thee. (31) The soldiers indeed then, according to that which was ordained them, took away Paulos by night, having brought him to Antipatris. (32) But on the (lit. his) morrow they let the horsemen go with him; they returned to the castle. (33) But those (lit. these) having come to Kesaria, and having given the epistle to the governor, they presented Paulos also to him. (34) But he having read the letter, asked from what province he is; and having known that he is from [the] Kylikia, (35) I shall hear thee, he said, whenever should come thine accusers: and he commanded to keep him in the pretōrion of Ērōdēs.

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(1) But after five days came up the chief priest Ananias with presbyters, and also an orator, called Tertyllos: these having come, made known to the governor against Paulos. (2) But he having been called, Tertyllos began to accuse him, saying, Abundant peace happens through thee, and establishment (plur.) is happening to this nation through thy providence (3) on all sides, and in all places, we accept thee, most excellent Phylix, in all thanksgiving. (4) But that I may not hinder thee the more, I pray thee to hear me concisely in thy fairness. (5) For we found this pestilent man, moving troubles to all the Jews who are in the world, being (a) first (man) for (the) sect of the Nazōreos: (6) who tried to defile the temple even: and we laid hold on him. (7) Omitted (8) This (man) from whom it is possible for thee thyself to know, shouldest thou examine him concerning these things in which we accuse him. (9) The Jews added their word that these things were thus. (10) Paulos answered, the governor having beckoned to him to speak, Knowing thee since many years being judge to this nation, I shall (lit. will) answer in delight of heart for myself. (11) It being possible for thee to know, that not more than twelve days have passed since I went into Jerusalem to worship; (12) Neither found they me in the temple speaking to (any) one, nor troubling a multitude, nor in the synagogues, nor in city. (13) Nor is it possible for them to establish these (things), these of which they accuse me now. (14) But I confess this to thee, that according to this way which these say that (it is a) sect, I worship thus (the) God of my fathers, believing all the things which are written in the law and the prophets: (15) Having a hope toward God, which these also look out for, the resurrection about to be for the just and the wrongdoers. (16) In this I shall (lit. will) exercise (myself) also for there to be to me a conscience offenceless before God and before [the] men always. (17) But after (lit. from) many years I came to do alms to my nation, and offerings: (18) these in which they found me purified in the temple, not with a multitude nor with a tumult: (19) but certain Jews from [the] Asia, they (lit. these) who ought to have come before thee and accuse, If they have a thing against me. (20) Otherwise let these themselves say what wrongdoing they found in me, standing in the council, (21) (other) than concerning this one saying, this which I cried out among them standing, Concerning (the) resurrection of the dead. I (pron.) am judged to-day before you.' (22) But Phylix put them off, knowing accurately concerning them of the way, having said: 'If Lysias the chiliarchos should come up, I shall know concerning you.' (23) And he (part.) commanded the centurion who kept him, [but] to give indulgence to him, and not to hinder any of his friends from ministering to him. (24) But after some days Phylix came with Drousilla his wife being a Jewess; he sent for Paulos, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus, (25) speaking to him concerning [the] righteousness, and [the] temperance, and the judgement which will be: but Phylix having been in [a] fear answered: Go away, now; but should I have (lit, take) a time, I shall (lit. will) send for thee.' (26) But withal he was hoping that Paulos will give money (plug.) to him; and thus that he might release him. Therefore he was sending for him many times, speaking to him. (27) But two years having been completed, Phylix received a successor, Porkios Phēstos; but Phylix, wishing to give a favour to the Jews, left Paulos bound.

25

(1) Phēstos then having come to the province, after three days went into Jerusalem from Kesaria. (2) The chief priests and the first (men) of the Jews made known to him concerning Paulos, and they were beseeching him, (3) asking a favour against him, that he might send for him to bring him into Jerusalem; laying wait to kill him on the way. (4) Phestos then answered, that Paulos is kept in Kesaria, but he (pron.) is thinking to go thither quickly. (5) They then, he said, for whom it is possible among you, let them come down with me; if there is an evil thing in this man, let them accuse him. (6) But having been among them not more than eight days or ten, he came to Kesaria. But on the (lit. his) morrow he sat on the judgement seat, he commanded to bring Paulos. (7) But he having come, the Jews stood against him, having come down from Jerusalem, bringing many heavy charges upon him, these which they could not establish, (8) Paulos defending himself: 'Neither sinned I against (the) law of the Jews, nor the temple, nor (the) king.' (9) But Phēstos, wishing to be gracious to the Jews, answered; he said to Paulos: Wishest thou to go to Jerusalem to be judged there with them concerning these (things)?' (10) But Paulos said: I stand at the judgement seat of (the) king, the place in which I ought to be judged: but to the Jews I did not any wrong, as thou also knowest perfectly. (11) If then I do wrong, and if I did any work worthy of (the) death, then I refuse not to die. But if there is not anything in the things which these accuse me, it is not possible for any to grant me to them, I appeal to (the) king.' (12) Then Phēstos spake to the council; he answered, Thou appealedst to (the) king, thou shalt go unto (the) king. (13) But some days having passed, Agrippas (the) king and Bernike came to stay at Kesaria; they saluted Phēstos. (14) But having spent many days there, Phēstos laid (the) Matthewter of Paulos before (the) king, saying: There is a man bound, having been left by Phylix: (15) but I having gone into Jerusalem, the chief priests and the presbyters of the Jews spoke openly (of him), asking against him a sentence. (16) But I responded to them, saying that it is not a custom of the Romans to give up a man, before that the accusers stand before him whom they accuse, and he find place of giving his defence concerning the fault. (17) They having come then with me to this place, I made not any delay; but on the (lit. his) morrow I sat on the judgement seat, I commanded to bring the man. (18) And this (man), the accusers having stood against him, were bringing no pretexts among those of which I (pron.) think that they are evil; (19) questions then they had between them and him concerning a doctrine of demons of theirs, and concerning one, called Jesus, who died, this (man) whom Paulos was saying that he is alive. (20) But I (pron.) was being amazed concerning these questions of these (things); I was saying: Wilt thou go to Jerusalem, and be judged there concerning these (things)? (21) Paulos having appealed to (the) king I kept him for (the) knowledge of (the) king, I commanded to keep him until I send him to (the) king. (22) But Agrippas said to Phēstos: I was wishing also to hear the man.' [For] tomorrow, he said, thou shalt hear him. (23) On the (lit. his) morrow then, Agrippa having come and Bernikē, with a great pomp, and they having gone into the place of audience, with chiliarchs and great men of the city, and Phestos having commanded, they brought Paul. (24) And Phestos said: '(The) king Agrippa and all the men who are with us, ye see this (man): concerning him all the multitude of the Jews pleaded with me in Jerusalem and in this place also, crying out that he is not worthy to live any longer. (25) But I (pron.) knew him, that he did not anything worthy of (the) death: but he himself having appealed to (the) king, I decided to send him. (26) Concerning whom there is not that which I shall (lit. will) write of certainty to my lord (the) king, Therefore I brought him before you, and especially before thee, (the) king Agrippa, that thou having enquired of him, I might find that which I shall (lit. will) write. (27) For I think that it is a thing unreasonable to send the prisoner (and) not to signify his charges also which concern him.'

26

(1) But Agrippas said to Paulos: Thou art commanded to speak for thyself.' Then Paulos stretched out his hand, he made defence (2) concerning all things with which the Jews find fault with him to (the) king Agrippa, I think that I (am) happy, being about to make defence to-day before thee: (3) especially as thou knowest the customs of the Jews and their questions: therefore I pray thee to hear me longsufferingly. (4) My living from my youth, which was from (the) beginning among my nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know; (5) knowing me before from (this time) upward, should they wish to witness, That according to the sect which is strict of our service I lived as Pharisee. (6) And now concerning (the) hope of the promise which was made to our fathers by God I stand being judged, (7) that is to say this hope (as to) which the twelve tribes were serving continually in the day and the night, wishing to attain unto it. Concerning this hope, (the) king, the Jews find fault with me. (8) Why is it incredible, judge in yourselves, if God will raise the dead? (9) I indeed then was thinking for myself to do many things which oppose (the) name of Jesus the Nazōreos. (10) This which I did in Jerusalem; many among the saints I (pron.) cast into the prisons, having received the authority from the chief priests; (as) they were killing them I gave vote against them (11) in every synagogue; giving pain to them many times, I was forcing them to blaspheme; but in [an] excess being in a madness towards them, I persecuted them even unto the cities also which are outside. (12) And in these (things) journeying to Damaskos with an authority and commandment of the chief priests, (13) [but] being on the road at midday I saw, (the) king, a light from (the) heaven brighter than (the) sun, it came upon me and them who were with me. (14) But we all having fallen upon the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the language of Hebrew: Saoul, Saoul, why persecutest thou me? It is a hard thing for thee to kick against goads.' (15) But I (pron.) said: Who (art) thou, Lord?' But the Lord said to me: I am Jesus, whom thou (pron.) persccutest. (16) But rise, stand upon thy feet. For therefore I manifested myself to thee, to choose thee as an officer for me, and that thou mayest witness to the things which thou sawest, those in which I shall (lit. will) manifest myself to thee; (17) I shall save thee from the people and from the Gentiles, those to whom I (pron.) shall (lit. will) send thee, (18) to open their eyes, to cause them to return from (the) darkness into (the) light, and from (the) authority of Satan to God, to cause them to receive (the) forgiveness of their sins, and an inheritance among them who are sanctified in the faith of me.' (19) Therefore, (the) king Agrippa, I could not be disobedient to the vision of (the) heaven: (20) but to them who were in Damaskos first and Jerusalem, and all (the) country of [the] Ioudea, and the Gentiles, I proclaimed to cause them to repent and to cause them to return to God, to do works worthy of the repentance. (21) Therefore the Jews laid hold on one in the temple, they were trying to lay (lit. bring) their hand upon me. (22) But having received a help from God, I stood until to-day, witnessing to [a] small and [a] great, not saying anything except those which the prophets say and Mōysēs, that they will happen: (23) If Christ is a sufferer, if he is first from (the) resurrection of the dead, he will proclaim a light to the people and the Gentiles. (24) As he is saying these (things), Phēstos said in a great voice: Thou wast mad, O Paul, the much learning (lit. of writing) caused thee to be mad.' (25) But Paulos said: I am not mad, most excellent Phestos; but words of [the] truth and [the] piety (are) those which I say. (26) For the king also knoweth concerning these things, to whom I am bold (in) speaking; for I am persuaded that none of these (things) escape his notice; for this was not done in a corner. (27) Thou believest, (the) king Agrippas, the prophets; I know that thou believest.' (28) But Agrippas said to Paulos: '(With) even a little thou wilt persuade me to make myself Chrēstianos.' (29) But Paulos said: I pray to God both in [a] little and (next) in [a] great, not only thou, but also all who hear me to-day for them to become in my manner, in the manner in which I also am, save my bonds.' (30) But (the) king rose, and the governor and Bernikē and they who sat with them: (31) and having withdrawn, they were speaking to one another, saying: This man doeth not any deed worthy of (the) death or bonds.' (32) But Agrippas said to Phēstos: It was possible to release this man, if he had not appealed to (the) king.'

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(1) But it came to pass (that), it having been decided for us to sail to [the] Hytalia, he delivered Paulos and other prisoners to a centurion, his name being Ioulios, from the band of Sabastē. (2) But we went on board a ship Andramantinean, about to sail to the places of [the] Asia, we put to sea, being with us Aristarchos also of (the) Makedonia, the native of Thessalonikē. (3) But on the (lit. his) morrow we came to (the) Sydōn. But Ioulios did [a] kindness with Paulos; he commanded him to go unto his friends, that they might take care of him. (4) And having put to sea from there, we sailed along Kypros, because that the wind was opposing us. (5) But having sailed away to the sea which is between Kypros and [the] Pamphylia, we came to Lystra of [the] Kylikia. (6) And the centurim found a ship there of Rakoti, about to sail to [the] Hytalia; he placed us on it. (7) But having delayed in sailing many days, and having scarcely come off Chnidos, the wind not letting us, [but] we sailed along [the] Krētē off Salmonē; (8) having scarcely left it, we came to a place called the good harbours'; [but] a city called Lasea was being near to them. (9) But great time having passed, and already it was no longer (the) time of sailing, for the ship had gone out of her course, because that the fast also had passed. But Paulos was exhorting, (10) saying to them, [The] men, I see that an injury and much loss will happen, not only of the ship and the freight, but also our lives, in this voyage. (11) But the centurion was trusting to the steersman and the shipowner rather than the things which Paulos was saying. (12) But the harbour not being (well) placed for us to winter in, most of them made a plan to put out from there, that perhaps they could reach Phoinix to winter in, harbour of [the] Krētē, looking westward, being a place of Chōra. (13) But a south wind blowing, they were thinking that they will be able to establish their purpose a, they put to sea from Asses, they left [the] Krētē. (14) But a high wind, which is called 'Eurakylōn,' delayed not, it blew against us. (15) But it having carried off the ship, as they could not oppose the wind, we gave up, we were driven. (16) But having fled to an island which is called Klauda,' scarcely could we secure the boat: (17) this having been taken away, they were making help, girding the ship; but fearing lest by any means they should fall into the Sirtēs, we lowered the gear, and thus we floated along. (18) But as a tossing was rocking us exceedingly, [but] on the (lit. his) morrow they were tossing out (the freight): (19) and on the third day they put (lit. cast) their hand on the gear (plur.) of the ship, they threw them out. (20) But as appear not (the) sun and the stars for many days, no small tempest being that which was happening, at length all our hope for us to be saved had gone. (21) But a long (time of) not eating happens. Then stood Paulos in their midst, he said: Ye ought indeed, O [the] men having obeyed me, not to have put to sea from [the] Krētē and gain this injury and this loss. (22) And now again I entreat you, be longsuffering, for one life from you will not be lost except only the ship. (23) For stood by me in this night an angel of God, whose I am, and I worship him, (24) saying: "Fear not, O Paulos, thou must be set before (the) king: and lo, all they who sail with thee I granted them to thee." (25) Therefore, [the] men, be glad of heart, for I believe God, that it (lit. they) will be as it was spoken to me. (26) For we must come upon an island. (27) But fourteen nights having passed, we are rolling among the waves in the Andrias.' But at midnight [but] the sailors were thinking that they approached a country: (28) and having thrown down the sounding line, they found twenty fathoms of water. But having done a short distance, they threw the sounding line down, they found fifteen fathoms. (29) But fearing lest by any means we should fall on reefs, they cast four anchors at the stern of the ship, they were praying for it to be the day. (30) But the sailors, seeking that they might flee from the ship, let down the boat to the sea in pretence as that they are going to cast anchors from the fore(ship). (31) Paulos said to the centurion and the soldiers, Unless these stay on the ship it is not possible for you to be saved. (32) Then the soldiers broke away the ropes of the boat, they let her fall. (33) Until the day came, Paulos was persuading them all that they should take some food, saying: Lo, fourteen days ye completed, looking out, ye ate not anything. (34) Therefore I pray you to take your food: for this is (the) first (thing) unto your health; for a hair of (the) head of one of you will not perish.' (35) But having said these (things), he took a loaf, he gave thanks to God before all, and having broken it, he began to eat. (36) But the heart of all of them having been glad, they also took their food. (37) But all the souls who were being in the ship were making two hundred (and) seventy-six. (38) But having been satisfied with the food, they were causing the ship to lighten, throwing the wheat to the sea. (39) But when the day came, they knew not the land; but they were observing a bay, having (lit. being) a shore in it: but they were considering that perhaps they would be able to save the ship thither. (40) And having lifted the anchors, they were letting them (go) in the sea, but at the same time they loosed the heads of the rudders; and having hoisted the foresail to the wind which blew, they put in to the shore. (41) But having fallen on a place, being of two seas, they ran the ship aground thither; and the fore(part) of it indeed was fixed, it stayed, not moving, but the hinder (part) of it was destroyed by (the) violence of the waves. (42) But the soldiers made a plan, that they should kill the prisoners, lest by any means one should swim and flee. (43) But the centurion, wishing to save Paulos, hiddered them from doing their plan: But he commanded those for whom it was possible that they should support themselves on the sea, and swim first to the shore: (44) and the rest also, some indeed on boards, but others on pieces also of the ship. And thus it happened for us all to come safe to the shore.

28

(1) And having been saved, then we knew that that island is called Melitinē.' (2) But the barbarians of that place were doing a kindness with us not a little: for having kindled a fire, they received us all, because of the rain which was happening, and because of the cold. (3) But Paulos turned himself, he found a quantity of rubbish, and he threw it (plur.) to the fire, and from the heat came out a viper, it bit his hand. (4) But the barbarians having seen the wild beast hanging to his hand, they weresaying to one another: Certainly this man is a murderer, this (one) whom, after having been saved from the sea, his judgement letteth him not live.' (5) He (pron.) indeed then, shook the wild beast to the fire, no evil happened to him. (6) But they (pron.) were thinking that he will swell or will fall immediately and die: but having waited, gazing at him, and having seen that no evil thing seized him, they turned themselves immediately, saying that he was a god. (7) But in that place there were many fields of the first (man) of the island, his name being Pouplios: this (man) having taken us up, received us in a love of hospitality three days. (8) But it came to pass (that) the father of Pouplios having been sick in fevers and dysenteries was prostrate under them. But this (man)--Paulos went in unto him, he prayed, he laid his hands upon him, he healed him. (9) But this having been done, (the) rest who were in the island, with whom there was sickness, were coming unto him and he was healing them. (10) But these honoured us in great honour, and when we were about to be brought from there, they prepared for us that of which we had need. (11) But after three months we came in a ship of Rakoti, being on it a sign of Dioskoros, which wintered in the island. (12) And we put in at Sirakousas, we abode there three days. (13) And having come from there we reached Rēgion: and after a day a south wind was strong with us, we came the second day to Pontiolous; (14) and having found the brethren there, they persuaded us to abide with them seven days: and thus we came to Rome. (15) But the brethren who (were) there having heard concerning us, came to meet us even unto Appiophorou, and Three Tabernōn: but Paulos having seen them, gave thanks to God, and took courage. (16) But when we went into Rōmē, he commanded Paulos to abide alone with the soldier who kept him. (17) But it came to pass after three days (that) he called the first (men) of the Jews who were there: but they having come thither, he was saying to them, I, [the] men, our brethren, did not anything in opposition to the people or the customs of our fathers, I was bound, from Jerusalem I was delivered to (the) hands of the Romans: (18) these having examined (me), were wishing to release me, because they found not any cause of (the) death being in me. (19) But, the Jews making objection, it was necessary for me to appeal to (the) king, not as that there is anything of accusation to make against my nation. (20) Because of this reason, then, I was praying to see you, and to speak to you: for concerning (the) hope of Israel I am bound by this chain. (21) But they (pron.) said to him: 'To us (pron.) neither came writing from [the] Ioudea, nor came one from the brethren and showed to us or said an evil word against thee. (22) But we think right to bear from thee the things which thou thinkest: for concerning this sect the thing is manifest to us, that objection is made concerning it in every place.' (23) But they appointed to him a day, they came unto him to the lodging, being many: and he declared to them, witnessing to them concerning the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, from (the) law of Mōysēs and the prophets, from early unto evening. (24) And some indeed were being persuaded by the things which he was saying; but others were being unbelieving. (25) But disagreeing amongst themselves, Paulos dismissed them, saying one word to them: 'Well spake the holy spirit through Ēsaēas the prophet to your fathers, (26) saying: "Go unto this people, say to them: In a hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand; in a seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not see.' (27) For (the) heart of this people thickened, and they were heavy for (the) hearing in their ears, and they shut their eyes, lest by any means they might see with their eyes, and hear in their ears, and understand in their heart, and return, and I heal them." (28) Let the thing be manifest to you, that God sent his saviour among the Gentiles, they (pron.) also (are they) who will hear.' (29) Omitted (30) But he abode two whole years in the place which he took for his own hired house, and he was receiving all who come in unto him, (31) proclaiming the kingdom of God, and teaching all in boldness concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and there was not any hindering him.

Epistle to the Romans

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1

(1) I. Paul, (the) servant of Jesus Christ, (the) apostle who is called, (2) he who was ordained unto the preaching good tidings of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3) concerning his Son; who was made from (the) seed of David according to flesh. (4) (The) Son of God who is ordained in [a] power, according to (a) holy spirit, by (lit. from the) resurrection of the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord, (5) through whom we received [a] grace and an apostleship, unto an obedience of (the) faith among all the Gentiles, for his name: (6) among whom are ye also, they who are called, of Jesus Christ: (7) to all who are in Rome, the beloved of God who are called, 'who are holy. (8) (The) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. First indeed I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (9) For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Gospel of his Son, how I cease not remembering you, (10) always in my prayers; praying that my journey may perhaps be disposed in the wish of God to come to you. (11) For I wish to see you, that I may give to you [a] spiritual grace, for confirming you, (12) that is to say (lit. which is this), for mutual comfort (lit. confirMatthewion of heart) in you through the faith which we have in common, yours and also mine. (13) But I wish you not to be (lit. being) ignorant, my brethren, that I have many times disposed myself to come o you, and I was prevented up till now. That I may receive [a] fruit among you also, according as also the rest of the Gentiles. (14) I have a debt to the Greeks and the Barbarians, the wise and the foolish, (15) so ready am I to preach the good tidings to you also, namely those who are in Rome. (16) For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the (lit. a) power of God unto [a] salvation to all who believe; the Jew first, and the Greek. (17) For the (lit. a) righteousness of God will be revealed in it from [a] faith unto [a] faith, according as it is written: The righteous will live from (the) faith.' (18) For the anger of God will be revealed from (the) heaven upon all godlessness and (the) wrongdoing of [the] men, who 'lay hold on the truth in [the] wrongdoing: (19) because the knowledge of God is manifested in them. For God manifested it unto them. (20) His unseen things from (the) creation of the world, being understood in his creatures, are visible, that is to say, his eternal power and his divinity. So that they are without excuse (and) without answer: (21) because, having known God, they glorified him not as God, nor thanked him, but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart became dark; (22) saying that they are wise, they became fools, (23) and exchanged the glory of incorruptible God for a likeness of an image of corruptible man and birds and beasts and creeping things. (24) Therefore God delivered them in the lusts of their heart unto (the) uncleanness, so that their bodies were dishonoured among them; (25) who changed the truth of God into [the] falsehood. And worshipped and served the creature rather than him who created, that is to say, him who is blessed unto the ages. Amen. (26) Therefore God delivered them unto vile passions: for their women turned their natural use into an unnatural. (27) Thus the men also left the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust (lit. wish) of one another, men with men working unto (the) shame, they shall receive (the) recompence which was due from their error in themselves. (28) And according as they did not approve to retain God in their (lit. a) knowledge, God delivered them unto a reprobate heart, to do the things which are not lawful to be done. (29) Being filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness and depravity and wrongdoing; being filled with envy and murder and strife and subtlety and evil thought. (30) Being whisperers, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, proud, boastful, inventors of [the] evil a things, disobedient to their parents, (31) senseless, dissentient, uncompassionate, unmerciful. (32) Who know the righteousness of God, that they who do such things are worthy of (the) death, not only, then, do them, but also consent with them who do them.

2

(1) Therefore thou wilt not be able to answer, O man, namely every one who judgeth: for in the judgement with which thou judgest (lit. givest unto) thy neighbour, thou condemnedst thyself; for thou also doest these things, namely he who judgeth. (2) For we know that the judgement of God was according to [a] truth upon them who do such things. (3) But thinkest thou this, O man, who judgest them who do such things, and doest them also thyself, that thou indeed wilt be able to escape the judgement of God? (4) Or despisest thou the riches of his kindness and his forbearance and his longsuffering? Thou knowest not that the kindness of God bringeth thee unto (lit. a) repentance; (5) but according to thy hardness of heart and thine impenitent heart thou treasurest up (lit. throwest in) for thee anger in the day of (the) anger and the revelation of the just judgement of God; (6) who will give to each one according to his works. (7) They indeed who persisted in a good work, [a] glory and [an] honour and [an] incorruption, to them who seek for [an] eternal life. (8) But they who are of [a] strife and consent not with (the) truth, but are trusting to [the] wrongdoing, [an] anger and [an] indignation, (9) [a] tribulation and [a] pain upon every soul, of [the] men who do the evil, the Jew first, and the Greek; (10) but [a] glory and [an] honour and [a] peace to every one who worketh the good, the Jew first, and the Greek: (11) there is not respect of persons with God. (12) For they who sinned without law, without law also will be destroyed: and they who sinned in the law, will be judged through the law; (13) for not the hearers of the law are the righteous with God, but they who do the law will be justified. (14) For if there are the Gentiles, who have not law, (yet) by nature do the things of the law, these who have not law are (a) law to themselves. (15) These who manifest the work of the law written in their heart, and (with) their conscience bearing witness unto them with them, and their thoughts accusing (lit. between them with) one another, or even will excuse (16) in the day of God, (who) will judge the hidden things of [the] man according to my Gospel through Jesus Christ. (17) If thou namest thyself Jew,' thou restest thyself upon the law and boastest thyself in God, (18) and knowest his wish, and approvest the things which are the best, thou instructest thyself from the law. (19) Thou trustest that thou (art) a guide of the blind, a light of them who are in (the) darkness, (20) (the) teacher of the foolish and (the) master of the little children, having (the) form of (the) knowledge and the truth which is in the law. (21) He then who teacheth another--teachest thou not thyself? He who preacheth not to steal--stealest thou? (22) He who saith: 'Commit not adultery'-- committest thou adultery? He who abhorreth the idols--art thou (a) temple robber? (23) He who boasteth himself in the law--through the transgression of the law dishonourest thou God? (24) For (the) name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, according as it is written. (25) For there is profit in [the] circumcision if thou should do the law; but if thou art (a) transgressor of the law, thy circumcision became uncircumcision. (26) If then [the] uncircumcision should keep the righteousness of the law, will not his uncircumcision be reckoned for [a] circumcision? (27) And the natural uncircumcision fulfilling (the) work of the law will judge thee a who art (a Jew) through the written law and the circumcision, because (or, that) thou wast a transgressor of the law. (28) For the Jew is not (he) who is outwardly the Jew, nor is (the) circumcision which is manifest in (the) flesh the circumcision: (29) but the inward (lit. who is hidden) Jew, this is the Jew, and the circumcision (is that) of the heart in [a] spirit, not in [a] writing, whose praise is not from man, but it is from God.

3

(1) What then is the advantage (lit. the more) of the Jew? or what is (the) profit of the circumcision? (2) Much it is according to every way: first indeed because they were intrusted with the words of God. (3) For what if some were unbelieving? Will their unbelief do away with the faith of God? (4) It shall not be. But let God be speaking truth, and every man speaking falsehood; according as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words and overcome when thou wilt be judged. (5) If our wrongdoing will set up the righteousness of God, what shall (lit. will) we say? Is God a wrongdoer being about to bring his anger? I said this humanly. (6) It shall not be: otherwise how will God judge the world? (7) But if the truth of God abounded unto his glory in my falsehood, then why am I also judged as a sinner, (8) and not according as we are blasphemed, as some say of us, that we say: Let us do evil things, that good things may come to us?' whose condemnation (lit. judgement) is decided (lit. under (the) judgement). (9) What then? Have we more? Not at all: we before found blame with the Jews and the Greeks, that they are all under (the) sin; (10) according as it is written: There is not a solitary righteous one; (11) there is not he who understandeth; there is not he who seeketh after God. (12) They all turned aside, they became unprofitable together; there is not he who doeth [a] kindness; there is not even (lit. up to) one: (13) an open sepulchre is their throat; they practised deceit with (lit. from) their tongue; a serpent poison is under their lips: (14) these whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness; (15) their feet hasten to shed blood; (16) (the) crushing and (the) misery are in their ways; (17) and they knew not (the) way of [the] peace; (18) the fear of God is not before their eyes.' (19) But we know that all things which the law saith, it said them to those who are in the law; that the mouth of every one may be stopped, and all the world may be under the judgement of God. (20) Because from the works of the law no flesh will be justified with God: through the law became (the) knowing (the) sin. (21) But now without the law the righteousness of God was manifested, being witnessed through the law and the prophets; (22) but the righteousness of God which is through (the) faith of Jesus Christ in every one who believeth. For there is no distinction made; (23) all sinned and a they fall short of (the) glory of God; (24) being justified freely in his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (25) whom God before set as a forgiver, through (the) faith, in his blood, unto (the) manifesting of his righteousness, because of (the) forgiving of the former sins which were committed, (26) in the longsuffering of God. To cause his righteousness to be revealed at this present time: that he might be just and justifying the (man who is) of (lit. from) faith in Jesus Christ. (27) Where then was the boasting? It was excluded. By what law? That of [the] works? Nay; but through (the) law of (the) faith. (28) For we shall (lit. will) reckon a man that he will be justified in (the) faith without the works of the law. (29) Or is God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles indeed (pr.) also? Yea, he is of the Gentiles also. (30) If then God is one, he who will justify (the) circumcision from (the) faith and the uncircumcision through the faith; (31) shall (lit. will) we then make useless the law through the faith? It shall not be. But we shall (lit. will) set up the law.

4

(1) What then shall (lit. will) we say concerning Abraam that he was found our forefather according to flesh? (2) For if Abraam was justified from works, then he hath boasting, but not toward God. (3) For what (is it) which the Scripture saith? But Abraam believed God, and it was reckoned to him for [a] righteousness. (4) He who worketh--his reward is not reckoned to him as a favour, but because it is owed to him. (5) But he who worketh not, but is believing him who justifieth the ungodly--his faith is reckoned to him for [a] righteousness. (6) According as also David said the blessedness of the man to whom God will reckon the righteousness without work. (7) Blessed are they whose lawlessnesses were forgiven, and whose sins were covered over. (8) Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord will not reckon sin. (9) This blessedness then was it put upon (the) circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision? For we say that (the) faith of Abraam was reckoned to him for [a] righteousness. (10) How then was it reckoned? when he was in (the) circumcision, or when he was in the uncircumcision? Not when he was in (the) circumcision, but in the uncircumcision: (11) and he received a sign (namely) of (the) circumcision, a seal of the righteousness, of (the) faith which was in the uncircumcision; to cause him to be father of all a who believe, though they be in uncircumcision, for [a] righteousness to be reckoned to them; (12) and father of (the) circumcision, not of them only who are of (lit. from) (the) circumcision, but also (of) those who walk in the footsteps of (the) faith which was in the uncircumcision of our father Abraam. (13) For not through the law was the promise given to Abraam, or his seed to cause him to be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of (the) faith. (14) For if through (the) law they were the heirs; then the faith became void, and the promise was made useless: (15) for (the) law worked (an) anger; but where there is not law, neither is there transgression. (16) Therefore (it is) through (a) faith; that (it may be) according to (a) grace, to cause the promise to be confirmed to all the seed, not only that which is of (lit. from) the law, but also that which is of (lit. from) (the) faith of Abraam, who is father of us all. (17) According as it is written: 'I made (lit. put) thee father of a multitude of nations' before God whom he believed, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth those who are not existing as (if) they were existing. (18) Who was not being without hope in a thing; he believed with a hope, to become a multitude of nations, according as it was said to him: 'Thy seed shall be thus.' (19) And having not been weak in the faith, considering (pret.) his body, be found it as being already dead, (for) he was about a hundred years old; and the deadness also of (the) womb of Sarra. (20) And having not doubted in (an) unbelief of the promise of God. But he was strong in the faith, giving (pret.) glory to God; (21) and he was persuaded, that that which he promised it was possible for him to do. (22) Therefore it was reckoned to him for [a] righteousness. (23) But it was not written for him alone that it was reckoned to him; (24) but also for us, namely, those to whom it was reckoned, who believe him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord from them who are dead, (25) who was given for our sins, and he rose for our justification.

5

(1) Having been justified then through (the) faith, let us make [a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom became to us (the) entrance in faith into this grace in which we stand, and are boasting ourselves in a hope of (the) glory of God. (3) But not only (so), but we are also boasting ourselves in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation worked [a] patience: (4) but [the] patience, [an] approval; but [the] approval, [a] hope; (5) but [the] hope is not ashamed, because the love of God was shed in our hearts through the holy spirit which he gave to us. (6) For if yet when we were weak once, Christ died for the ungodly, (7) for scarcely would one (go) as far as to die for a righteous man, for perhaps one would dare to die for the good. (8) But God commended his love to us, because we being yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more, having been justified now on account of his blood, we shall be saved through him from (the) anger. (10) For if being enemies we were reconciled to God through (the) death of his Son, much more having been reconciled to him we shall be saved in his life; (11) but not only (so), but (a.) we also boast ourselves in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we received the reconciliation. (12) Therefore, according as (the) sin came into the world through one man, and through (the) sin (the) death happened, and thus the death went into every man in whom they sinned. (13) For until (the) law (the) death was being in the world: but (the) sin was not being reckoned, there being no law. (14) But (the) death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them who did not sin in (the) likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is (the) type of him who cometh. (15) But not according as the trespass so is the grace. For if in the trespass of one many died, much more the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded unto many. (16) And not according as through one who sinned (so) is the gift: for the judgement indeed is through one unto a condemnation, but the grace through many trespasses unto a justification. (17) For if through (the) sin of the one (the) death reigned, much more they who will receive the abundance of the grace and the free gift of the righteousness shall reign in a life for ever through one man Jesus Christ. (18) So then according as (the) sin happened through the one, coming (lit. it came) upon all men unto a condemnation; thus also the justification through one is upon all men unto a justification of (the) life. (19) For as through (the) disobedience of the one man the many became sinners, thus also through (the) obedience of the one the many will become righteous. (20) But (the) law entered that (the) sin might be multiplied; but he whose sin abounded the grace was multiplied to him in abundance: (21) that according as (the) sin reigned in (the) death, thus also the grace might reign through the righteousness, unto a life for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6

(1) What then shall (lit. will) we say? We shall (lit. will) remain in (the) sin, that the grace may abound. (2) It shall not be. We who died to (the) sin, how again shall (lit. will) we live in it? (3) Or know ye not that we, namely, those who were baptised in Christ, were baptised unto his death? (4) We were buried then with him through the baptism unto his death. That as he rose from them who are dead through (the) glory of the Father, thus we also might walk in a newness of [a] life. (5) For if we shared in being planted in (the) form of his death, [but] we shall be also unto his resurrection; (6) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that (the) body of (the) sin might be done away so as not to be servant to (the) sin any more; (7) for he who died was justified from (the) sin. (8) But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall (lit. will) live with him also; (9) knowing that Christ having risen from them who are dead will not die any more; (the) death then will not be lord over him. (10) For that which he died he died unto (the) sin once: but that which he liveth he liveth to God: (11) thus also think of yourselves, that ye are dead indeed unto (the) sin, but ye are living to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (12) Let not (the) sin then reign in your bodies, which will die, ye obeying its lusts: (13) neither present your members instruments of [the] iniquity to (the) sin; but present yourselves to God, as those (lit. some) who are alive from the dead, and your members instruments of the righteousness of God: (14) for (the) sin will not be lord over you; for ye were not being under (the) law, but under the grace. (15) What then? (Is it) that we should sin, because we are not under (the) law, but under the grace? it shall not be. (16) Or know ye not that to whom ye present yourselves servants unto (the) obeying him, ye (are) servants of him whom ye obey; whether (of the) sin unto a death, or (the) obedience unto [the] righteousness? (17) But thanks to God, that ye were being servants to (the) sin, but ye obeyed from your heart the form of teaching unto which ye were given: (18) ye became free from (the) sin, but ye became servants to [the] righteousness. (19) A human thing I say, because of (the) weakness of your flesh: [for] as ye presented your members servants to (the) uncleanness and the lawlessness [down] unto the lawlessness, thus also now present your members servants to the righteousness [up] unto (the) sanctification. (20) For when ye were servants of (the) sin ye were being free from [the] righteousness: (21) what fruit then was there being to you at that (lit. the) time in the things of which ye are ashamed now? for (the) end of them is (the) death: (22) but now ye became free from (the) sin, ye became servants of God, ye have your fruit unto (the) sanctification, but (the) end is a life for ever: (23) for the wages of (the) sin is (the) death, but the grace of God is a life for ever in Christ Jesus our Lord.

7

(1) Or know ye not, my brethren, for I spoke to them who know the law, that the law is lord over the man all time (that) he is living? (2) For the woman under husband is bound to her husband who liveth, in the law. But if the husband should die she is discharged (lit. done away with) from (the) law of the husband. (3) So then while the husband liveth they call her 'adulteress,' should she be with another husband; but if the husband should die, she is free from (the) law, not to be called adulteress,' should she be with another husband. (4) Wherefore then, my brethren, ye also died to (the) law through (the) body of Christ, to become (united) to another, that is to say, him who rose from them who are dead, that ye might bear fruit to God. (5) For we being in the flesh, the passions of the sins, those through the law, were working in our members (the) bearing fruit to (the) death. (6) But now we were discharged (lit. done away with) from (the) law, having died in that in which we were held, so that we might be servants in a newness of the spirit, and not in an oldness of [a] writing. (7) What then shall (lit. will) we say (The) law is (the) sin. It shall not be. But (the) sin I had not known, except I knew it through the law. For [the] lust I was not knowing, except (the) law said: Thou shalt not lust'; (8) but (the) sin having taken an occasion through the commandment worked all lust in me: for without (the) law (the) sin was being dead. (9) But I was being alive once without the law. But the commandment having. come forth, (the) sin lived, (10) but I died; and the commandment was found (such that, being) intended for me unto (the) life, it (lit. this) became for me unto [a] death: (11) for (the) sin took an occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and killed me through it. (12) Wherefore (the) law indeed is holy, and the commandment is holy, and is just, and it is good. (13) The good then became for me unto [a] death. It shall not be. But it is (the) sin: that by means of the good, (the) sin might be manifested (as) working for me [a] death: that (the) sin might be more sinful (lit. sinner) through the commandment. (14) For we know indeed that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, having been sold under (the) sin. (15) For that which I work I know not: for not that which I wish is that (lit. this) which I do: but that which I hate I do. (16) If that which I wish not is that (lit. this) which I do, I assent to (lit. say with') the law, that it is good. (17) But now (it is) not I who work it, but it is (the) sin which dwelleth in me. (18) For I know that the good dwelleth not in me, that is to say, in my flesh: for the wish is present with me, but to work the good, not: (19) for not that which I wish, (the) good, is that (lit. this) which I do: but that which I wish not, (the) evil, is that which I do. (20) But if that which I (pron.) wish not is that (lit. this) which I do, then it is no more I who work it; but (the) sin it is which dwelleth in me. (21) I find then the law that which wisheth to do the good with me, (but) that the evil is present with me. (22) For I agree with the law of God according to the man which is within: (23) but I see another law in my members, armed against (the) law of my heart, taking me captive with (the) law of (the) sin which dwelleth in my members. (24) (The) wretched (the) man (that) I am! who will be able to save me from (the) body of this death ? (25) But thanks to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. So then I in my heart indeed am servant to the law of God, but in my flesh I am servant to the law of (the) sin.

8

(1) So then now there is no judgement to take them who are in Christ Jesus; (2) for the law of the spirit of (the) life in Christ Jesus made us free from the law of (the) sin and (the) death. (3) For (as for) the impotence of the law, with (lit. in) which it was being weak through the flesh,--God sent his Son in a likeness of flesh of (the) sin, and because of (the) sin he condemned (the) sin in (the) flesh: (4) that the justification of the law might be completed in us, namely, them who walk not according to flesh, but according to spirit. (5) For they who are according to flesh think the things of (the) flesh; but they who walk according to spirit think the things of the spirit. (6) For (the) thought of the flesh is (the) death; but (the) thought of the spirit is (the) life and [the] peace: (7) because (the) thought of the flesh is enmity unto God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor is it possible for it: (8) but for them who are in (the) flesh it is not possible to please God. (9) But ye (pron ) were not being in (the) flesh, but in the spirit, if there is the (lit. a) spirit of God dwelling in you. But he in whom the spirit of Christ dwelleth not, that one (lit. this who is there) is not of him. (10) But if Christ (is) in you the body indeed is dead because of sin; but the spirit is [a] life because of [the] righteousness. (11) But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from them who are dead dwelleth in you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from them who are dead shall make live your bodies also, which die, through his spirit which dwelleth in you. (12) So then, my brethren, we are not debtors to (lit. in) flesh to live according to flesh: (13) for if ye live according to flesh, ye will die; but if in the spirit ye kill the works of the body, ye will live. (14) For they who walk in the spirit of God, these are the sons of God. (15) For ye were not receiving a spirit of [a] servitude into [a] fear again; but ye received a spirit of [a] sonship, this in which ye cry: Abba [the] Father.' (16) And the spirit himself witnesseth with our spirit, that we (are) sons of God. (17) But if we (are) sons, then we (are) heirs also; heirs indeed of God, fellow heirs with (lit. of) Christ; if we suffer with him, that we may be glorified with him also. (18) For I think that the pains of this present time are not worthy of the glory which will be revealed to us. (19) For the expectation of the creation gazeth out forward to the revelation of the sons of God. (20) For the creation was subject to the vanity: it wisheth not, but (it is so) because of him who subjected it in a hope, (21) that the creation itself also will be free from the servitude of (the) corruption into the freedom of (the) glory of the sons of God. (22) For we know indeed that all the creation groaneth with us, and travaileth with us up to now. (23) But not only (so), but also we ourselves groan, having the firstfruit of the spirit, even we groan within us, looking out forward to the sonship, the redemption of our body. (24) For we were saved in [a] hope: but [a] hope which is seen is not [a] hope: for that which one seeth, he doth not wait for. (25) But if that which we see not we hope for, through [a] patience we look out for it. (26) But thus also the spirit helped our infirmity: for what prayer we shall (lit. will) make according as is right, we know not. But the spirit himself intercedeth exceedingly for us with (lit. in) unspeakable groaning; (27) but he who searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is (the) thought of the spirit, that he intercedeth unto God for the saints. (28) But we know that with them who love God he worketh in all good things,--them whom he called according to his foreordaining. (29) Because they whom he foreknew, these also he foreordained (to be) conformed to (the) image of his Son, to cause him to be the firstborn of many brethren. (30) But they whom he foreordained, these also (were) they whom he called: but they whom he called, these also he justified: but they whom he justified, these also he glorified. (31) What then shall (lit. will) we say against these things? If God is for us, who will be able to be against us? (32) He who spared not his own Son, but gave him for us all, how then shall not he grant all things to us with him? (33) Who will be able to intercede against the elect of God? It is God who justifieth; (34) who will be able to condemn? Christ Jesus is (he) who died, but more, he rose from them who are dead, he who is set on (the) right hand of God, who himself intercedeth for us. (35) Who will be able to separate us from the love of Christ? [a, thus with all] tribulation is it, or hardship, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (36) According as it is written: 'For thee we are killed all the day; we were reckoned as sheep for (the) slaughter.' (37) But in all these things we conquer exceedingly through him who loved us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither (the) death, nor (the) life, nor angel, nor principality, 'nor the things which are, nor the things which will be, nor power, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor other creation--for none of them is it possible to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

9

(1) (The) truth is that which I say in Christ, I say not falsehood; my conscience witnesseth with me unto me in the (lit. a) holy spirit, (2) that there is a great grief with me, and a compassion unfailing (lit. it is not wont to fail) in my heart. (3) For I (pron.) was praying to be accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to flesh: (4) who are Israelite; they, whose is the sonship, and the glory, and the covenants, and the establishment of the law, and the ministry, and the promises; (5) they, whose are the fathers, and they also--from them came Christ according to flesh, he who is set over all, God who (is) blessed for ever. Amen. (6) But thus the word of God fell not away. For not all who are from Israel, [these] are Israel: (7) neither then are seed (plur.) of Abraam all sons: but in Isaac shall a seed for thee be called (i e. invited). (8) That is to say, that the sons of (the) flesh--these are not the sons of God; but the sons of the promise will be reckoned for a seed. (9) For this word is that of a promise: 'According to this time I shall come, and a son shall be to Sarra. (10) But not only (so), but also (the) Erebekka as well, having conceived from one bed, of Isaac our father. (11) For when they were not yet born, nor yet had they done good or evil, that the choice which God ordained from (the) first might be permanent, being not from works, but from him who calleth, (12) it was said to her: The elder (lit. great) shall be servant to the younger (lit. little).' (13) According as it is written: Jacob indeed I loved, but Esau I hated.' (14) What then shall (lit. will) we say? Is there [a] wrongdoing with God? It shall not be. (15) For he saith to Moses: I shall (lit. will) have mercy on whom I shall (lit. will) have mercy, and I shall (lit. will) have compassion on whom I shall (lit. will) have compassion.' (16) So then it is not of him who wisheth, nor is it of him who runneth, but it is of God who hath mercy. (17) For the Scripture saith to Pharaō: 'Therefore I raised thee (up), that I might manifest my power in thee, and that my name might be declared over all the earth.' (18) So then on whom he wished he hath mercy, but whom he wished notes he hardeneth. (19) Thou wilt say then to me: Why findeth he fault? For who is going (lit. giving) against his counsel?' (20) Nay but, O man, who art thou who answerest against God? Shall the thing formed be able to say to him who formed it: Why madest thou me thus?' (21) Or hath not the potter authority over his clay, from the same lump to make a vessel, one indeed unto (the) honour, but another unto [a] dishonour? (22) But if God wished to manifest his anger, and to shew us his power, he endured (lit. brought) in a great longsuffering vessels of (the) anger, prepared unto (the) destruction: (23) that he might manifest the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, being those which he prepared before unto [a] glory, (24) that is to say us, namely them whom he invited, not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles. (25) As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was As also he saith to Ōsie: I shall (lit. will) call him who is not my people, "My people;" and her who was not beloved, "She. was beloved."'not beloved. (26) And it shall be, in the place in which they said to them: Ye (are) not my people,' in that place they shall call them (the) sons of the living God.' (27) But Ēsaēas is crying out for Israel: If (the) number of (the) sons of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, (only) (the) remnant shall be saved: (28) for a word, completing it and cutting it off (is) that which the Lord will do upon (the) earth.' (29) And according as again Ēsaēas said: If the Lord Sabaōth had not left a seed to us, we should have been as Sodoma, and we should have been like to Gomorra.' (30) What then shall (lit. will) we say that the Gentiles (did)? Having pursued not [the] righteousness, they caught [the] righteousness, but the righteousness which is (lit, the) from (the) faith. (31) But Israel pursuing the law of [the] righteousness reached not the law. (32) Why? Because it is not from (the) faith, but as from works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling; according as it is written: (33) Behold I shall (lit. will) set in Siōn a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, and he who believeth him shall not be ashamed.'

10

(1) My brethren, (the) good pleasure of my heart and my prayer which I make to God for them (is) unto [a] salvation. (2) For I witness to them that a zeal for God (it is) which is in them, but not according to [a] knowledge. (3) For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they were not subject to the righteousness of God. (4) For (the) end of the law is Christ unto [a] righteousness to every one who believeth. (5) For Moses wrote that the righteousness which is from (the) law, (the) man who will do it shall live in it. (6) But the righteousness which is from (the) faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart: Who will be able to go up to (the) heaven?' That is to say, that he may bring Christ down: (7) or, Who will be able to go down to (the) abyss? That is to say, that he may bring Christ up from them who are dead. (8) But what saith the Scripture? The word is near thee; it is in thy mouth, and it is in thy heart, that is to say, (the) word of (the) faith which we proclaim, (9) that if thou shouldst confess with (lit. in, thus again) thy mouth, that Jesus is the Lord, and believe with thy heart that God raised him from them who are dead, thou shalt be saved: (10) for with the heart they believe him unto [a] righteousness, but with their mouth they confess him unto [a] salvation. (11) For the Scripture saith: Every one who believeth him shall not be ashamed.' (12) For there is no separation of the Jew and the Greek: for this Lord is of all, being rich to all who cry up toward him. (13) Every one who will pray (the) name of the Lord shall be saved. (14) How then will they pray him whom they believed not? But how will they believe on him whom they heard not? But how will they hear without him who proclaimeth? (15) But how will they proclaim unless they were sent? According as it is written: 'How beautiful are (the) feet of them who preach good tidings of the good (things).' (16) But all obeyed not the Gospel. For Ēsaāas saith: 'Lord, who believed our voice; and to whom was (the) arm of the Lord revealed ? (17) So (the) faith is from (the) hearing, but (the) hearing is through (the) word of Christ. (18) But I say: 'Heard they not?' Yea verily their sound went out over all (the) earth; and their words reached unto the end of the inhabited world. (19) But I say: `Did not Israel know?' first, Moses saith: I shall rouse your jealousy (lit. give zeal to you) by (lit. upon) that which is not a nation, by a senseless nation I shall cause you to be angry.' (20) But Esaeas is bold, and is saying: I was found by them who seek me not. I manifested myself unto them who ask me not.' (21) But he saith concerning Israel 'I spread out my hands all the day toward a people disobedient, and they (masc. sing.) contradict (me).'

11

(1) I say then, Did God forsake his people? It shall not be. For I also am an Israelite, from (the) seed of Abraam, (the) tribe of Benjamin. (2) God forsook not his people whom he foreknew. Or know ye not what the Scripture saith in Ēlias? How he interceded with God for Israel: (3) Lord, they killed thy prophets, they threw down thine altars: I alone was left; and they seek my life.' (4) But what saith the oracle to him? I left to me seven thousand men, these who bent not knee to the (fern.) Baal. (5) Thus also in this present time a remnant according to a choice of [a] grace existed. (6) But if in [a] grace, then it is not from works: otherwise the grace will not be grace any more. (7) What then (is) that? That which Israel sought, this he obtained not; but the chosen (lit. choice) acquired (it). But (the) rest were hardened of heart. (8) According as it is written: God gave to them a spirit of stupor, and eyes not to see, and ears not to hear until today.' (9) And David saith: Let their table be to them a snare and a trap and a stumblingblock and a retribution to them. (10) Let their eyes be darkened not to see; their back let it be bent (down) always.' (11) I say then, Did they stumble that they might fall? It shall not be: but in their transgression (the) salvation happened to the Gentiles, that they may rouse their jealousy. (12) If their transgression was the (lit. a) riches of the world, and their deficiency was riches of the Gentiles, then how great is their fulness? (13) But I say to you, namely the Gentiles. Moreover, so far as I am apostle of the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry: (14) that I may rouse the jealousy of my flesh, and save some of them. (15) For if their casting away made a reconciliation of the world, then what is their bringing in except (the) life from them who are dead? (16) But if the firstfruit (is) holy, then holy also is the lump: and if the root (is) holy, then holy also are the branches. (17) But if some from the branches were cut off, but thou, being from the bitter olive tree wert grafted in among them, and thou shared in (the) fatness of (the) root of the olive tree; (18) boast not thyself over the branches. But if thou indeed (pron.) boastest thyself, thou (art) not (that) which beareth the root, but the root (is that) which lifteth up thee. (19) Thou wilt say then, that some from the branches were cut off, that I indeed (pron.) might be grafted in. (20) Well; they were cut off in their unbelief, but thou indeed (pron.) standest in (the) faith. Be not proud, but fear. (21) For if God spared not the branches according to nature, neither thee also shall he spare. (22) See then the kindness and the severity of God: upon them indeed who fell [a] severity; but upon thee [a] kindness of God, if thou shouldst stay in the kindness: otherwise thou also wilt be cut off. (23) And the others, if they should not stay in the unbelief will be grafted in again. (24) If thou (pron.) wert cut away from the olive tree, bitter according to nature, and wert grafted in contrary to thy nature into the sweet olive tree, how much more may these be grafted in according to their nature into their own olive tree. (25) But I wish you not, my brethren, to be (lit. being) ignorant of this mystery, that ye may not become wise to yourselves only, that an hardening of heart happened to Israel in part, until (the) fulness of the Gentiles come in; (26) and thus all Israel shall be saved: according as it is written: He who will save shall come from Sion, he shall turn [the] ungodlinesses from Jacob.' (27) And this is my covenant which will be to them, when I should take away their sins. (28) According indeed to the Gospel they are enemies, because of you; but according to the choice they are beloved, because of their fathers, (29) for not repented of are the graces of God and the calling. (30) For as ye (pron.) were disobedient to God once, but now had mercy shown you in the disobedience of these, (31) thus these also now became disobedient with a view to your mercy, that these also now might have mercy shown them. (32) For God shut up all in (lit. into under) [a] disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. (33) O (the) depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and untraceable are his ways! (34) For who knew (the) heart of the Lord? Or who shared counsel with him? (35) Or who first gave to him, and he gave to him in 'exchange? (36) because from him, and through him, and into him are all things. His is the glory for ever. Amen.

12

(1) But I beseech you, my brethren, through the compassions of God to present your bodies as a sacrifice living, holy, pleasing to God, and your reasonable worship, pleasing. (2) And that ye should no more share fashion with this age. But should change your form in a newness of the understanding, to prove what is (the) wish of God, the good which is pleasing and which is complete. (3) For I say through the grace which is given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think grandly beyond that which is right to think, but to think prudently, each one according as God divided to him a measure of faith. (4) For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not one work: (5) thus we also, namely many, being one body in Christ, are each of us members of one another. (6) But having graces diversified according to (the) measure of the grace which is given to us. Whether [a] prophecy, according to the likeness of (the) faith; (7) or a ministry, in the ministry; or he who teacheth, in the (work of) teaching; (8) or he who exhorteth, in [the] persuasion; he who giveth, in [a] singleness of purpose: he who is in the foremost place, in [a] diligence; he who hath mercy, in [a] joy. (9) [The] love in which there is not hypocrisy. Fleeing from the evil, uniting yourselves to the good, (10) in [the] brotherly love being in [a] love toward one another, preferring one another above yourselves in [an] honour. (11) Being not slothful in [the] diligence, being fervent in the spirit, serving the Lord; (12) rejoicing in [the] hope, being patient in the tribulations, continuing in the prayer, (13) sharing towards the necessities of the saints, pursuing (the) hospitality. (14) Bless them who pursue you; bless, and curse not. (15) Rejoice with them who rejoice; and weep with them who weep. (16) Being of one mind (lit. thought) unto one another, and not thinking [the] proud things, but walking with them who are humble. Be not wise to yourselves alone, (17) and render not an evil to any one for an evil; taking care for good things before all men. (18) If it is possible for you, do your (best) to be at peace with all men. (19) And avenge not yourselves, my beloved, but give place to (the) anger. For it is written: (The) vengeance is mine; I shall (lit. will) repay, saith the Lord.' (20) But if thine enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him to drink: for doing this thou shalt gather coals of fire upon his head. (21) Let not the evil overcome you, but with the good overcome the evil.

13

(1) Let all souls be subject unto the exalted authorities for there is no authority except them which are by God; those which are by God they are ordained. (2) Wherefore he who opposeth the authority, opposed the ordinance of God: but they who oppose them shall be judged. (3) For the rulers were being not for a fear to the good work, but to the evil. But thou wishest not to fear the authority, do the good, and an honour shall be to thee from it: (4) for a minister of God it is to thee unto the good. But if thou shouldst do the evil, fear; for it was not bearing the sword without cause: for a minister of God it is taking vengeance for (the) anger on him who doeth the evil. (5) Therefore it is necessary for you to be subject not only because of (the) anger, but also because of the conscience. (6) For therefore we pay tribute; for they are ministers of God continuing unto this work. (7) Give to all their dues: give the tribute to him of the tribute, give the custom to him of the custom: give the fear to him of the fear: give the honour to him of the honour. (8) Be not debtors for anything to any one, except to love one another. For he who loveth his neighbour, fulfilled the law. (9) For this: Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet,' and all other commandments were completed in this saying, in (the) Love thy neighbour as thyself. (10) [The] love did not evil to its neighbour, (the) fulfilment then of the law is [the] love. (11) And this, knowing the time, that already is it the hour to make you rise from the sleep; but now approached to us our salvation (more) than (at) the time in which we believed. (12) The night advanced, but the day approached; let us then lay down the works of (the) darkness; but let us put on the arms of the light. (13) As being in the day let us walk, being seemly, not in revellings and drunkenness (plur.), not in beds and defilements, not in [a] strife and [a] jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and take not care for the flesh in lusts.

14

(1) He who is weak in (the) faith receive not in disputations of reasonings. (2) There is he who believeth indeed that he may (lit. to) eat everything; but he who is weak eateth herbs. (3) Let not him who eateth despise him who eateth not: let not him who eateth not judge him who eateth, for God received him.. (4) Who art thou who judgest another man's (lit, of a stranger) servant? He is standing unto his lord, or is going to fall: but he is standing, for it is possible for the Lord to set him up. (5) For there is he indeed who judgeth day before day, but there is he who judgeth every day (alike). Let each one be persuaded in his own heart. (6) He who thought of the day, thought unto the Lord; and he who ate, ate to the Lord; for he giveth thanks to God: and he who eateth not, eateth not to the Lord, and giveth thanks to God. (7) For there is not any of us (who) will live to himself, and there is not any of us (who) will die to himself. (8) For if we shall (lit. will, thus again) live, we shall live to the Lord; but if we shall die, we shall die to the Lord: whether then we shall live or we shall die, we are those of the Lord. (9) Therefore Christ died and he lived, that he might be lord of them who are dead and them who live. (10) But why judgest thou thy brother? Nay, thou also, why despisest thou thy brother? for we all shall (lit. will) be made to stand before the judgement seat of God. (11) For it is written: I live, [I] saith the Lord, (and I swear) that every knee shall be bent to me, and every tongue confess to God.' (12) So then each one of us will give account for himself to God. (13) Judge not then any more one another; but judge this rather, not to set a stumbling-block or an offence for thy brother. (14) I know and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean through itself, except to him who thinketh of something that it is unclean, (then) to that one it is unclean. (15) For if because of [a] food thy brother was to be offended, then thou walkest not any more according to [a] love. Destroy not him for whom Christ died, with thy food. (16) Let not then your good be blasphemed: (17) for the kingdom of God was not being in [an] eating and [a] drinking; but it was in [a] righteousness, and [a] peace, and [a] joy in the (lit. a) holy spirit. (18) For he who serveth Christ in these things pleaseth God, and is upright among [the] men. (19) So then let us pursue the things of [the] peace, and the things of [the] edifying one another. (20) Pull not down the work of God because of [a] food. All things indeed are clean; but it is [an] evil to the man who will eat with offence. (21) It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, and that in which thy brother will stumble. (22) Thou (pronoun) hast [a] faith: let it (be) in thyself before God. Blessed is he who will not judge himself in that which he will approve. (23) But he who doubteth, if he should eat, he condemned himself, because it is not an (action) from [a] faith. But everything which is not an (action) from [a] faith is [a] sin.

15

(1) But we (pronoun), namely they for whom it is possible, ought to bear the weaknesses of the powerless, and not to please ourselves. (2) Let each one of you please his neighbour in the good unto [an] (3) For Christ also pleased not himself; but (a.) according as it is written: The reproaches of them who reviled thee came upon me. (4) For all things which were written before were written for our instruction, that through [the] patience, and [the] comforting of the Scriptures [the] hope might be to us. (5) But God of [the] peace and [the] comforting shall give one mind to you one with another according to Jesus Christ: (6) that in one heart and one mouth ye may glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (7) Therefore receive one another according as Christ also received you unto [a] glory of God. (8) For I say that Christ became a minister of (the) circumcision for the truth of God; that he might confirm the promises of the fathers; (9) but (for) the Gentiles because of [a] mercy to glorify God. According as it is written: 'Therefore I shall (lit. will) confess thee among the Gentiles, and I shall (lit. will) sing praise unto thy name. (10) And he saith again: Delight yourselves, [the] Gentiles, with his people.' (11) And he saith again: 'All the Gentiles bless the Lord; let all the peoples bless him.' (12) And Ēsaēas saith again: (The) root of Jesse shall be, and he who will rise to rule the Gentiles, the Gentiles shall hope in him.' (13) But God of [the] hope shall fill you with all joy and [the] peace in (the) causing you to believe, abounding in [the] hope, in [the] power of the holy spirit. (14) I also, my brethren, am persuaded about you, that ye also are full of every good thing, being full of all knowledge, it being possible for you to teach one another. (15) But boldly I wrote to you in part, as reminding you concerning the grace which was given to me from God; (16) to cause me to become minister of Jesus Christ unto the Gentiles, working in a priesthood unto the Gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be received and sanctified in the (lit. a) holy spirit. (17) I have a boasting in Christ Jesus towards God. (18) For I shall not dare to say a word of (lit. in) the things in which Christ worked not through me unto an obedience of the Gentiles, in (the) word, in (the) work, (19) in (the) power of signs and wonders, in [a] power of the (lit. a) holy spirit, so that from Jerusalem and its neighbourhood even unto [the] Allyrikon I filled them with the of Christ. (20) But thus I was loving to preach good tidings where (the) name of Christ was not said, that I might not build upon another man's (lit. a stranger) foundation; (21) but according as it is written: They who were not shown concerning him shall see, and they who heard not shall understand.' (22) Therefore I was prevented many times from coming to you: (23) but now I have no place in these parts, but there is (indeed) a longing in me to come to you since many years: (24) when I shall (lit. will) go to [the] Spania. For I hope to see you, being about to go thither; and that ye may escort me thither, if I should be satisfied with you somewhat. (25) But now I shall (lit. will) go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. (26) For they of (the) Macedonia and Achaia were well pleased to make a common offering unto the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem. (27) For they were well pleased (to do it), and the others (lit. they) are their debtors. For if the Gentiles share with them in a spiritual (thing), they ought to minister to them in the carnal (things) also: (28) should I then fulfil this, and seal this fruit to them, I shall go through you unto [the] Spania. (29) But I know that I came to you, I came in a fulness of blessing of Christ. (30) I beseech you, then, my brethren, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the spirit, to strive with me in your prayers for me to God; (31) that I may be saved from them who are disobedient in [the] Judea; and my ministry unto Jerusalem, that it may be acceptable unto the saints, (32) that I should come to you in [a] joy through the will of God, and rest myself with you. (33) But God of [the] peace is with you all. Amen.

16

(1) But I commend Phoibē our sister unto you, who is also a minister of the church, which is in Kenkhrees, (2) that ye may receive her in the Lord in (the) worthiness of the saints, and help her in all things in which she will have need of you: for she also herself protected many, and me also. (3) Salute Priskylla and Akylla my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, (4) these who gave their necks for my life, these to whom not I only give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles: and the church of their house. (5) Salute Epenetos my beloved, who himself is the beginning of [the] Asia in the Lord. (6) Salute Maria, who has spent (lit, taken) much toil on you. (7) Salute Andronikos and Joulia, my kinsfolk, and my fellow prisoners, who are known among the apostles, these who are prior to me in Christ. (8) Salute Ampliatos my beloved in the Lord. (9) Salute Ourbanos, our fellow-worker in Christ, and Stachēs my beloved. (10) Salute Apellēs the chosen in Christ. Salute them who are from Aristoboulos. (11) Salute Ērōdion my kinsman. Salute them who are from those of Narkysos, who are in Christ. (12) Salute Triphōna and Tryphōsa, who toiled in the Lord. Salute Persida the beloved, who spent (lit. took) much toil in the Lord. (13) Salute Rouphos the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine also is she. (14) Salute Asynkritos, Phlāgonta, Ermā, Patroba, Erma, and the brethren also who are with them. (15) Salute Phylologos and Joulia, Nerea and his sister, and Olympan, and all the saints who are with them. (16) Salute ye one another in a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ salute you. (17) I beseech you, my brethren, to observe them who make the separations and the scandals contrary to (lit. away from) the teaching which ye learned, and turn away from them. (18) For such are not servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of their belly; and through their sweet speaking and their blessing they deceive (the) heart of the innocent. (19) For your obedience went (forth) unto all. I rejoice then over you: but I wish you to be wise in the good, but simple for the evil. (20) But God of [the] peace shall crush Satan under your feet quickly. (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you. (21) Saluteth you Timotheos my fellow-worker, and Loukios and Jassōn and Sōsipatros my kinsman. (22) I salute you, I Tertios, who wrote this epistle in the Lord. (23) Saluteth you Gaios my host and all the church. Saluteth you Arastos the treasurer of the city, and Kouartos the brother. (24) (25) He for whom it is possible to confirm you according to my Gospel, and the proclaiming of Christ Jesus according to a revelation of a mystery, having been kept in silence for eternal times, (26) but now it appeared through the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the command of God the eternal (lit. for ever), having been manifested unto [an] obedience of (the) faith among all the Gentiles, (27) the one only the wise God, through Jesus Christ, he (lit. this) whose is the glory unto age of the ages. Amen.

First Epistle to the Corinthians

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1

(1) Paul (the) apostle, who is called, of Jesus Christ through (the) wish of God, and Sōsthenēs the brother, (2) to the church of God which is in Korinthos, they who were sanctified in Christ Jesus, they who are called, who are holy, with all who call on (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours: (3) (the) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (4) I give thanks to my God always for you, and for the grace of God which was given to you in Christ Jesus; (5) that in everything ye were enriched in him, in all word and all knowledge; (6) according as the witness of Christ was confirmed in you: (7) so that ye become not lacking in any grace. Looking out for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; (8) he (lit. this) who shall confirm you unto the end, blameless in (the) day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) God is faithful, he who called you into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. (10) I beseech you, then, my brethren, through (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all (may) be saying the same thing, and that divisions may not be among you; but that ye may be made perfect in one heart and one opinion. (11) For it was shown to me concerning you, my brethren, by them of Chloēs, that there are strifes among you. (12) But this I say, that each one of you saith: 'I indeed am of Paul, but I of Apollō, but I am of Kēpha, but I am of Christ.' (13) Christ was divided. Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye baptised unto (the) name of Paul? (14) I give thanks, that I baptised not any of you except Krispos and Gaios; (15) that one should not say, that ye were baptised unto my name. (16) But I baptised (the) house also of Stephana: further, I know not whether I baptised another. (17) For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach good tidings, not in a wisdom of word, that the cross of Christ should not become vain. (18) For the word of the cross to them indeed who will perish is a foolishness, but to us (pronoun) namely those who will be saved it is [a] power of God. (19) For it is written: I shall (lit. will) destroy (the) wisdom of the wise, and (the) knowledge of the understanding ones I shall (lit. will) reject.' (20) Where was a wise man? Where was a scribe? Where was a searcher of this age? Did not God make (the) wisdom of the world foolish? (21) For since from the wisdom of God the world knew not God through the wisdom, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the proclaiming to save them who believe. (22) Since the Jews ask signs, and the Greeks seek for the wisdom: (23) but we (pron.) proclaim Christ crucified: the Jews indeed it is a scandal to them, but (to) the Gentiles it is a foolishness; (24) but to us (pron.), namely those who will be saved, the Jews and the Greeks, Christ is a power of God and a wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than [the] men, and the weakness of God is stronger than [the] men. (26) For see your calling, my brethren, that not many wise according to flesh, not many strong, not many noble: (27) but the fools of the world God chose, that he might put to shame the wise; and God chose the weaknesses of the world, that he might put to shame the strong; (28) and the ignobilities of the world, and them who are despised, God chose, and them who are not, that he might do away with them who are: (29) that no flesh should boast themselves before God. (30) From him (are) ye also in Christ Jesus, who became to us [a] wisdom from God, [a] righteousness and [a] sanctification and [a] redemption; (31) that according as it is written: He who boasteth himself, let him boast himself in the Lord.'

2

(1) And I also having come to you, my brethren, came not according to an exaltation of [a] word, or [a] wisdom; I showed to you the mystery of God. (2) For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and (that) be (lit. this) was crucified. (3) I also in [a] weakness and [a] fear and a great trembling came to you. (4) And my word and my proclaiming was being not in persuasions of words of wisdom of man, but n manifestation of a spirit and a power, (5) that your faith might not be in a wisdom of man, but in a power of God. (6) But we speak a wisdom among them who are complete: but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, they (lit. these) who will be done away with: (7) but (it is) a wisdom of God which we speak in a mystery which is hidden, which God foreordained before the ages for a glory to us: (8) which none of the rulers of this age knew: for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of (the) glory. (9) But according as it is written: The things which eye saw not, nor ear heard [them], and they went not upon (the) heart of man,--the things which God prepared for them who will love him.' (10) But to us (pron.) God revealed them through the spirit: for the spirit searcheth everything, and the things which are deep of God. (11) For who among [the] men (is it) who knoweth the things of the man except the spirit of the man which is in him? thus also the things of God no one knoweth except the spirit of God. (12) But we (pron.) received not the spirit of this world, but the spirit which is (lit. the) from God; that we may know the things which God granted to us. (13) Which are these which we speak, not in teachings of [the] men, of words of wisdom, but in teachings of the spirit; explaining spiritual things to the spiritual (persons). (14) But the psychic man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God; for it is [a] foolishness to him, and it is not possible for him to know, because it was searched spiritually. (15) But the spiritual (pron.) searcheth everything: but no one searcheth him. (16) For who knew (the) heart of the Lord? Nay, who will be able to teach him? But we have the heart of Christ.

3

(1) But I also, my brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, as little children in Christ. (2) I gave you milk to drink, not meat, for ye were not yet able: but not even now are ye yet able; for yet (are) ye carnal. (3) For as there is [a] jealousy and [a] strife among you, (are) ye not carnal, and ye walked according to man? (4) For if one saith: I indeed am of Paulos'; but another: 'I (am) of Apollō'; are ye not men? (5) What, then, is Apollō? But what (is) Paulos? They are ministers through whom ye believed; each one according as God gave to him. (6) I (pron.) planted, Apollo watered; but God caused them to grow. (7) Wherefore neither he who planteth, nor he who watereth is anything; but God causeth them to grow. (8) But he who planteth and he who watereth are one: but each one will receive his reward according to his own toil. (9) For we (are) fellow-workers of God; an a husbandry of God ye (are) a building of God. (10) According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master-builder, I laid a foundation; another goes on to build. But let each one see carefully in what manner he built. (11) For another foundation it is not possible that another should lay than (lit. outside of) that which is set; which is Jesus Christ. (12) If there is he who buildeth upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stone, firewood, hay, straw; (13) (the) work of each one shall be manifested: for the day will manifest it, because it will be revealed in [a] fire; and (the) work of each one the fire will prove of what sort it is. (14) He whose work will stand which he built, will receive his reward. (15) He whose work will be burnt, will suffer loss: but he himself will be saved, but thus as through [a] fire. (16) Ye know not that ye (are) a temple of God, and the spirit of God dwelt in you. (17) He, then, who will defile the temple of God, this (one) will God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which ye are. (18) Let not any one deceive himself. He who thinketh among you that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish, that he may become wise. (19) For (the) wisdom of this world is a foolishness with God. For it is written: 'He who overpowereth the wise in their craftiness'; (20) and again: 'The Lord knoweth the reasonings of wise (men) that they are vain.' (21) Wherefore let not any one boast himself in [the] men. For all things are yours; (22) whether Paulos, or Apollō, or Kēpha, or the world, or (the) life, or (the) death, or the things which are, or the things which will be; all are yours; (23) but ye are of Christ, but Christ is of God.

4

(1) Thus also let [the] men think of us as officers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. (2) Further, they seek here in the stewards that one should be found faithful. (3) To me (pron.) it is a littleness that I should be judged by, you, or by a day of human (judgement): but I (pron.) judge not even myself. (4) For neither know I (pron.) anything in myself; but not even in this am I [not] justified: but he who will judge me is the Lord. (5) Wherefore judge not anything before the time, until the Lord come, who will cause the things which are hidden of (the) darkness to become light, and manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall (the) honour of each one be to him from God. (6) But these things, my brethren, I took in form to myself and Apollō because of you, that in us ye might learn not to be beyond the things which are written, that one should not exalt himself for one against his neighbour. (7) For who maketh thee to differ? But what hast thou which thou receivedst not? But if thou wast also the receiver, why boastest thou thyself as (being) one who (lit. thou) received not ? (8) Already ye were satisfied, already ye were made rich without us ye reigned: and I would that ye had reigned, that we also might share with you in reigning. (9) For I think that God manifested us, namely, the apostles last, as sentenced to death, because we became a spectacle to the world and the angels and the men. (10) We are fools because of Christ, ye are wise in Christ; we (are) weak, but ye are strong; ye are honoured, but we are despised. (11) Up to this hour we hunger, and we thirst, we are naked, and we are buffeted, and we are not settled; (12) we toil, working with our own hands: they rail at us, and we bless them; being persecuted, we are longsuffering; (13) being blasphemed, we beseech them: we became as the rubbish of this world. We became the filth of every one up to this hour. (14) I was not reproaching you, writing these things to you, but teaching you as beloved sons of mine. (15) For if ye have ten thousand guides in Christ, but not many fathers: in Christ Jesus through the Gospel I (pron.) begat you. (16) I beseech you, then, be ye like me. (17) Therefore I sent to you Timotheos, who is my beloved child, and faithful in the Lord: he (lit. this) will remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, according as I teach in every place in all the churches. (18) But as though I come not to you, some were proud. (19) But I shall come to you quickly, if it be (the) wish of the Lord, and I shall know, not (the) word of them who were proud, but their power. (20) For the kingdom of God was not being in (the) word, but it was in [a] power. (21) What then wish ye? that I should come to you with (lit. in) a rod, or in [a] love of spirit of meekness?

5

(1) A fornication is actually heard of among you, and a fornication such as is not among the Gentiles even, so that one should take (the) wife of his father. (2) And ye also are proud: and why rather mourned ye not? That he who did such a thing might be taken away from your midst. (3) For I indeed am not with you in the body, but I am with you in the spirit, already judging, as though being with you about him who did such a thing; (4) in (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye should assemble together, with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, (5) to deliver such an one to Satan for (the) destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in (the) day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (6) Your boasting is not good. Ye know not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. (7) Cleanse the old leaven from you, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened. For our Pascha also was slain, Christ: (8) wherefore let us keep (our) feast not in an old leaven, nor in a leaven of malice and wickedness; but in unleavened (things) of [a] purity and [a] truth. (9) I wrote to you in the epistle not to mix with the fornicators: (10) I was not meaning the fornicators of this world, or the wrongdoers, or the extortioners, or the idolaters; otherwise ye ought (imperf.) to come out of this world: (11) but now I wrote to you not to mix with them. If there is one who is named 'Brother ' who (is) a fornicator, or a wrongdoer, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one join not even in eating. (12) For what have I to do to judge them who are outside? Judge ye them who are within, (13) but God shall judge them who are outside. Take away from you the evil (man).

6

(1) There is one (who) will dare among you, having a Matthewter between him and his neighbour, to take judgement from the wrongdoers, and not from the saints. (2) Or know ye not that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged before you, ye were not being worthy then of small places of judgement. (3) Ye know not that we shall (lit. will) judge angels. Much more then things of this life. (4) If indeed then ye have places of judgement of this life, them who are despised in the church, these cause to sit (in judgement). (5) I am saying it for a reproach to you. Thus there is not any wise man among you for whom it is possible to decide between his brother. (6) But a brother with a brother is going to take judgement, and this before the unbelievers. (7) Already indeed is it altogether a humiliation to you, that ye have judgement between one and another of you. Why rather do ye not suffer wrong Why not rather b be defrauded? (8) But ye (are they) who do wrong, and who defraud, and this your brethren. (9) Or know ye not that the wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Go not astray then; neither fornicator, nor idolater, nor adulterer, nor effeminate, nor sleeper with male, (10) nor thief, nor wrongdoer, nor drunkard, nor insolent, nor extortioner will inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And these things were some (of) you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of our God. (12) It is lawful for me as to everything, but all are not profitable: it is lawful for me to do everything, but no one shall be able to be in authority over me. (13) The meats were for the belly, and the belly for the meats: but this (belly), and the others (i.e. the meats) God will do away with. But the body was not being for [the] fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body: (14) but God raised our Lord, and us also shall he raise through his power. (15) Ye know not that your bodies are members of Christ. (Is it) that I should take away, then, the members of Christ, and make them members of (a) harlot? It shall not be. (16) Or know ye not that he who joineth himself to the harlot is one body? For they two shall become, he said, one flesh. (17) But he who joineth himself to the Lord (is) one spirit. (18) Flee from [the] fornication. Every sin which the man will do is outside of the body; but he who committeth fornication sinned against his own body. (19) Or know ye not, that your bodies are a temple of the holy spirit which is in you, which ye received from God? And ye are not your own; (20) ye were bought with a price: glorify God in your bodies.

7

(1) But concerning the things which ye wrote to me: it is good for the man not to touch (a) woman. (2) But because of the fornications, let each one have his wife, and let each one (fem.) have her husband. (3) Let the husband give that which he ought to the wife: thus also the wife, let her give that which she ought to her husband. (4) The wife hath not authority over her own body, but it is the husband: but thus also the husband hath not authority over his own body, but it is the wife. (5) Defraud not one another, except perhaps in [a] consent for a time; that ye may devote (yourselves) to [the] prayer, and again come together, that Satan may not tempt you because of your incontinency. (6) But this I say according to a concession, not according to commandment. (7) But I wish that every man should be like me, but each one has a grace from God; the one indeed in this manner, but another in this other manner. (8) But I say to them who married (lit. 'took' thus again) not, and the widows, that it is good for them, should they abide thus. (9) But if they will not be able to contain, let them marry: for it is better (lit. good) to marry than to burn (lit. take fire). (10) But to them who married I order, not I but the Lord, the wife that she should not be separated from her husband: (11) though, if she should be separated, let her stay without marrying; otherwise let her be reconciled to her husband; and the husband, that he should not put the wife (away). (12) But to (the) rest say I (pron.), not the Lord: If there is a brother who hath an unbelieving wife, and this (wife) consent to dwell with him, let him not leave her. (13) And a wife who hath an unbelieving husband, and this (man) is consenting to dwell with her, let her not leave the husband.' (14) For the unbelieving husband was sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife was sanctified in the brother: otherwise then your children are unclean; but now they are holy. (15) And if the unbelieving will be separated, let him be separated: not in bondage (lit. servant) is the brother or the sister in such cases: God called you in [a] peace. (16) For how (lit. where) knewest thou, [the] wife, that perhaps thou wilt be able to save thy husband? Or how (lit. where) knewest thou, [the] man, that perhaps thou wilt be able to save thy wife? (17) (It must not be) except in the manner which God ordained for each one, as God called each, thus let him walk. Thus also I command in all the churches. (18) One was called being circumcised. Let him not become uncircumcised. One was called in [the] uncircumcision. Let him not be circumcised. (19) For (the) circumcision is nothing, and [the] uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. (20) Let each one, in the calling in which he was called, abide. (21) Thou wast called being a servant. Let it not be a care to thee: but if it is possible for thee to become free, become it rather. (22) For the servant who was called in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord: thus also the freeman who was called is a servant of Christ. (23) Ye were bought with a price; become not servant to [the] men. (24) Let each one, my brethren, in that in which he was called, in this abide with God. (25) But concerning the virgins I have not commandment from the Lord: but an opinion I give, as having had mercy (shown) me by the Lord to be faithful. (26) I think, then, that this is good [a to be] because of the existing necessity, that it is good for the man to be thus. (27) Thou art bound to (a) wife: seek not for loosing thyself. Thou art loosed from (a) wife: seek not for (a) wife. (28) If, however, thou shouldst marry, thou sinnedst not. And if the virgin should marry, she sinneth not. But such shall receive a tribulation of their flesh: but I (pron.) spare you. (29) But this I say, my brethren, that (the) time is shortened, that henceforth they who have wives should be as they who have not; (30) they who weep, as that they weep not; they who rejoice, as that they rejoice not; they who buy, as that they lay not hold; (31) they who use the world, as that they use 'not to the full: for the fashion of this world will pass away. (32) But I wish you to be (lit. being) without care. He who married not was careful for the things of the Lord, how he will please the Lord: (33) but he who married was careful for the world, how he will please his wife, (34) and he is divided. The wife who married not and the virgin. She who married not was careful for the things of the Lord, that she might be holy in her body and her spirit: but. she who married was careful for the things of the world, how she will please her husband. (35) But this I say because of that which is profitable to you, not that I might cast a noose over you, but that your fashion may he seemly, and that ye may rest with perseverance on the Lord undistractedly. (36) But if there is one (who) thinks to receive shame about his virgin; if he should have passed the marriageable prime, and this is that which ought to be, let him do his will, he sinneth not; let them marry. (37) But he who standeth in his heart confirmed, no necessity affecting a him, having authority concerning his own will, and this very thing he judgeth in his heart, to keep his virgin, he will do well. (38) Wherefore he who giveth his virgin unto a marriage will do well; and he who giveth not his (daughter) will do a betters thing. (39) The wife is bound unto her husband for so long time as he liveth; but if her husband should have slept, she is (a) free to marry according to her will, only in the Lord. (40) But more blessed is she if she should stay thus, according to my opinion: but I think also that there is a spirit of God in me.

8

(1) But concerning the things slain for idols: we know that there is a knowledge in us all. (The) knowledge exalteth, but [the] love edifieth. (2) He who saith: I knew something,' knoweth not yet according as it is right to know; (3) but he who loveth God, the same (lit. this) was known by him, (4) Concerning the meats, then, of the things slain for idols, we know that (an) idol is nothing in the world , and that there is no God except one. (5) For even if there are some being called God,' whether in (the) heaven, or upon the earth; as there are many gods and many lords. (6) But to us (pron.) one is God the Father, through whom are all things, and we also into him; one is our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we also through him. (7) But (the) knowledge (is) not in all. For some up to now in the custom of the idols eat it as a thing slain for idols; and their conscience being weak unto them is polluted. (8) But (it is) not a meat which will commend us to God: neither, should we eat not, shall (lit. will) we be deficient; neither, should we eat, shall (lit. will) we abound. (9) But see lest by any means this your authority should be a stumbling-block to them who are weak; (10) should one see thee, namely he who hath (the) knowledge, reclining in a place of idols. Will 'nct his conscience, being of one weak, be encouraged a to cause him to eat a thing slain for idols? (11) For he who is weak is destroyed in thy knowledge, the brother for whom Christ died. (12) But thus, sinning against (0 the brethren, and striking their weak conscience, ye sinned against (e) Christ. (13) Therefore, if a meat will cause my brother to offend, I shall not eat flesh at all b, that I may not cause my brother to offend.

9

(1) Am I not free? Am not I an apostle? Saw I not Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? (2) If I am not an apostle to others, but I am to you: for the seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord. (3) My defence to them who search me is this. (4) Have we not authority to eat and to drink? (5) Have we authority to cause a sister as wife to walk after us, as (the) rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Kēpha? (6) Or I only and Barnabas, have not we authority not to work? (7) Who ever becometh soldier from his own pay? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth from his fruit? Or who tendeth a flock of sheep, and eateth not from (the) milk of the flock? (8) Spake I these things according to man, or saith not the law also itself these things? (9) For it is written in (the) law of Moses: 'Thou shalt not muzzle (the) ox, threshing.' Was it a care to God for the oxen? (10) Or altogether he said it because of us? For it was written because of us: because it is worthy that he who plougheth should plough in [a] hope; and he who thresheth should hope to receive. (11) If we (pron.) sowed to you the spiritual things, it is great if we should reap your earned thing. (12) If others have authority over you, much rather we. But (a) we used not this authority; but we are long-suffering in all things, that we may not give any stumbling-block to the Gospel of Christ. (13) Ye know not that they who work (for) the temples eat from the things of the temple, and they who wait upon the altar are divided unto with the altar. (14) Thus the Lord also ordained to them who proclaim the Gospel to live from the Gospel. (15) But I used not any of these: but I wrote not these, that they should be done thus in me: for it is good for me rather to die than that any should [not] make my boast void. (16) For if I should preach good tidings, it is not to me [a] boasting; for a necessity is laid upon me; for woe to me if I should not preach good tidings. (17) For if I did this willingly, then I have reward: if not willingly, then I was entrusted with a stewardship. (18) What then is my reward? That, preaching good tidings, I may make the Gospel without expense, (so as) not to use this authority in the Gospel. (19) For being free from all, I made myself servant of all, that I might gain the more. (20) I became to the Jews as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; I became to them who are under (the) law as being under (the) law, (though) I am not under (the) law, that I might gain them who are under (the) law. (21) I became to them without law as one without law, though I am not one without law of God, but being under (the) law of Christ, that I might gain them without law. (22) I became to them who are weak as one weak, that I might gain them who are weak: I became to all men all kinds, that by all means I might save some. (23) But I do all these things because of the Gospel, that I may share it (with others). (24) Ye know not that they who run in the stadium, run indeed all, but one receiveth the palm. But thus run, that ye may attain. (25) But every one who striveth for the mastery layeth hold on himself in everything: they indeed, that they may receive a crown which will perish; but we an imperishable. (26) But I (pron.) run thus, as not covertly; thus I fight, not as beating the air: (27) but I bruise my body, and I make it servant: lest by any means, having proclaimed to others, I myself should be found [being] reprobate.

10

(1) For I wish you not to be (lit. being) ignorant, my brethren, that all our fathers were being under the cloud, and they all passed through the sea; (2) and they were all baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (3) and the same spiritual food they all ate; (4) and the same spiritual drink they all drank: for they were drinking from a spiritual rock, following them: but the rock was Christ. (5) But God was not well pleased with most of them: for they were overthrown in (the) desert. (6) But these things became to us types, that we should not be [being] lusters after evil things, according as those lusted. (7) Neither be ye idolaters, as some among them; as it is written: 'The people sat down to eat and to drink; and they arose to play.' (8) Neither let us commit fornication, as some among them committed, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. (9) Neither let us tempt Christ, according as some among them tempted; and they were destroyed by the serpents. (10) Neither let us be murmurers, according as some among them murmured; and they were destroyed by the destroyer. (11) But all these things happened as type to those; but they were written for us for a teaching, namely those to whom (the) end of the ages occurred. (12) Wherefore he who thinketh that he standeth, let him see lest by any means he fall. (13) The temptation took you not, except the temptation of man: faithful is God, who will not let you be tempted beyond that which it is possible for you (to bear); but he will help with you in the temptation, that ye may be able to bear until ye come out of it. (14) Therefore, my beloved, flee from the idolatry. (15) I say it to you as (to) wise; judge ye that which I say. (16) The cup of the Eulogia which we bless, is it not the sharing of (the) blood of Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not the sharing of (the) body of Christ? (17) Because we (pron.) are one loaf, one body, namely the many: for we (pron.) all receive from the same loaf. (18) See Israel according to flesh: are not they who eat of the sacrifices sharers with the altar? (19) What then say I? 'The thing slain for idols, what is it?' or 'what itself is (an) idol?' (20) But that the things which the Gentiles slay, they slay them for the idols, and not God. But I wish you not to be (lit. being) sharers with the demons. (21) It is not possible for you to drink from the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demons: it is not possible for you to receive from the table of the Lord and the table of the demons. (22) Or are we to rouse the jealousy of the Lord? Are we stronger than he? (23) It is lawful to do everything; but all things are not profitable. It is lawful to do everything; but all things edify not. (24) Let not any seek for his own, but for that of his neighbour. (25) All things which are sold in the meat-market eat, making no enquiry because of the conscience; (26) for the earth is the Lord's, and its fulness. (27) If one of the unbelievers invite you, and ye wish, go. All things which they will set before you, eat, making no enquiry because of the conscience. (28) But if one should say to you: This is a thing slain for idols,' eat not, because of him who showed to you, and because of the conscience; (29) but I say because of a conscience: it is not thine, but that of thy neighbour. For why will my liberty be judged by another conscience? (30) If I (pron.) receive in [a] thanksgiving, why am I blasphemed about that for which I (pron.) give thanks? (31) Whether, then, ye eat, or ye drink, or ye do (any) other thing, do all things unto the glorifying God. (32) And be ye offenceless to the Jews and the Greeks and the church of God: (33) according as I also in all things please all, not seeking for mine own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved.

11

(1) Be ye like me, according as I also am like Christ. (2) But I honour you because ye remember me in all things, and according as I delivered to you the traditions, ye lay hold on them. (3) I wish you to know (lit, knowing) that (the) head of every man is Christ, but (the) head of the woman is her husband, but (the) head of Christ is God. (4) Every man who prayeth or prophesieth, having his head covered, is shaming his head. (5) But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered shameth her head: for it is one and it is the same as she whose head is shaven. (6) For if a woman will not cover her head, then let her shave it: if it is a dishonour unto a woman to shear her head, or to shave it, let her cover her head. (7) For the man indeed ought not to cover his head, because he is an image and a glory of God: but the woman--she is a glory of her husband. (8) For the man was not brought from the woman, but the woman from the man: (9) for the man was not also created because of the woman, but the woman because of the man: (10) therefore the woman ought to put a veil upon her head because of the angels. (11) Nevertheless neither is a woman without man nor man without woman in the Lord. (12) For according as the woman is [a] from the man, thus also the man is [a] through a the woman; all things are from God. (13) Judge in your own selves: that it was seemly for a woman to pray to God with her head not covered. (14) Not even [the] nature herself teacheth you, That the man indeed, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him. (15) But the woman, if she have long hair, it is a glory to her; because the hair was given to her instead of a veil. (16) But if (any) one thinketh to be contentious, [but] we (pron.) have not such a custom, neither the churches of God. (17) But ordering this I was not justifying you, because ye assemble not for the better, but the worse. (18) For first indeed, being about to assemble together in the church, I hear of divisions being among you, and. I partly believe (it). (19) For there must be heresies among you, that the chosen also who are among you might be manifested. (20) Being about to assemble, then, together, it is not to eat a Lord's Supper: (21) for each one taketh before (another) from his supper to eat; there is (one) who is hungry indeed, but there is (one) who is drunken. (22) For have ye not houses to eat and to drink (in)? Or despised ye the church of God, and shamed them who have not? What shall (lit. will, thus again) I say to you? (Is it) that I justify you in this? I shall not justify you. (23) For I (pron.) received from the Lord that which I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was about to be betrayed (lit. given) took a loaf; (24) and he gave thanks, he brake it, and he said: 'This is my body, which will be given for you: this do for remembrance of me.' (25) Thus also the cup after the supper, saying: 'This cup is the new testament in my blood. This do every time (in) which ye will drink it, remembering me.' (26) For every time (in) which ye will eat this bread and drink this cup, ye area proclaiming (the) death of the Lord until he come. (27) Wherefore he who will eat from this bread and drink from this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. (28) But let the man prove himself, and thus let him eat from the bread and drink from the cup. (29) For he who eateth and who drinketh, ate and drank for a judgement to him, not (being) discerner of the body. (30) Therefore many are weak among you, and they are in pain; and many sleep. (31) For if we were discerning ourselves, we should not be judged. (32) For God is judging us, teaching us, that we may not be condemned with the Gentiles. (33) Wherefore then, my brethren, should ye assemble to eat, stay for one another. (34) If there is he who is hungry, let him eat in his house; that ye may not assemble for a judgement. But (the) rest (of the things), should I come, I shall ordain.

12

(1) But concerning the spiritual (gifts), my brethren, I wish you not to be (lit. being) ignorant. (2) Ye know that, being Gentiles, being under the voiceless idols, ye were walking (along) as ye were led. (3) Therefore I show to you, that no one speaking in the spirit of God saith that Jesus is an anathema; and it is not possible that any should say that Jesus (is) the Lord except in a holy spirit. (4) But there are distributions existing of graces, though it is the same spirit. (5) And there are distributions existing of ministrations, though it is the same Lord. (6) And there are distributions of works, though it is the same God who worketh all things in all. (7) But to each one is given (the) manifestation of the spirit according to that which is profitable. (8) For to one indeed is given through the spirit a word of wisdom; but to another a word of knowledge according to the same spirit: (9) but to another [a] faith in the same spirit; but to another graces of healing in the same spirit; (10) but to another works of power; but to another [a] prophecy; but to another explaining of spirit; but to another kinds of tongues; but to another an interpretation of tongues: (11) but all these the one which worketh in them is the same spirit, dividing to each one according as he willeth. (12) For according as the body is one, (yet) it hath many members, but all the members of the body are being many, but it is one body; thus Christ also. (13) For we also were all baptised in one spirit unto one body, whether the Jews or the Greeks or servant or free, and we were all made to drink one spirit. (14) For the body also is not one member, but many. (15) If the foot should say: I am not a hand, I am not from the body,' it is not, in consequence of this, not from the body. (16) And if the ear should say: I am not an eye, I am not from the body,' it is not, in consequence of this, not from the body. (17) If the whole body were an eye, where had been also the hearing? If the whole were an hearing, where was also the smelling? (18) But now God put the members each one of them in the body according as he wished. (19) If all were one member, where had been also the body? (20) But now many indeed are the members, but the body is one. (21) It is not possible that the eye should say to the hand: `I have no need of thee,' or again the head to the feet: 'I have no need of you.' (22) But rather the members of the body, of which they think that they are feeble, these are more necessary: (23) and those of the body, of which we think that they are unhonoured, to these we give more honour; and our ugly things have more beauty (given them); (24) but our beautiful things have no need: but God tempered the body, having given more honour to that which lacked; (25) that there might not be division in the body; but that all the members might care for one another. (26) And if there is a member suffering, all the members suffer with it; if there is a member glorified, all the members rejoice with it. (27) But ye are (the) body of Christ, and his members severally. (28) They indeed whom God put in the churches, first apostles, (the) second prophets, (the) third teachers, after these powers, then graces of healing, helps, guidances, kinds of tongues. (29) Will all be apostles? Will all be prophets? Will all be teachers? Will all be powers? (30) Have all graces of healing? Will all speak in tongues? Will all interpret? (31) But be zealous for the great graces. And yet also I shall (lit. will) show to you another greater way.

13

(1) If I should speak in (the) tongue of the men and that of the angels, but I have not love, I was as a sounding brass or a clashing cymbal. (2) Even if I have [a] prophecy, knowing all the mysteries and all (the) knowledge; even if I have all (the) faith so as to remove mountains, but I have not love, I (am) nothing. (3) Even if I should give all my (goods) to cause them to eat, and give my body also that I may boast, but I have not love, I gain nothing. (4) [The] love is longsuffering; hopeth; love envieth not; love is not puffed up; is not proud; (5) is not put to shame; seeketh not for her own; is not angry; thinketh not the evil; (6) rejoiceth not over (the) wrongdoing, but rejoiceth over (the) truth; (7) is longsuffering in all things; believeth in all things; hopeth in all things: endureth in all things. (8) Love never falleth. Whether the prophecies--they will be done away; whether the tongues--they will cease; whether [a] knowledge--it will be done away. (9) For in [a] part we know, and in [a] part we prophesy: (10) but if the perfect should come, the in part will be done away. (11) Being a child, I was speaking as a child, I was meditating as a child, I was thinking as a child, when I became man I did away the things of my childhood. (12) For we see now through a glass in a likeness, then we shall (lit. will) see face to face. I know now in [a] part; but then (lit. in the time) I shall (lit. will) know, according as I was known. (13) But now these three abide, (the) faith, [the] hope, (the) love; but the great among these is [the] love.

14

(1) Pursue after [the] love, but be zealous for the spiritual (gifts), but rather that ye may prophesy. (2) He who speaketh in (the) tongue is speaking not to the men but God; for no one heareth him: in the spirit, then, he speaketh mysteries. (3) But he who prophesieth spoke to the men for an edification and a comfort and a consolation. (4) He who speaketh in (the) tongue edified himself alone; but he who prophesieth edified a church. (5) But I wish you all to speak (lit. speaking) in tongues, but rather that ye should prophesy: but greater is he who prophesieth than he who speaketh in (the) tongue, except he interpret, that the church may receive an edification. (6) But now, my brethren, if I should come to you, speaking in tongues, what profit shall (lit. will) I give to you unless I speak to you in a revelation, or in [a] knowledge, or in a prophecy, or in a teaching? (7) Even the soulless things giving their voice, whether a pipe or a harp, unless they make distinction of their voice, how will they know that which is piped or that which is harped? (8) For if a trumpet also should give a voice not manifest, who will prepare himself for (the) war? (9) Thus ye also through (the) tongue, if ye should not say a word manifest, how will they know that which ye say? For ye will be as speaking unto (the) air. (10) There are many sorts of voice in this world, and there is not anything being voiceless. (11) If I should not know (the) power of the voice, I shall (lit. will) be (a) barbarian for him who speaketh, and he who speaketh to me will be (a) barbarian for me. (12) Thus ye also, since ye are zealous of the spiritual (gifts) unto (the) edification of the church, seek that ye may abound (in them). (13) Therefore he who speaketh in (the) tongue--let him pray that he may interpret. (14) For if I should pray in (the) tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my heart is unfruitful. (15) What then shall (lit. will) I do? I shall pray in the spirit, but I shall pray in the heart also; I shall sing in the spirit, but I shall sing in the heart also. (16) Or otherwise if thou shouldst bless in the spirit, he who filleth up (the) place of the unlearned, how will he say the Amēn upon thy thanksgiving, since that which thou sayest he knoweth it not? (17) For thou indeed givest thanks well, but the other one is not edified. (18) I give thanks to God that I speak in (the) tongue more than ye all: (19) but I wish to say five words in my understanding in the church, that I may instruct others, than ten thousand words in (the) tongue. (20) My brethren, be not children in your understandings: but be children in [the] malice, but in your understandings be of full (age). (21) For it is written in (the) law: 'In other tongues and in other lips I shall (lit. will) speak to this people; and thus also they shall not hearken to me, saith the Lord.' (22) Wherefore the tongues were being for a sign not to them who believe, but to the unbelievers: but the prophecy was being not for the unbelievers, but for them who believe. (23) If then the whole church should come together, and all speak in tongues, but unlearned come in or unbelievers, will they not say: 'These were mad?' (24) But if all are prophesying, but an unbeliever or an unlearned come in, all will convict him; all will search him (out). (25) The secrets of his heart will be manifested; and thus he will throw himself upon his face and worship God, manifesting that really God is among you. (26) What, then, is it, my brethren? If ye should assemble, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath language of tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done in an edifying. (27) Whether (it be) he who speaketh in (the) tongue, (let it be) by two or the most three, and a turn for (the) one, and let one interpret. (28) But if there is not an interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; but let him speak between himself and God. (29) But prophets two or three let them speak, and let the others discern. (30) But if a revelation be made in another sitting down, let the first keep silence. (31) For it is possible for you all to prophesy one by one, that all may be taught, and all find comfort; (32) the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; (33) for God is not of division, but of peace; as it is in all the churches of the saints. (34) Let the women keep silence in the church, and they are not commanded to speak; but let them be subject, according as saith also the law. (35) But if they wish to know a thing, let them ask their men in their houses: for it is a disgrace to a woman to speak in the church. (36) Or did (the) word of God come from you? Or did it reach you alone? (37) If there is one thinking of himself that he is a prophet or a spiritual, let him know the things which I write to you, that it is a commandment of God. (38) But if there is one being ignorant, they are ignorant of him. (39) Wherefore, my brethren, be zealous of prophesying, and forbid not to speak in tongues. (40) But let all things be done unto an edifying and according to regulation.

15

(1) But I show to you, my brethren, the Gospel with which I preached good tidings to you, which is that which ye received, this in which ye stand, (2) this also through which ye will be saved; because in a word I preached good tidings to you, if ye lay hold on it, except ye believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first that which I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; (4) and that he was buried; and that he rose in the third day according to the Scriptures; (5) and he appeared unto Kēpha; then he appeared to the twelve; (6) afterwards he appeared (to) above five hundred brethren at once, of these the majority of them abide up to now, but others fell asleep.' (7) Then he appeared to Jacōbos, then he appeared to all the apostles ; (8) but last of them all, as one born out of due time, he appeared to me also. (9) For I am the least a among all the apostles, being not worthy to be called ' apostle,' because that I persecuted the church of God. (10) But in a grace of God I am that which I am: and his grace which is in me was not void; but I toiled more than they all: but not I, but the grace of God which is with me. (11) Whether then I or they, we proclaim thus, and thus ye believed. (12) But if Christ is proclaimed, that he rose from them who are dead, how say some among you, that there will not be resurrection of the dead. (13) But if there will not be resurrection of the dead, then neither did Christ rise: (14) but if Christ rose not, then our proclaiming is void, your faith also is void. (15) But again we shall (lit. will) be found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised Christ, a whom he raised not, if then the dead will not rise. (16) For if the dead will not rise, then Christ rose not: (17) but if Christ rose not, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (18) Then they who fell asleep in Christ perished. (19) But if in this life only we hoped on Christ, then we are pitiable more than all men. (20) But now Christ rose from them who are dead, (the) firstfruits of them who fell asleep. (21) For since through a man (the) death happened, through man also (the) resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam we shall (lit. will) all die, thus also in Christ we shall (lit. will) all live: (23) each one in his order. Firstfruits Christ, then they of Christ in his coming. (24) Then cometh the end whenever he should deliver the kingdom to God and the Father, if he should do away with all rule and all authority and all power. (25) For he must reign until he hath put all his enemies below his feet. (26) But the last enemy he will do away: that is to say (the) death. (27) He caused all things to be subject below his feet. But if he should say that all things were made subject to him, it is manifest that (it is so) except him who caused all things to be subject to him. (28) But if all things should be subject to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to him who caused all things to be subject to him; that God himself may be all things in all. (29) Otherwise what will they do who are baptised for the dead? If the dead will not rise at all, then why are they baptised also for them? (30) Why are we also in danger every hour? (31) I am dead daily (I affirm it) by your boast, my brethren, this which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. (32) If humanly (speaking) I fought with the wild beast in Ephesos, what is my gain? If the dead will not. rise, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall (lit, will) die. (33) Go not astray: for the evil words corrupt the good hearts. (34) Be watchful righteously, and sin not; for an ignorance of God (it is) which is in some: I spoke to you in [a] shame. (35) But there is one (who) will say: 'How will the dead rise? But in what body came they?' (36) [The] senseless (man), that which thou (pron.) sowest, liveth not unless it die: (37) and that which thou sowest--the body which will be is (not, pron.) that which thou sowest, but it is a grain, naked, whether [a] wheat or another of (the) rest of the seeds; (38) but God giveth (a) body to it, according as he wished, and to each of the seeds he giveth their own body. (39) All flesh is not the same flesh, but a different flesh indeed of the men, a different flesh, of the beasts, a different flesh of the birds, different that of the fishes. (40) There is also a body of (the) heaven, there is a body of (the) earth; but different indeed is (the) glory of the things of (the) heaven, but different is (the) glory of the things of (the) earth. (41) Different is (the) glory of (the) sun, different is (the) glory of the moon, different is (the) glory of the stars; for there is a star differing from star in its glory. (42) Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in a corruption; it will rise in an incorruption; (43) it is sown in a dishonour; it will rise in a glory; it is sown in a feebleness; it will rise in a power. (44) A psychic body is sown; a spiritual body will rise. If there is a psychic body, then there is also a spiritual body. (45) It was written indeed also thus: 'Adam the first man became a living soul.' But the last Adam (is) a life-giving spirit. (46) But the spiritual is not the first, but the psychic; after it the spiritual. (47) The first man is from (the) earth, one of earth: the second man is from (the) heaven. (48) As the one of earth, thus also the ones of earth: (49) and as the one of heaven, thus also the ones of heaven. And as we bore (the) image of the one of earth, let us bear the image of the one of heaven. (50) But this I say, my brethren, that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God; neither will (the) corruption inherit the incorruption. (51) Lo, a mystery I say to you: we shall (lit. will) not all fall asleep indeed, but we shall (lit, will) all be changed, (52) in a moment, in a twinkling of eye, at (lit. in) the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall call, and the dead shall rise incorruptible; and we also shall (lit. will) be changed. (53) For this which will corrupt must be clothed with the incorruption; and this which will die be clothed with the immortality. (54) But whenever this which will die should be clothed with the immortality, then shall come to pass the word which is written: '(The) death was swallowed up unto a victory.' (55) Where was thy victory, (the) death? Where was thy sting, (the) death? (56) For (the) sting of (the) death is (the) sin; but (the) power of (the) sin is (the) law. (57) But thanks be given to God, [this] who giveth the victory to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. (58) Wherefore, my brethren beloved, be ye stedfast, immoveable, abounding in the work of the Lord always, knowing that your toil is not void in the Lord.

16

(1) But concerning the collection which was made concerning the saints, as I commanded the churches of (the) Galatia, do ye also thus. (2) Every first of the sabbaths let each one of you lay by him, treasuring (lit. throwing in) according as (lit. that in which) his way will prosper (lit. be straightened), lest by any means, should I come, then should be countings up. (3) But if I should come, them of whom ye approve, I shall send these through letters to take your grace to Jerusalem: (4) but if the work is worthy to cause me to go also, they shall walk with me. (5) But I shall come to you, if I should pass by (the) Macedonia; for I shall (lit. will) pass by (the) Macedonia. (6) But perchance I might stay with you, or I might spend the winter, that ye (pron.) may escort me to the place to which I shall (lit. will) go. (7) For I wish not to see you now, being on (the) road; for I hope to spend time with you, if the Lord should command. (8) I shall (lit. will) be in Ephesos until the Pentēcostē (9) For a great door effectual was opened to me, and (there are) many adversaries. (10) But if adversaries Timotheos should come, see that he may come to you without fear; for the work of the Lord he worketh, as also I (do). (11) Let no one then despise him: but escort him in [a] peace that he may come to me: for I expect him with the brethren. (12) But concerning Apollo the brother, I besought him very much that he might come to you with the brethren: and it is not at all (the) wish that he should come now; but he shall come to you if he should find (the) opportunity. (13) Watch, then, and stand in (the) faith; master yourselves, and take courage. (14) Let all works which are yours be done in [a] love. (15) I beseech you, then, our brethren--ye know (the) house of Stephana and Phortounatos, that it is (the) beginning of [the] Achaia, and they ordained themselves to a ministry of the saints, (16) that ye also be subject to such, and every one who is a fellow worker and who toileth. (17) But I rejoice over (the) coming of Stephana and Phortounatos and Achaikos, because your deficiency these filled up. (18) For they rested my spirit and yours: know, then, such (persons). (19) The churches of [the] Asia salute you. Akula and Priska salute you very much in the Lord, with the church of their house. (20) All the brethren who are with me salute you. Salute one another in an holy kiss. (21) My salutation in my hand, I Paul. (22) He who loveth not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be an anathema. Maran atha. (23) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you. (24) My love with you all in Christ Jesus. Amēn.

Second Epistle to the Corinthians

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1

(1) Paul (the) apostle of Christ Jesus, through (the) wish of God, and Timotheos the brother, to the church of God, which is in Korinthos, with all the saints who are in all [the] Achaia: (2) (the) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (3) God is faithful, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of the compassions, and God of all comfort; (4) he (lit. this) who comforted us in all our tribulation, to cause us also to be able to comfort all who are in any (lit. all) tribulation, through the comfort in which God comforted us. (5) Because according as the pains of Christ abound into us, thus also through Christ aboundeth our comfort also. (6) And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which nis effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. (7) and our hope (is) firm for you; knowing that according as ye are sharers of the pains, thus also of the comfort. (8) But I wish you not to be (lit. being) ignorant, my brethren, concerning the tribulation which happened to us in [the] Asia, that we were weighed down excessively, more than our power, so that we gained not the life even: (9) but in ourselves we received the answer of (the) death, that we might not trust in ourselves only, but in God who raiseth the dead: (10) he (lit. this) who saved us from death such as this, and will save us: in whom we hoped that still he will save us; (11) ye also being fellow workers in [the] prayer for us; that through many persons (praying) (for) the grace toward us thanks may be given to God through many because of us. (12) For this is our boast, the witness of your conscience, that in [an] holiness and [a] truth of God, not in [a] carnal wisdom, but in [a] grace of God we walked in the world, and especially (lit. but more) with you. (13) For not other things we wrote to you except those which ye read, and of which also ye have knowledge; I hope that ye will know unto the end: (14) according as ye partly knew us, that we are your boast, according as ye also are ours in (the) day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15) And in this persuasion I wished to come to you at first, that ye might receive the second joy; (16) and through you I might go to (the) Macedonia, and again from (the) Macedonia to come to you; and that ye (pron.) might escort me to [the] Judea. (17) Wishing, then, this, did I at all act in [a] levity? Or the things which I counsel, did I counsel them according to flesh, that the yea yea and the nay nay should be with me? (18) God is surety (lit. faithful) that our word which was (spoken) to you was not a yea and a nay, but a yea (is) that which was in it. (19) For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, he (lit. this) whom we proclaimed among you through me and Silouanos and Timotheos, was not a yea and a nay, but a yea (is) that which is in him: (20) for all the promises of God which are in him are a yea: therefore also through him is the Amēn of God unto a glory through us. (21) But he who confirmeth us with you is Christ, and he who saved us is God; (22) and he sealed us, and he gave to us the earnest of the spirit into our hearts. (23) But I (pron.) call to God as witness upon my soul, that sparing you I came not any more to Korinthos. (24) Not that we have lordship over your faith, but we are fellow workers of your joy. For ye stood in (the) faith.

2

(1) This I judged in myself, not to come to you again in [a] grief. (2) For if I indeed grieve you, then who maketh me to rejoice except him who is grieved by me? (3) And this I wrote, that, should I come to you again, I might not receive grief of them by whom I ought to rejoice. Being persuaded of (lit. upon) you all, that my joy is that of you all. (4) For out of [a] great tribulation and grief I wrote to you through many tears: not that your heart might be pained, but that ye might know the love which aboundeth in me unto you. (5) But if one gave grief, he gave not grief to me but in part; that I may not lay weight upon you all. (6) Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was done through many; (7) so that on the contrary rather ye should condone and comfort him, lest by any means in the abundance of grief such a one might be swallowed up. (8) Therefore I beseech you to confirm [a] love unto (lit. into) him. (9) For therefore I wrote to you that I might know your proof; if ye are obedient in all things. (10) But to whom ye will condone, I also do (it) to him: for I (pron.) also condone that which I condoned, [I did it] because of you, in (the) person of Jesus Christ; (11) that Satan may not do us wrong, for we forget not his thoughts. (12) But having come to Trōas for the Gospel of Christ, and a door having been opened to me in the Lord, (13) my spirit rested not, I having not found Titos my brother: and having taken leave of them, I came from there to (the) Macedonia. (14) But thanks be to God, he (lit. this) who manifesteth us always in Christ, and manifesting through us savour of his knowledge in every place. (15) Because we are a sweet savour of Christ to God, in them who will be saved, and in them who will perish; (16) to some indeed a savour from [a] death to [a] death; but to some a savour from [a] life to [a] life. And who is sufficient for these things? (17) For we were not 'being as many, trafficking with (the) word of God: but as from [a] sincerity, but as from God, before God, in Christ we speak.

3

(1) Begin we again to commend ourselves, 'or do we need epistles as others commending us to you or from you? (2) Because ye are our epistle written in our hearts, being known, being read by all men; (3) ye are manifested that ye (are) an epistle of Christ, ministered through us, being written not in [an] ink, but in [a] spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables of heart of flesh. (4) But we have such a persuasion through Christ towards God: (5) not that through ourselves only we are sufficient to think of a work asthat (it is) from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God; (6) he (lit. this) who made us worthy of ministering for the new testament, not of [a] writing, but of [a] spirit: for the writing killeth; the spirit giveth life. (7) If the ministration of (the) death, in writings, graven in stones, came to pass in [a] glory, so that (the) children of Israel could not look in on (the) face of Moses because of the glory of his face; which will be done away: (8) how much rather cometh not to pass (the) ministration of the spirit in [a] glory? (9) For if the ministration of the condemnation came to pass in [a] glory, much rather will abound the ministration of [the] righteousness in [a] glory. (10) For even that, to which they gave glory, received not glory in this respect, because of the glory that passeth over beyond (lit. more). (11) For if that which will be done away came to pass through [a] glory, much more that which abideth, in [a] glory. (12) Having then such a hope, let us be in [a] great boldness (lit. manifestation), (13) and not according as Moses, who putteth a covering over his face for (the) children of Israel not to be able to look at the glory of his face, which will be done away: (14) but their thoughts were hardened: for until this very day the same covering is upon the reading of the old testament; it not being revealed, that it will be done away in Christ. (15) But until to-day, if Moses should be read, the covering also is over their heart. (16) But if it should turn to the Lord, he taketh away that covering. (17) But the Lord is the spirit: the place in which (is) the spirit of the Lord, is [a] liberty. (18) But we all with [a] face unveiled (lit. being revealed) look at (the) glory of the Lord in a mirror, changing ourselves into the same image from a glory to a glory, and it was according as from a spirit of the Lord.

4

(1) Therefore having this ministry, according as mercy was shown us, we faint not: (2) but we leave the hidden things of (the) shame. We walk not in [a] craftiness, and we use not subtlety in the word of God; but in the manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every conscience of [the] men before God. (3) But if our Gospel is even (so) hidden, it is being hidden in them who will perish: (4) in whom God hardened the thoughts of the unbelieving of this age, to cause them not to see (the) light of the Gospel of (the) glory of Christ, who is (the) image of God. (5) For we proclaim not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord, but we ourselves are servants to you through Jesus. (6) Because God said: 'A light shall shine in (the) darkness,' which is this which shone in our hearts for a light of (the) knowledge of (the) glory of God in (the) face of Jesus Christ: (7) having this treasure in earthen vessels, that the greatness of the powers might be that of God, and not be from you. (8) Being oppressed in everything, but we are not oppressed; being cast out, but we are not cast away; (9) being persecuted, but he left us not; being struck down, but we are not destroyed. (10) Always carrying (the) death of Jesus in our body, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. (11) For always we, namely they who live, are delivered to (the) death because of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our flesh which will die. (12) Wherefore (the) death worked in us, but the life in you. (13) But the same spirit of (the) faith is being in us, according as it is written: I believed, therefore I spoke '; we also believe, therefore we speak, (14) Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus shall raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you. (15) For all things happened because of you, that the grace may abound and may cause the thanksgiving to abound through the many unto a glory of God. (16) Therefore we faint not; but if our outer man will perish, but the inner is made new day before day. (17) For (the) lightness of our present tribulation worked more and more exceedingly a weight of an eternal glory. (18) Looking not at the things which we saw, but the things which we saw not: for the things which they see are for a time, but the things which they see not are forever.

5

(1) For we know that if our house of our dwelling-place which is on (the) earth should be pulled clown, we have a building through God, an house not made with hand, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, yearning to clothe ourselves with our dwelling-place which is (lit. 'the') (3) from (the) heaven: then if we should clothe ourselves they will not find us naked. (4) For also we, namely they who are in this dwelling-place, groan, being burdened; not for that which we wish to strip ourselves of [it], but to clothe ourselves anew, that that which dieth might be swallowed up through (the) life. (5) But he who worked us for this is God, who gave to us this earnest of the spirit. (6) Being assured always, and knowing that being here in the body we are absent from the Lord; (7) for we walked through [a] faith, not through a (visible) form. (8) But being assured, and well pleased rather to come out of the body, and to go to the Lord. (9) Therefore, then, we strive, whether being here in the body or coming out of the body, that we may be pleasing to him. (10) For we must all manifest ourselves before the judgement-seat of Christ; that each one may receive according to. the works which he did through the body, whether good or evil. (11) Knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade [the] men, but we are manifested to God; but I hope that I manifested myself in your consciences also. (12) We were not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving to you pretext for boast about us, that it may be to you against them who boast themselves in (the) face, and not in (the) heart. (13) For whether if we were mad of heart, then we were mad to God; whether we are of sound mind, then we were of sound mind to you. (14) For the love of Christ layeth hold on us; we having judged this: That one died for all, so then all died; (15) and he died for all, that they who live should not live to themselves only, but to him who died for them, and he rose. (16) Wherefore we (pron.) from now know not any (one) according to flesh: but if we knew Christ according to flesh, but now any more we know him not. (17) Wherefore he who is in Christ is a new creature: the ancient things passed away; lo, new things happened. (18) But all things are from God, he (lit. this) who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and he gave to us the ministry of the reconciliation: (19) That God was being in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their transgressions, and he put the word of the reconciliation in us. (20) We were ambassadors then for Christ, as if God gave [a] comfort through us: we beseech you, instead of Christ, be reconciled to God. (21) He who knew not sin he made him sin for us, that we (pron.) might become righteousness of God in him.

6

(1) But we are being fellow workers, and we beseech you not to receive the grace of God emptily. (2) For he saith: 'In a time accepted I heard thee, and in the day of the salvation I helped thee.' Behold now, lo, a time accepted; behold now, lo, a day of the salvation. (3) We give not any stumbling in any(thing), that our ministration may not be aspersed; (4) but in everything we are commending ourselves as ministers of God, in great patience, in tribulations, in necessities, in pains, (5) in stripes, in prisons, in tumults, in toils, in watchings, in fastings, (6) in [a] pureness, in [a] longsuffering, in [a] knowledge, in [a] kindness, in [a] holy spirit, in [a] love without hypocrisy, (7) in a word of (the) truth, in a power of God. Through the weapons of [the] righteousness, those of the right hand and those of the left hand, (8) through [a] glory and [a] dishonour, through [a] blessing and [a] curse; as deceivers and true (men); (9) as unknown, and known; as about to die, lo, we live; as chastened, and not killed; (10) as grieving, but rejoicing always; as poor (men), but making many rich; as not having anything, and we lay hold on all things. (11) Our mouth was opened towards you, O [the] Corinthians, our heart was widened out. (12) Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your affections. (13) But I speak of the same recompense, as children: widen out yourselves also. (14) Be not sharers of (the) yoke of the unbelievers: for what is the fellowship of [the] righteousness with [the] iniquity? Or what is the fellowship of the light with the darkness? (15) Or what is (the) agreement of Christ with Beliar? What is (the) part of a believer with an unbeliever? (16) Or what is (the) agreement of a temple of God with that of the idols? For we are the temple of the living God, according as God said: 'I shall dwell in them, and I shall walk in them; I shall be to them God, and they also shall be to me for a people. (17) Therefore come out from their midst, and be separated from them,' saith the Lord; touch not that which is unclean; and I (pron.) shall receive you. (18) And I shall be to you for a father, and ye also shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

7

(1) Having, then, these promises, my beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every pollution of (the) flesh and [a] spirit, completing [the] holiness in the fear of God. (2) Receive us: we did not wrong to any: we corrupted not any: we cheated not any. (3) I was not saying it according to a condemnation: for I said before, that ye are in our heart to share death and to share life. (4) I have a great boldness of speech toward you, I have a great boast about you: I was full of your comfort, I abounded with [the] joy for all your tribulation. (5) For even having come to (the) Macedonia, our flesh took not any rest, but we were oppressed in everything; outside contentions, inside fears. (6) But he who comforteth them who are humble, God comforted us in (the) coming of Titos; (7) but not only in his coming, but also in the comfort, in which he was assured about you, showing to us your hearty love and your weeping and your zeal for us. So that I rejoice the more, (8) because if I gave pain to you in the epistle, I repent not, although I was repenting; for I see that that epistle, [that] if it grieved you, (grieved you) for a little (time), (9) but now I rejoice, not that ye were grieved, but that ye were grieved unto [a] repentance: for ye were grieved according to God, that ye might not suffer any loss from us. (10) For the grief according to God worked [a] repentance unto [a] salvation not to be repented of: but the grief of the world worketh death, (11) For behold the grief which ye grieved (lit, did) according to God worked for you much earnestness, yea a defence, yea an indignation, yea a fear, yea a hearty love, yea a zeal, yea a revenge; and in everything ye established yourselves pure of the thing. (12) Then, if I wrote to you, (I wrote) not because of him who did wrong, nor because of him who suffered wrong, but that your earnestness, this which ye feel (lit. do) about us, might be manifested to you before the Lord. (13) Therefore we were consoled: but about your comfort, we rejoiced more excessively about the joy of Titos, because his spirit was rested for you all. (14) Because my boast which I made to him about you, I was not ashamed of it. But according as I spoke to you always in [a] truth, thus also our boast which we made about you to Titos was in [a] truth. (15) And abundantly his affections are turned (Toil) towards you, remembering the obedience of you all, how ye received him in [a] fear and [a] trembling. (16) I rejoice that in everything I am assured in you.

8

(1) But I show to you, my brethren, the grace of God which was given to me in the churches of (the) Macedonia; (2) that in a great proof of a tribulation, the abundance of their joy and (the) depth of their poverty abounded into the riches of their singleness. (3) I witness that according to their power and beyond their power, they acted of their own readiness, (4) they prayed us in a great beseeching concerning the grace, and the fellowship of the ministry which is done to the saints: (5) and not according as we hoped, but they were beforehand in giving themselves to the Lord, and to us also through the will of God. (6) So that we besought Titos, that according as be began from (the) first' thus he might complete this grace also in you. (7) But according as ye abound in everything, in the faith, and the word, and the knowledge, and all earnestness, and the love which is in you from us, that ye may abound in this grace also. (8) I was not saying it according to commandment, but through the earnestness of others, I approved (the) choiceness of your love also. (9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he became poor because of you, being rich, that ye also in (the) poverty of him (that one) might become rich. (10) And in this I give an opinion: for this is profitable to you, who not only the thing to do, but the wish also ye were beforehand in beginning a year ago. (11) But now the thing also to do, fulfil; that according as the readiness of the wish, thus also may be the fulfilment, according to that which each one hath. (12) For if the readiness exists, according to that which he hath he is accepted, not according to that which he hath not. (13) For not that a relief might be to others and a tribulation to you, but that an equality might be in this present time. (14) That your abundance may be for (the) deficiency of those, and the abundance of those may be for your deficiency, that there may be an equality: (15) according as it is written, 'He of the abundance abounded not, and he of the little was not in want.' (16) But thanks be to God, he (lit. this) who gave the same earnestness for you in (the) heart of Titos. (17) Because he received indeed the exhortation, but being more in haste to come to you in his readiness of heart, (18) we sent the other brother with him, he (lit. this) whose praise in the Gospel through all the churches; (19) but not only (so), but also having had hand laid upon him by the churches, to travel with us in this grace, this which was ministered by us unto [a] glory of the Lord and our readiness of heart: (20) withdrawing ourselves from this, that any one should [not] blame us in this amount which is ministered by us: (21) for we take care for good things, not only before the Lord, but also before [the] men. (22) But we sent our brother also with them, he (lit. this) whom we approved in many things many times to be (lit. being) earnest, but now more eager (lit. hasting) in a great confidence which there is (to him) in you. (23) Whether (any enquire) about Titos, (he is) my friend and fellow worker for (lit. into) you: or our brethren, they are apostles of the churches, (the) glory of Christ. (24) (The) manifestation then of your love and our boast which we make about you, manifest it to them before the churches.

9

(1) For indeed concerning the ministration which they do for the saints, this is superfluous for me to write to you: (2) for I know your readiness, this of which I make (a) boast about you to them of (the) Macedonia, that they of [the] Achaia prepared themselves a year ago; but your zeal gave zeal to very many of them. (3) But we sent the brethren to you, that our boast which we make about you, may not be empty in this respect; that, according as I was saying, ye might be prepared: (4) lest by any means should they of (the) Macedonia come with me, and find you not prepared, we (pron.) might be ashamed, that we should not say, Ye,' in this measure. (5) I thought it necessary then to exhort the brethren, that they should come before to you, and prepare before your blessing, which ye promised beforehand, that it might be prepared, but thus as [a] beneficence and not (as) extortion. (6) But this it is, that he who is sparing (in) sowing shall reap also sparingly; and he who soweth beneficently shall reap also beneficently: (7) each one according as he chose for himself in his heart, not grudgingly or from a 'necessity: for a rejoicing giver (it is) whom God loveth. (8) But it is possible for God to make all grace multiply to you, that (the) sufficiency, being to you in everything always, ye may abound in every good thing: (9) according as it is written: 'He distributed, he gave to the pool; his righteousness abideth for ever.' (10) But he who supplieth, the seed to him who soweth shall supply the bread also to him for [an] eating; and he shall cause your plants to grow; he shall cause them to grow, namely the fruits of your righteousness: (11) ye being rich in everything, in all singleness, this which worketh through us a thanksgiving to God. (12) Because this ministration of this service not only is (at work) filling up the wants of the saints [only], but also aboundeth through many thanksgivings to God; (13) through the proof of this ministration. Ye are glorifying God for the subjection of your confession unto the Gospel of Christ, and the singleness of the fellowship with them and all; (14) and their prayer which they make for you, being in hearty love to you, because of the grace of God, which aboundeth in you. (15) But thanks be given to God for his free gift unspeakable.

10

(1) But I Paul beseech you through the meekness and the fairness of Christ, as being humble indeed among you in your presence; but being away from you I have firmness among you: (2) but I pray to have firmness, not being with you, in this confidence, this with which I think to be bold against some, these who think of us that we walked according to flesh. (3) For we walked according to flesh, (yet) we were not (serving as) soldiers according to flesh. (4) For the weapons of your soldiering are not carnal, but they are powers of God, unto an overthrowing of the things which are strong, unto a hurling down of arguments, (5) and all heights which raise themselves against the knowledge of God, and we are leading captive all thoughts into (the) obedience of Christ; (6) and being prepared to avenge all disobedience, if your obedience should be filled first. (7) (Is it) that ye look at the things which are in your presence? He who trusteth that he is of Christ, let him argue this again in himself, that, according as he is of Christ, thus are we also. (8) For if I should boast myself more about the authority which the Lord gave to me unto [an] edification, and not unto your ruin, I shall (lit. will) not be ashamed. (9) That I may not be as one frightening you through the epistles. (10) Because the epistles indeed are weighty and they are strong; but the presence of the body is weak, and the words contemptible. (11) This again let such a one think, that, according as we are in (the) word through the epistles, not being with you, this is as we are in (the) deed, being with you. (12) For we are not bold to compare ourselves or to measure ourselves with some who commend themselves: but they (pron.) in themselves are measuring themselves, and are comparing themselves with themselves, and are not understanding. (13) But we (pron.) were not boasting ourselves in things without measure, but according to the measure of the canon which God ordained to us, to cause us to reach unto it in a measure, and one as far as you. (14) For not as not reaching to you we stretch (out) ourselves to you the more: for we reached to you also in the Gospel of Christ: (15) not boasting ourselves in unmeasuredness (plural), in toils of other men but having a hope, should your faith grow, to cause it to become great in you, according to our canon unto an abundance, (16) to preach glad tidings to you, things which are greater than those, not in a canon of other men (and) to boast ourselves of the things which were prepared. (17) But he who boasteth himself, let him boast himself in the Lord. (18) For not he who commendeth himself is the chosen, but he whom the Lord will commend.

11

(1) Would that ye were to bear with me a little in my senselessness: but be longsuffering with me. (2) For I am jealous over you in a jealousy of God: for I united you to one husband a pure virgin to Christ. (3) But I fear lest by any means as the serpent deceived Eva in his craftiness, your thoughts may be corrupted from the singleness and the pureness which is in Christ. (4) For if indeed he who cometh will proclaim to you another Jesus (whom) we proclaimed [him] not, or ye will receive another spirit (whom) ye received [him]: not, or another Gospel (which) ye accepted [it] not, well forsooth will ye bear with (him). (5) For I think that I am in want of nothing in comparison with the apostles who surpass. (6) If I am an unlearned one in (the) word,. but not in (the) knowledge; but in everything we manifested ourselves to you among all. (7) Is it a sin which I did (in), humiliating myself, that ye might be exalted, because I proclaimed to you freely the Gospel of God ? (8) I robbed churches; I took wages because of ministering to you, (9) and being with you, having been in want, I put not burden upon one of you; for my deficiency the brethren who came from (the) Macedonia filled it up; and in everything I kept myself, being unburden-some to (lit. from) you, and I shall keep (so) still . (10) The truth of Christ is in me, that this boast will not be shut off from me in the places of [the] Achaia. (11) Why? Because I love you not. God knoweth. (12) But that which I do, I shall (lit. will) do it still, that I may cut off (the) pretext of them who wish to find pretext; that they may be found in that in which they boast themselves according as ourselves. (13) For these are as false apostles, workers of subtlety, changing themselves into (the) form of apostles of Christ. (14) And it is not a wonder. Satan also himself changeth himself into (the) form of an angel of (the) light. (15) It is not then a great (thing) if his ministers also change themselves into (the) form of ministers of [the] righteousness, these whose end will be according to their works. (16) Again I say, lest by any means one should think of me, that I am foolish,--nay, even though as foolish receive me, that I may boast myself also a little. (17) That which I speak, I was saying it not according to the Lord, but as in [a] foolishness, in this measure of this boast. (18) Since many boast themselves according to flesh, I also shall (lit. will) boast myself. (19) For gladly ye bear with the foolish, ye (being) wise. (20) For ye bear with him who maketh you slaves, he who devoureth (lit. eateth) you, he who receiveth from you, he who exalteth himself, and he who siniteth in your face. (21) According to a dishonour I say that we (pron.) were weak. That in which any one will be bold, I said it in [a] foolishness, I shall (lit, will) be bold also. (22) They are Hebrews, I am also. They are Israelites, I am also. They are seeds of Abram, I am also. (23) They are 'ministers of Christ. I spoke in [a] madness, I am more; in toils more, in stripes more, in prisons in an excess, in deaths many times (24) by the Jews. For I received five (times) forty stripes save one. (25) I was stretched out for (the) rod three times, I was stoned once, I was shipwrecked three times, I spent a day and a night in (the) deep of the sea; (26) in walkings on (the) road many times; I was in danger in rivers, I was in danger of robbers, I was in danger of them of my nation, I was in danger of Gentiles, I was in danger in cities, I was in danger on (the) desert, I was in danger in the sea, I was in danger of false brethren; (27) in toils and in pains, in watchings many times, in hunger (plur.) and [a] thirst. In fastings many times, in cold (plur.) and nakedness (plur.). (28) Without the things which are outside, (the) care of all the churches is coming upon me daily. (29) Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I burn not? (30) If it is right that I should boast myself, I would boast myself in my feeblenesses. (31) God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (is he) who kno weth, he who is blessed unto the ages, that I shall (lit. will) not say falsehood: (32) that in Damascos (the) ruler of the Gentiles of Areta (the) king was guarding (the) city of them of Damascos, wishing to seize me: (33) and I was let down from (lit. in) a window, in a basket, from upon the wall: I was saved from his hands.

12

(1) But it is not profitable indeed to boast; but I shall (lit. will) come upon visions also and revelations of the Lord. (2) I know a man in Christ fourteen years before, whether in body I know riot; or outside of body I know not; God knoweth, that such a one was carried away unto the third heaven. (3) And I know such a man, whether in body or outside of body I know not; God knoweth, (4) that he was carried away to the Paradisos, and he heard words unspeakable, which it is not lawful that a man should speak. (5) I would boast myself about such a one: but about myself I shall (lit. will) not boast myself except perhaps in the weaknesses. (6) For should I wish to boast myself I shall (lit. will) not become foolish; for I say (the) truth: I spare (you), lest by any means one should think of me beyond that which he seeth (of) me, or that which he heareth from me. (7) And in (the) abundance of the revelations, therefore, that I should not exalt myself, a piercing thorn was given in my flesh, namely an angel of Satan that he might buffet me, that I should not exalt myself. (8) I prayed the Lord three times about this, that he might depart from me. (9) And he said to me: It is sufficient for thee with this grace: for my power was completed in the weakness.' It is pleasing to me then rather to boast myself in the weaknesses, that the power of Christ may be upon me. (10) Therefore I am well pleased in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in tribulations for Christ: for if I should be weak, then I take courage. (11) I became foolish: ye (pron.) compelled me; for I (pron.) ought (imperf.) to have been commended by you: for I was not deficient in anything in comparison with the apostles who surpass. If indeed I (am) nothing. (12) But the signs of the apostleship were worked among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and powers. (13) For what is that in which ye were deficient as regards (the) rest of the churches, except that I (pron.) was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrongdoing. (14) This is (the) third time that I am ready to come to you; and I shall not be burdensome to you: for I was not seeking for yours, but for you: for the children ought not to lay up (lit. throw in) for the fathers, but the fathers for the children. (15) But I (pron.) am well pleased to spend and to overspend for your souls, if I love you more I am loved myself the less (lit. a little). (16) But be it (so), I (pron.) put not burden upon you, but being crafty I took you with [a] subtlety. (17) Saw ye one of them whom I sent to you, through whom I did you wrong ? (18) I besought Titos, and I sent the other brother with him. Did Titos wrong you at all? Walked we not in the same spirit? Are they not the same steps? (19) Again, ye think that we answer you. Before God we speak in Christ. But all things, my beloved, for your edifying. (20) But I fear lest by any means, should I come, I may find you as I wish not; and I also, that ye find me as ye wish not; lest by any means there is strife or jealousy or anger or faction or slandering or whispering or tumult or pride; (21) lest again should I come to you my God may humiliate me, and I should mourn for many of them who sinned in time past, and they repented not for the uncleanness and the fornication and the defilement which they did.

13

(1) This is the third time (lit. three of time) I am coming to you. From the mouth of witnesses two or three all words shall stand. (2) I said from (the) beginning, and I am before in saying again, as being with you (the) second time; and now again not being with you, (the) third time, I say to them who sinned from (the) beginning and all the rest: That if I should come this other time I shall (lit. will) not spare any more; (3) because ye seek for (the) proof of him who speaketh in me, Christ; he (lit. this) who is not weak toward you, but is powerful in you: (4) for also he was crucified from [a] weakness, but he liveth in [a] power of God. For we also are weak with him, but we shall also live with him from [a] power of God toward you. (5) Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not that Christ Jesus is in you, except perhaps that ye (are) reprobates? (6) But I hope that ye will know that we (are) not reprobates. (7) But we pray God that ye may not do any evil, not that we (pron.) may be manifest as chosen, but that ye (pron.) may do the good, but that we (pron.) may be as reprobates. (8) For we shall (lit. will) not be able to fight (lit. give) against (the) truth (Amu), but for the truth. (9) For we (pron.) rejoice should we be weak, but ye be powerful. This very thing also we do, praying for your perfection. (10) Therefore I write these things to you not being with you, that being with you, I may not act severely, according to the authority which the Lord gave to me for [an] edification, and not for [an] overthrowing. (11) Finally, my brethren, rejoice; be perfected; take courage; be (of) one thought; be (at) peace. God of [the] love and [the] peace shall be with you. (12) Salute one another in a holy kiss. All the saints salute you. (13) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the holy spirit with you all.

Epistle to the Galatians

1 2 3 4 5 6

1

(1) Paul (the) apostle, not from man, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, he (lit. this) who raised him from them who are dead, (2) and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of (the) Galatia: (3) (The) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, (4) he (lit. this) who gave himself for our sins, to the end that he might save us out of this age which is evil, which exists, according to the will of God and the Father: (5) whose is the glory unto age of the ages. Amēn. (6) I wonder that thus quickly they remove you from him who called you in (the) grace of Christ unto another Gospel; (7) which is not another; except perhaps that there are some troubling you, wishing to pervert the Gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from (the) heaven, preach good tidings to you outside of that which we preached to you, let him be an anathema. (9) As we said before, and now again I say, that he who will preach good tidings to you outside of that which ye received, let him be an anathema. (10) For now did I persuade [the] men or God? Or did I seek for pleasing man? If I was pleasing man still, then I (am) no longer a servant of Christ. (11) But I show to you, my brethren, the Gospel, which was preached by me, that it is not one according to man. (12) For neither did I (pron.) receive it from man, nor was it taught to me, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (13) For ye heard of my walk (of life) once in the Judaism, that abundantly I was persecuting the church of God, and I was devastating it: (14) I was advancing in the Judaism more than many of my age in my race, being more (a) zealot in the things which my fathers delivered unto me. (15) But when God was well pleased, he who separated me from (the) womb of my mother, and he called me by his grace, (16) to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach good tidings of him among the Gentiles; immediately I applied not to flesh and blood, (17) nor went I up to Jerusalem unto the apostles, who were before me. But I went to (the) Arabia. Again I returned to Damascos. (18) Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Kēpha, and I stayed with him fifteen days. (19) But another of the apostles I saw not, except James (the) brother of the Lord. (20) But the things which I write to you, behold, before God, that I say not falsehood. (21) But after these things I came to the parts of [the] Syria and [the] Kylikia. (22) But the churches of [the] Judea, which were in Christ, were not knowing me in my face: (23) but only they were wont to hear, that he who was persecuting us once, now preacheth good tidings of the faith which he was devastating once; (24) and they were glorifying God in me.

2

(1) Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas; but I took Titus also with me. (2) But I went up according to a revelation, and I laid before them the Gospel, which I proclaim among the Gentiles; but apart to them who were thought (much of), lest by any means I ran vainly, or was running. (3) But neither Titos even who was with me, being a Greek, could be compelled to be circumcised. (4) But because of the false brethren who came in to spy out our freedom, this which we have in Christ, that they might make us servants: (5) these in whose subjection we stayed not for an hour; that the truth of the Gospel might be permanent with you. (6) But from them who think that they (lit. we) are (something); as to the manner of which they once were, it makes not any difference to me: God accepteth not person of man. For they, who think that they (lit. we) are something, added not anything to me: (7) but on the contrary, having see that I was entrusted with the Gospel of the uncircumcision, according as Peter was entrusted with that of the circumcision. (8) For he who worked in Peter unto an apostleship of (the) circumcision worked in me also unto the Gentiles. (9) And having known the grace which is given to me, James and Kēphas and John, who are thought to be pillars, Gave the right hand to me and Barnabas unto [a] fellowship, that we indeed might (be) unto the Gentiles, but they unto the circumcision (10) only that we should take care of the poor; and this I hastened to do. (11) But Kēphas having come into (the) Antiochia, I opposed him, face to face, because he has been condemned. (12) For before that any came from James he was wont to eat with the Gentiles: but they having come he withdrew by himself and he separated himself, fearing them of (the) circumcision. (13) And the rest of the Jews were hypocritical with him; so that Barnabas also went (away) in their hypocrisy. (14) But having seen that they stood not in the truth of the Gospel, I said to Kēphas before all: ‘If thou thyself a Jew livest as a Gentile and not as a Jew how compellest thou the Gentiles to Judaise? (15) But we are by nature Jews, and not of the Gentiles, sinners. (16) We are knowing that the man will not be justified from the works of the law, except from (the) faith of Jesus Christ; and we also believed Christ Jesus, that we might be justified from (the) faith Christ, not from the works of the law: because from the works of the law will no flesh be justified. (17) But if, seeking for being justified in Christ, we also were found to be (lit. being) sinners, then Christ is a minister of (the) sin. It shall not be. (18) For if the things which I pulled down, these again I build, I prove myself (a) transgressor. (19) For I (pron.) through [a] law died to the law, that I might live with God. I was crucified with Christ; (20) I live, no longer I, but Christ liveth in me: but that in which I live now in (the) flesh, I lived in the faith of (the) Son of God, he (lit. this) who loved me, and gave himself for me. (21) I shall (lit. will) not reject the grace of God.

3

(1) O [the] foolish Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was fore-written, having been crucified? (2) This only (is it) which I wish to know from you. Received ye the spirit from the works of the law or from (the) hearing of (the) faith? (3) Thus ye are foolish. Having begun in the spirit, [but] now ye complete in (the) flesh. (4) Ye suffer many toils in vain, if indeed in vain. (5) He then who supplieth the spirit to you, and who worketh powers among you, is it something from the works of the law, or from (the) hearing of the faith? (6) According as Abraham believed God, it was reckoned to him for [a] righteousness. (7) Ye know, then, that they (who are) from (the) faith, these (are) the sons of Abraam. (8) But the Scripture having foreseen that from (the) faith God will justify the Gentiles, preached good tidings before to Abraam: All the Gentiles shall be blessed in thee.' (9) Wherefore they (who are) from (the) faith will be blessed with the faithful Abraam. (10) For all who are from the works of the law, are under (the) curse: for it is written: 'Cursed is every one who will not stay in all the things which are written on (the) book of this law unto (the) doing them.' (11) Because in the works of the law no one will be justified with God. It is manifested, that the righteous is to live from (the) faith. (12) But the law is not from the faith; but he who will do them, shall live in them. (13) Christ bought us from (the) curse of the law, having become a curse for us: for it is written: Cursed is every one who hangeth on (the) tree:' (14) that (the) blessing of Abraam might be among the Gentiles in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the spirit through (the) faith. (15) My brethren, I spoke according to man: though (it is) a covenant of a man, should it he confirmed, no one rejecteth it, nor add they fresh ordinance. (16) But promises were promised to Abraam and his seed. He was not saying: And his seeds,' as about many; but as about one: 'And thy seed,' which is Christ. (17) But this I say, that a covenant having been confirmed before by God, (the) law which happened after four hundred (and) thirty years dissolveth it not, to cause it to do away with the promise. (18) For if the inheritance is from (the) law, then it is no more from a promise: but God granted to Abraam through a promise. (19) What then is (the) law? It was given because of the transgressions, until the seed should come, to whom he promised; having been ordained through angels, in (the) hand of a mediator: (20) but the mediator is not of one, but God is one. (21) (The) law then was against the promises of God. It shall not be: for if law had been given, it being possible for it to give life, certainly [the] righteousness would have been from the law. (22) But (the) Scripture shut (up) everything in (the) sin, that the promise through (the) faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them who believe. (23) Before the faith came we were being kept under the law, being shut (up) unto the faith which cometh to be revealed. (24) Wherefore the law guided us to Christ, that we might be justified from (the) faith. (25) But the faith having come, we are no more under a guide. (26) For ye all are sons of God, through (the) faith, in Christ Jesus. (27) For ye all, namely they who were baptised in Christ, clothe you with Christ. (28) There is not Jew nor Greek, there is not servant nor free, there is not male nor female: for ye all are one in Christ. (29) If ye (are) they of Christ, then ye (are) they of (the) seed of Abraam, according to the promise ye (are) heirs.

4

(1) I say that as long as the heir is a little child there is not any difference between him and a servant, though he be (lit. being) lord of all things. (2) But he was under guardians and stewards unto the term of his father. (3) Thus we also, when we were children, were being under the elements of the world, being servants to them: (4) but when (the) fulness of the time came, God sent his Son, having become under a woman, having become under the law, (5) that he might buy them who are under the law, that we might receive the sonship. (6) But because ye (are) sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out: ‘Abba, (the) Father.' (7) Wherefore thou (art) no more a servant, but a son; but if a son, then an heir also through God. (8) But at that time indeed not knowing God, ye were servants to them by nature who are not gods: (9) but now ye knew God, but rather God knew you; how return ye again into the feeble and poor elements to which ye wish to be servants another time? (10) Having observed days and months and times and years; (11) I am afraid of you, lest by any means I toiled for you in vain. (12) Become as I (am), because I also (am) as ye (are). My brethren, I beseech you, ye did me not any wrong: (13) but ye know that because of a weakness of the flesh I preached good tidings to you at first: (14) and your temptation which is in my flesh ye despised not, nor reviled it; but ye received him as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. (15) Where was then your felicitation? For I witness to you, that if it had been possible for you to pluck out your eyes, ye would have given them to me. (16) Wherefore I became enemy to you; because I show to you (the) truth. (17) They are zealous unto you, not well; but wishing to shut you (out), that ye may be zealous unto them. (18) But it is good to be zealous in the good always, and not only (when) I am with you. (19) My children, they (lit. these) for whom I travail again, until Christ be formed in you, (20) but I was wishing to come to you now, and to change my voice; because I am doubtful about you. (21) Say then to me, ye who wish to be under the law--ye know not the law. (22) For it is written that Abraam begat two sons, one from the maidservant, and one from the free-(woman). (23) But he indeed who was (lit. the) from the maidservant was born according to flesh; but he who was (lit. the) from the free(woman) is one from a promise, (24) which things contain an allegory; these are two covenants, one indeed from (the) mountain Sina bearing (children) unto [a] servitude, that is to say, Agar. (25) But Agar is (the) mountain Sina, being in (the) Arabia; but it was ranked along with present Jerusalem; for she is servant with her children. (26) But Jerusalem which is above is a freewoman, that is to say, our mother. (27) For it is written: 'Delight thyself, [the] barren woman, she who beareth not. Break forth and cry out, she who travaileth not; because many are the children of the desolate (woman), rather than (of) her who hath the husband.' (28) But we, our brethren, according to Isaac, are children of the promise. (29) But as at that time he who was born according to flesh was persecuting him who was born according to the spirit, thus also now. (30) But what is it which the Scripture saith? Cast out this maidservant and her son: for (the) son of the maidservant shall not inherit with (the) son of the free(woman). (31) But we, our brethren, are not (the) children of the maidservant, but the free(woman).

5

(1) For in [the] freedom Christ made us free. Stand then, and put (lit, give) not yourselves under a yoke of servitude. (2) Behold, I Paul, I say to you, that if you should receive circumcision, Christ will not profit you anything. (3) But I witness again to every man who receiveth circumcision, that he is debtor to do (the) whole law. (4) Ye were done away with from Christ; they who justify themselves in the law--ye fell from the grace. (5) For we (pron.) in the spirit, from [a] faith look out forward for [a] hope of [a] righteousness. (6) For in Christ Jesus neither (the) circumcision hath power, nor the uncircumcision, but [a] faith being worked through [the] love. (7) But ye were running well; who prevented you (so as) not to be persuaded of (the) truth? (8) This persuasion is not [a] from him who calleth you. (9) A little leaven causeth the whole lump to be leavened. (10) For I am persuaded about you in the Lord, that ye will not think another thing: but he who troubleth you is bearing the judgement, he who he is. (11) But I, my brethren, if it is still [a] circumcision which I proclaim, then why am I persecuted? So then the stumblingblock of the cross of Christ was done away with. (12) I would that they were mutilated who trouble you. (13) For ye (pron.), my brethren, were called unto [a] freedom; only bring not the freedom into a pretext of the flesh. But through [the] love be servants to one another. (14) For the whole law was fulfilled in one word, in (the) loving thy neighbour as thyself. (15) But if ye bite one another and devour (lit. eat), see lest by any means ye should be consumed by one another. (16) But I say: Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of your flesh.' (17) For the flesh lusteth against the spirit; but the spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to one another; that the things which ye wish, these ye may not do. (18) But if ye walk in the spirit, then ye are under (the) law no more. (19) But the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; [the] fornication, uncleanness, defilement, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strifes, jealousies, wraths, revellings, divisions, heresies, (21) envyings, murders, drunkennesses, quarrellings, and the things which are like to these, these of which I say to you before, according as also I said before, that they who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But (the) fruit of the spirit, this is [a]a love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, (23) meekness, temperance; law is not against such things. (24) But those of Christ Jesus crucified their flesh with its passions and its lusts. (25) But if we live in the spirit, then let us also agree with the spirit. (26) Let us not be in a love of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

6

(1) My brethren, if a man should go in transgression, ye, namely the spiritual ones, correct such a one in a spirit of meekness; considering thyself also, lest by any means thou should be tempted. (2) Bear the burdens of one another: thus ye will fulfil the law of Christ. (3) But if any one thinketh that he (lit. I) is (something), being nothing, he deceived himself. (4) Let each one prove his work, and then his boast shall be to himself, and not to his neighbour. (5) For each one shall carry his own burden. (6) Let him who is instructed share with him who instructeth him with the word in every good (thing). (7) Be not led astray; God will not be derided. For that which [the] man will sow, this also he will reap. (8) Because he who will sow unto his flesh will reap also of his flesh [a] destruction; but he who sowed the spirit will reap also from the spirit [a] life eternal. (9) But doing the good let us not faint; for in a time of our own we shall (lit. will) reap, not losing heart. (10) So then while we have [a] time, let us work the good with all, but mostly with them of the household of (the) faith. (11) See that I wrote to you in writings of size with (lit. in) my hand. (12) They who wish to make a fair show in (the) flesh, these (are they) who compel you to receive circumcision, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. (13) For not even themselves also, who were circumcised, keep the law; but they wished for you to receive circumcision, that they may boast themselves in your flesh. (14) But it shall not be to me (pron.) that I should boast myself, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, he (lit. this) through whom the world was crucified to me, and I also was crucified to the world. (15) For in Christ Jesus neither (the) circumcision is anything, nor [the] uncircumcision, but it is a new creature. (16) All who agree with this canon, (the) peace upon them, and the mercy, and upon the Israel of God. (17) Henceforth let not any one molest me, for I (pron.) bear the brands of Christ in my body. (18) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with your spirit, my brethren. Amen.

Epistle to the Ephesians

1 2 3 4 5 6

1

(1) Paul, (the) apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, to all the saints who are in Ephesos, and faithful who (are) in Christ Jesus. (2) (The) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (3) Blessed is God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us in all spiritual blessing in the (places) of the heavens in Christ. (4) According as he chose us in him before (the) foundation of the world, that we might be holy, being stainless before him in [a] love: (5) he having foreordained us unto [a] son-ship through Jesus Christ into him, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) unto a praise of (the) glory of his grace, this which he granted to us in his beloved, (7) he through whose blood we received the redemption, the forgiveness of our transgressions. According to the riches of his kindness, (8) this which abounded into us, in all wisdom and all understanding, (9) he having shewn to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, this which he pre-established in him, (10) unto a dispensation of (the) fulness of the times, To complete all things in Christ, those which are in the heavens, and those which are upon the earth; in him, (11) he (lit. this) in whom we were made an heritage, having ordained us from (the) first. According to the pre-establishment of him who worketh in every work according to the counsel of his will; (12) that we should be unto a praise of his glory, namely they who were beforehand in hoping in Christ: (13) he (lit. this) in whom ye also,--ye heard (the) word of the truth, the Gospel of our salvation,--he (lit. this) in whom having believed ye were sealed in the holy spirit of the promise, (14) which is (the) earnest of the inheritance unto a redemption of the life-giving a, unto a praise of his glory. (15) Therefore I also having heard of the faith, which is among you, in our Lord Jesus, and (among) all the saints, (16) I cease not giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, (17) that God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of (the) glory, might give to you a spirit of wisdom and a revelation in his knowledge; (18) to cause the eyes of your heart to enlighten, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of (the) glory of his inheritance in the saints, (19) and what is the abundance of the greatness of his power into us, namely those who believe. According to the working of (the) strength of his power (20) which (sc. the power) he worked in Christ, having raised him from them who are dead; and he made him sit at his right hand, in the (places) of the heavens, (21) above all rule, and all authority, and all power, and all (the) dominion, and all names which are named, not only in this age, but (a.) also in that which cometh: (22) and he caused all things to be subject below his feet, and he gave him as head of the church (more) than them all, (23) which is his body, the fulness of him to whom all things belong, being filled with all things.

2

(1) And ye also being dead in your transgressions and your sins, (2) in which ye were walking once according to (the) age of this world, according to (the) ruler of (the) authority of the air, of the spirit, this which worketh now in the sons of the disobedience; (3) among whom we all were walking once in the lusts of (the) flesh, doing the wishes of the flesh and the thoughts of heart, and we were being by nature children of (the) anger, as (the) rest also. (4) But God is rich in (the) mercy, because of his great love, this in which he loved us: (5) and (to us) being dead in our transgressions he gave life in Christ: in [a] grace, them, ye were saved: (6) and he raised us with him, and made us sit with him in the (places) of the heavens, in Christ Jesus; (7) that he might manifest in the ages which come the abounding riches of his grace in [a] kindness about us in Christ Jesus. (8) For in [a] grace ye were saved through [a] faith; and this is not anything from yourselves; the gift is of God: (9) not from works, that no one may boast himself. (10) For we are (being) a making of his, he having created us in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before prepared, that we might walk in them. (11) Therefore remember that ye, namely the Gentiles once in (the) flesh, who are called the uncircumcision' by that which is called (the) circumcision' in (the) flesh made by hand; (12) that ye were being at that time outside of Christ, being strange to the commonwealth of Israel, and strange to the covenants of the promise, not having hope, and being without God in the world. (13) But now in Christ Jesus, ye, namely they who were far off once, drew near in (the) blood of Christ. (14) For he is your peace, he who made the two one, and he pulled down the middle part of the barrier, having pulled down the enmity in his flesh, (15) he did away with (the) law of the commandments in the decrees, that he might create (of) the two in himself one new man, making [a] peace; (16) and might reconcile the two in one body to God through the cross, having killed the enmity in it. (17) And he came, he preached good tidings to you of [a] peace, namely those who were far off, and [a] peace to those who were near: (18) because through him we, namely the two together, have the access in one spirit to the Father. (19) So then ye (are) no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens of the saints, and they of the household of God, (20) built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus being head corner stone unto it; (21) he (lit. this) in whom the whole building constructed will grow unto a holy temple in the Lord; (22) he (lit. this) in whom ye also are sharing in being built unto a dwelling-place of God in the spirit.

3

(1) Therefore I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you, namely the Gentiles, (2) if ye heard the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me unto you: (3) that according to a revelation the mystery was shown to me, according as I wrote before to you in few (words), (4) according to that which it is possible for you, wishing' to know my understanding in the mystery of Christ; (5) this which was not manifested to generations of (the) sons of [the] men, As now it was revealed to his holy apostles and his prophets in the spirit; (6) to cause the Gentiles to be fellow heirs and fellow (members of the) body, sharing the promise, which is in Christ Jesus through the Gospel, (7) this of (lit. to) which I became minister, according to the free gift of the grace of God which is given to me according to the working of his power. (8) I am he who is less than all the saints: this grace was given to me to preach good tidings to the Gentiles of the riches of Christ, of which there is no end; (9) and to give (the) light to all men, as to what is the dispensation of the mystery, this which was hid since the ages in God, be (lit. this) who created all things. (10) That he might manifest now to the ruler and the authorities in the (places) of the heavens through the church, the wisdom, of God which is of various kinds, (11) according to the ordinance from before the ages, this which he made in Christ Jesus our Lord, (12) he (lit. this) in whom we received the boldness and the access in [a] confidence through his faith. (13) Therefore I ask, not to faint in the tribulations for you, which is your glory. (14) Therefore I bend my knees to the Father, (15) from whom are named all the families in the heavens and upon the earth, (16) that he may give to you according to (the) riches of his glory to be strengthened in [a] power through his spirit. (17) To cause Christ to dwell in the inner man through the faith in your hearts; that ye, being rooted in [a] love, being firmly founded, (18) may be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, (19) to know the love, which exceedeth (the) knowledge of Christ, that ye may be completed in all the completion of God, (20) for whom it is possible to do more than all things abundantly (more) than the things which we ask, or the things which we understand, according to the power which worketh in us, (21) His is the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations of (the) age of the ages. Amēn.

4

(1) I beseech you then, I the prisoner in the Lord, to walk according to (the) worthiness of the calling to which ye were called, (2) in all humbleness of heart and [a] meekness and [a] longsuffering, Bearing with one another in [a] love; (3) hastening to keep the oneness of the spirit and the bond which is complete, of [the] peace. (4) One body and one spirit, according as ye were called in one hope of your calling: (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism. (6) One is God the Father of all, who is upon all, and through all, and in all: (7) but to each one of us was given a grace according to (the) measure of the free gift of Christ. (8) Therefore he saith: He went to (the) height, he took captive a captivity, he gave gifts to [the] men.' (9) But the going up, what is it except that he went also to the parts which are below of (the) earth? (10) He who went down is he also who went up above all the heavens, that he might complete all things (11) And he (pron.) gave indeed apostles, but some as prophets, but others as preachers of good tidings, but others as shepherds and teachers; (12) for perfecting of the saints, unto a work of the ministry, unto a building of (the) body of Christ. (13) Until we all attain unto the oneness of the faith and (the) knowledge of (the) Son of God, unto a full grown man, unto a measure of the stature of (the) fulness of Christ: (14) that we may not be little children, thrown by (the) wave, being carried away in every wind of the doctrine, in the sleight of the men, in [a] craftiness towards the wiles of [the] error. (15) But doing (the) truth in [a] love, let us grow in (it) all things into him, who himself is the head, Christ; (16) he (lit. this) to whom the whole body is united and it is rationally consistent through all the joints of the supplies, according to the working in a measure of each one of the members; (and) maketh the growth of the body unto a building for him in [a] love. (17) But this I say, and I witness in the Lord, for you not to walk any more as the Gentiles walk in [a] vanity of their heart, (18) darkened in their thought, being strange to the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; (19) these who were without feeling gave themselves up to [a] defilement unto a work of all uncleanness in [a] wrongdoing. (20) But ye (are) they who have not been thus taught Christ; (21) if ye heard him, and were taught in him, according as [a] truth which is in Jesus: (22) that ye also may put away (lit. down) your former walk (of life), the old man, which will perish according to the lusts of the deceit; (23) but that ye may become new in the spirit of your heart, (24) and clothe you with the new man, which was created according to God in [a] righteousness and [a] holiness of (the) truth. (25) Therefore put away (lit. down) [the] falsehood, speak (the) truth each one with his neighbour: because we (are) members of one another. (26) Be angry, and sin not: (27) cause not (the) sun to set upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. (28) He who stealeth let him not steal any more; but rather let him toil, working with his hands the good, that he may find to give to him who is in want. (29) All evil words, cause them not to come from your mouth, but the good unto [an] edification of the need, that it may give [a] grace to them who hear. (30) And grieve not the holy spirit of God in which ye were sealed unto the day of the redemption. (31) All bitterness, and all wrath, and all anger, and all crying out, and all blasphemy, take away from you, and all malice. (32) Be ye kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another according as God forgave you in Christ.

5

(1) Be ye then like to God, as beloved children; (2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (3) But [the] fornication, and all uncleanness, or [a] wrongdoing, cause not them to say their (lit. her) name among you, according as it is worthy of the saints; (4) [the] empty words, and [the] words of folly or [the] jesting, these which it is not worthy to do: but rather [a] thanksgiving. (5) For this ye are knowing and ye are recognising, that no fornicator nor unclean man nor wrongdoer, which is [the] idolatry, hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (6) Cause not any one to deceive you in empty words, for because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the sons of [the] disobedience. (7) Be not ye then sharers with them; (8) for ye were being darkness once, but now a light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light; (9) for (the) fruit of the light was in all good and [a] righteousness and [a] truth – Chapter (10) proving what is pleasing to the Lord; (11) and be not sharers with the unfruitful works of (the) darkness, but rather even reprove (them); (12) for the things which they do secretly it is a shame even to mention them. (13) All things which the light reproveth are manifested: for everything which is manifested is [a] light. (14) Therefore he saith: Rise thou who sleepest, and stand (up) from them who are dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee.' (15) See then carefully my brethren, in what manner ye are walking, not as unwise, but as wise; (16) buying the time, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore be not ye foolish, but understand what is (the) wish of God. (18) And be not drunk with (lit. in) (the) wine, in which there is [a] dissoluteness, but ye completed in the spirit; (19) speaking among yourselves, psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, praising and playing to the Lord in your hearts; (20) giving thanks always for all, in (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ and God (the) Father; (21) being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. (22) Let the wives be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord. (23) Because the man is (the) head of the wife, as Christ is (the) head of the church, he is (the) saviour of the body. (24) But as the church is subject to Christ, thus also let the wives be subject to their husbands in everything. (25) [The] men love your wives, according as Christ loved the church, and he gave himself for her; (26) that he might sanctify her, having sanctified her in (the) baptism of the water in (the) word, (27) that he might present to himself the church being in [a] glory, not spot in her or stain or any such thing; but that she might be holy and stainless. (28) Thus the men also ought to love their wives as their bodies. For he who loveth his wife loved himself. (29) For no one ever hated his flesh; but nourisheth it and cherisheth it, according as Christ also did the church; (30) because we (are) members of his body. (31) Therefore the man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall join himself to his wife; they (the) two shall become one flesh. (32) This mystery is great: but I (pron.) say (it) of Christ and the church. (33) Nevertheless ye also severally each of you, let him love his wife as himself; but the wife also, that she may reverence (lit. fear) her husband.

6

(1) [The] children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is a righteous work. (2) Honour thy father and thy mother; that is to say, the first commandment which is in the promise, (3) that the good may be to thee, and that thou mayest spend a great time upon the earth. (4) [The] fathers anger not your children: but nourish them in an instruction and an understanding of the Lord. (5) [The] servants obey your masters according to flesh in [a] fear and [a] trembling, in [a] singleness of your heart, as obeying the Lord, (6) not in [an] eyeservice as pleasers of [the] men; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your souls; (7) with a good thought, as being servants to the Lord, and not man: (8) Knowing that each one--that which he will do good, this he will receive from the Lord, whether servant or free. (9) And ye also, namely the masters, do to them thus, putting away [the] anger: knowing that their and your Master is in the heavens, and there is not regard of person with him. (10) Finally, my brethren, take courage in the Lord, and in (the) strength of his power. (11) And clothe you with the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) Because our fight was not being to us against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual things of the evil in the (places) of the heavens. (13) Therefore take to you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, having done all things, (to) stand. (14) Stand, then, girding your loins in [a] truth, and clothe you with the breastplate of the righteousness; (15) put (lit. give) the shoe to your feet in (the) preparation of the Gospel of the peace. (16) And in all things take to you the shield of the faith, this in which ye will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil. (17) And take to you the helmet of the salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God: (18) through all supplication and prayer, praying always in the spirit, and watching unto this in all perseverance and all prayer for all the saints, (19) and for me also, That a word may be given to me in (the) opening my mouth in [a] boldness, to manifest the mystery of the Gospel, (20) this for which I am an ambassador in a chain; that I may speak boldly in it, according as it is right for me that I should speak. (21) But that ye also may know concerning me, what I do; Tikhikos, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall show to you all things: (22) he (lit. this) whom I sent to you for this thing, That ye may know the things which happen to me, and that he may comfort your hearts. (23) [The] peace to the brethren, and [a] love with [a] faith, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) (The) grace with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in [an] uncorruptness.

Epistle to the Philippians

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1

(1) Paul and Timotheos, the servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints who are in Christ Jesus who are in Philippois, with the bishops and the deacons: (2) (the) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (3) I give thanks to my God for all your remembrance (4) which I make always in all my prayers for you all in [a] joy making the prayer (5) for your fellowship which was with the Gospel from the first day up to now; (6) being persuaded about this, that he who began in you will complete a good work unto the day of Jesus Christ. (7) According as it is a righteous work for me to think this about you all, because that ye are in my heart; and in my bonds, and in my defence and (the) confirMatthewion of the Gospel ye all are sharing the grace with me. (8) For God is my witness, how I love you all in the tender mercies of Jesus Christ. (9) And this is that concerning which I pray, that your love yet more and more may abound in (the) knowledge and all discernment; (10) to cause you to prove the things which are profitable; that ye might be sincere and offenceless unto (the) day of Christ; (11) and being full of fruit of [the] righteousness which is (lit. the) through Jesus Christ, unto [a] glory and [an] honour of God. (12) But I wish to cause you to know, my brethren, that the things which happened to me came more unto an advance of the Gospel; (13) so that my bonds became manifested in all the Pretorion and all the rest; (14) and most (lit. (the) more) of the brethren who are in the Lord trust to my bonds, and dare much more to speak the word of God fearlessly. (15) And some indeed because of [an] envy and [a] strife; but some also because of [a] good-will proclaim Christ: (16) these indeed in [a] love, knowing that I am set for a defence of the Gospel: (17) but the others (lit. these) in [a] strife proclaim Christ not sincerely, thinking to raise [a] tribulation for my bonds. (18) What then? Nevertheless in every form, whether in [a] pretence or in [a] truth, Christ is proclaimed; in this I rejoice, but also I shall rejoice still. (19) For I know that this will happen to me unto [a] salvation, through your prayer and (the) supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my looking and my hope, that I shall (lit. will) not be ashamed in anything, but in all boldness, as always, now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through (the) life or through (the) death. (21) For to me (lit. I) Christ is my life, and (the) death is [a] gain to me. (22) If the life in (the) flesh, this is a fruit of work to me: and what I shall (lit. will) choose I know not. (23) The two (things) lay hold on me, having (the) desire to be dissolved, that I may be with Christ; for much (lit. more) rather is that (lit. it is) chosen: (24) but the abiding in (the) flesh is more necessary because of you. (25) And (of) this being persuaded, I know that I shall (lit. will) stay, and I shall (lit. will) abide with (lit. to) you all, unto your advance and (the) joy of the faith; (26) that your boast may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my coming to you again. (27) Only behave as citizens worthily of the Gospel of Christ: that, should I come and see you, or being not with you, I may hear concerning you, that ye stand in one spirit, one soul, sharing toil in the faith of the Gospel; (28) and not frightened in anything by them who are against you; these whose manifestation is [a] destruction to them, but to you is [a] salvation, and this is from God; (29) because it was granted to you for Christ not only to believe him, but to suffer also for him: (30) Having the same conflict as ye saw in me, and now also ye hear in me.

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(1) (As to) being of good courage in (lit. conquest of heart of) Christ, (as to) that which is [a] confidence of [a] love, that which is a fellowship of [a] spirit, that which is [an] affection and [a] compassion, (2) fill up my joy, that ye may have one thought, it being the same love which ye have, sharing in soul, being of one heart. (3) Not doing anything in [a] strife, nor in [a] love of vain glory, but in the humbleness of heart esteeming one another as surpassing yourselves; (4) each one of you not observing your own things only, but also the things of one another. Let each one of you (5) think this in yourselves, which is that which is in Christ Jesus, (6) who, existing in [a] form of God, not a robbing thought it to be [an] equal with God; (7) but he emptied himself; he took [a] form of servant, having been made in [a] likeness of man; having been found in [a] fashion as a man, (8) he humiliated himself, having become obedient up to (the) death, but a death of a cross.. (9) Therefore God abundantly exalted him, and granted to him the name which is exalted above every name; (10) that in (the) name of Jesus every knee should bend--the things of (the) heaven and the things of (the) earth and the things of those which are below (the) earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that the Lord (is) Jesus Christ, -unto [a] glory of God the Father. (12) Wherefore, my beloved, according as ye were obedient always, not in my coming to you only, but now much rather, being not with you, in [a] fear and [a] trembling work your salvation; (13) for God is he who worketh in you unto wishing and the working, for the good pleasure. (14) Work all things without murmuring and reasoning; (15) that ye may be blameless and harmless children of God, Holy in (the) midst of a generation bent and perverse, among whom ye are manifested as luminaries in the world, (16) laying hold on the word of (the) life, unto a boast for me at (the) day of Christ; that I was not running emptily, nor toiled I unto that which is empty. (17) But if I shall (lit. will) even be poured out as a libation upon the sacrifice and the ministering of your faith, I rejoice and I share in rejoicing with you all: (18) but in this rejoice ye also and share in rejoicing with me. (19) But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send to you Timotheos quickly, that I also may be at rest in my heart should I know concerning your state. (20) For there is not any (other) of mine agreeable to my soul who will take care for you (lit. take your care) sincerely. (21) For they all seek for their own things, and not the things of Christ Jesus. (22) But ye know his proof that as a child to a father he was servant with me unto the Gospel. (23) Him (lit. this) indeed then I hope to send, if I should know immediately concerning my affairs: (24) but I am persuaded in the Lord that I (pron.) shall (lit, will) come to you quickly. (25) But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditos, the brother and the fellow-worker and my fellow-soldier, but being apostle to you and minister of my need; (26) since he was loving to see you all, and he was grieving, because that ye heard that he was sick: (27) for indeed he was sick until he was near unto (the) death. And God had mercy on him; but not only on him, but on me also, that I might not take grief upon grief again. (28) More hastily, then, I sent him, that, should ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I also may be without grief. (29) Receive him, then, in the Lord in all joy; and let such be honoured by you: (30) because concerning the work of the Lord he was near up to (the) death, having risked his life, that he might fill up your deficiency of the service, which befell me.

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(1) Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write these things again to you, is not 'indeed irksome for me, to you it is confirming. (2) Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the a concision: (3) for we are the circumcision, namely they who minister the spirit of God, and boasting ourselves in Christ Jesus; and we were not trusting in (the) flesh. (4) Although I (pron.) have a confidence in (the) flesh also: if another thinketh to trust in (the) flesh, I the more am (trusting): (5) [a] circumcision on (the) eighth day, from (the) race of Israel, (the) tribe of Benjamin, a: Hebrew from Hebrews; according to the law I (am) a Pharisee, (6) according to [a] zeal I persecuted the church, according to the righteousness which is in the law I was blameless. (7) But the things which were being to me gains, these I reckoned to me a loss because of Christ. (8) But moreover I reckon them all losses because of the excellence of (the) knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, This (one) for whom I lost all things, and I reckon them all rubbish, that I might gain Christ, (9) and be found in him, not having my righteousness, that (lit. the) from the law, but that from (the) faith of Christ, But the righteousness [the] from God upon (the) faith: (10) to cause me to know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his pains, changing myself into form with his death; (11) that perhaps I may attain unto (the) resurrection of the dead. (12) Not that I have obtained, or I was already completed: but I run, that perhaps I may apprehend in that (lit. this) in which I was apprehended by Jesus Christ. (13) My brethren, I (pron.) think not of myself that I have apprehended: but one (thing),--I am forgetting indeed the things behind, but I am stretching myself unto the things before (14) with an expectation I am running for the palm of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus. (15) Let every one who is completed think this of himself: and if ye think another thing in another way, this also will God reveal to you: (16) nevertheless that unto which we reached, with this let us be consistent. (17) Be ye sharers of likeness to me, my brethren, and look at them who walk thus, according as we are an example to you. (18) For there are many (who) walked, these concerning whom I said to you many times, and now again weeping I say--the enemies of the cross of Christ: (19) these whose end is (the) destruction, these whose god is their belly; and their glory was in a shame: these who think the things of (the) earth. (20) For our (pron.) citizenship was in the heavens; and from there we look forward to our saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ: (21) who will change (the) body of our humiliation in conformity with (the) body of his glory, according to the working to have power and to make all things subject to him.

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(1) Wherefore, my brethren dear and beloved, my joy and my crown, thus stand in the Lord, my beloved. (2) Euodia I beseech and Syntychē to think the same thing in the Lord. (3) Yea, I beseech thee also, [the] chosen yokefellow, help them, these who toiled with me in the Gospel, with Klementos also, and (the) rest of my fellow-workers, these whose name is written on (the) book of (the) life. (4) Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, 'Rejoice.' (5) Let your moderation be manifest to every man. The Lord is near. (6) Take not care; but in everything the supplication and the prayer in [a] thanksgiving,--let your requests be manifested unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which is higher than all intelligence, shall keep your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. (8) Finally, my brethren, the things which are true, the things which are reverend, the things which are just, the things which are pure; all things in [a] love, all things of good tidings; that which is [a] virtue, and that which is [an] honour, think on these, (9) which are those (lit. these) which ye learned and ye received and ye heard and ye saw in me--these things do: and God of [the] peace shall be with you. (10) But I rejoiced greatly in the Lord' that now ye put forth at length a thought concerning me; in that which ye thought, but the time was not being favourable to you. (11) Not that I said (it) with reference to a being in want: for I (pron.) knew, in the things in which I am, to be content. (12) I know how to be humiliated, I know how to abound in everything; I am taught also in them all both to be satisfied and to hunger, both to abound and to be in want. (13) I have power in everything by (lit. in) him who encourageth me. (14) Nevertheless ye did well, having shared in my tribulation. (15) But ye know also [the] Philippians, that in (the) beginning of the Gospel, I having come from (the) Makedonia, none among the churches shared with me in a receiving and a giving except you only; (16) Because in Thessalonikē also once and twice ye sent to me for my need. (17) Not that I sought for the gift; but I sought for the fruit which aboundeth unto your work. (18) But I received all things, and I abounded: I was filled, having received from Epaphroditos the things which are yours, as an odour of fragrance, as a sacrifice acceptable, pleasing to God. (19) But my God shall fill up to you every need according to his riches in [a] glory in Christ Jesus. (20) But God and our Father, his be the glory unto age of the ages. Amēn. (21) Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. (22) All the brethren who are with me salute you. All the saints salute you, especially they (lit. the) from (the) house of (the) king. (23) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with your spirit, my brethren. Amēn.

Epistle to the Colossians

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(1) Paul, (the) apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timotheos the brother, (2) to the saints who are in Kolassais, and faithful brethren who are in Christ Jesus: (the) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (3) We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always for you praying, (4) having heard of your faith which is in the Lord Jesus, and the love which is in you unto all the saints, (5) because of the hope which is laid up before you in the heavens, which ye heard before in (the) word of the truth of the Gospel (6) This which is (won) in you; according as also it is in all the world, bearing fruit and growing, according as also in you, from the day which ye heard and ye knew the grace of God in [a] truth; (7) according as ye knew from Epaphra the beloved fellow servant of ours, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you. (8) He (lit. this) who showed to us your love in the spirit. (9) Therefore we also, from the day which we heard, cease not praying for you and requesting, that ye might be filled with (the) knowledge of his will in all wisdom, and all spiritual understanding, (10) walking worthily of the Lord in all pleasing of him in all good works, sending forth fruit, and growing in the knowledge of God; (11) being empowered with all power, according to (the) strength of his glory, in all patience and [a] longsuffering in [a] joy. (12) Giving thanks to the Father, he (lit. this) who made us worthy of coming into the portion of the lot of the saints in (the) light; (13) he who saved us from (the) authority of (the) darkness, and he removed us into the kingdom of (the) Son of his love; (14) he through whom we received the redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: (15) who is (the) image of God, the invisible, the firstborn of all creation. (16) Because in him all things were created, those which are in the heavens and those which are upon (the) earth, those which are seen and those which are not seen, whether the thrones, or the dominions, or the governments, or the authorities; all things became through him, and they were created unto him; (17) and he (it is) who is before all things, and all things stand in him. (18) And he is (the) head of the body of the church: who himself is the beginning as (Fi) firstborn from them who are dead; that he might be first in all things. (19) Because in him the whole fulness was pleased to dwell [in him]; (20) and through him to reconcile all things unto him, having made them at peace through the blood of his cross; through him (or it '), whether the things which are upon (the) earth or the things which are in the heavens. (21) And ye also once were being strangers (sing.) and enemies in your thoughts, in the evil works, (22) but now he reconciled you in (the) body of his flesh through his death, to present you holy and being without spot and blameless before him. (23) If ye abide in the faith, being firmly founded, and strong, and immovable from the hope of the Gospel; this which ye heard; this which was proclaimed in the whole creation which is below (the) heaven; this to which I Paul became minister. (24) But now I rejoice in the pains for you, and I complete the deficiencies of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church; (25) this to which I (pron.) became minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me unto you, to complete the word of God, (26) the mystery hidden since (the) age and the generations: but now it was manifested to the saints of his, (27) to whom God wished to show what is the riches of (the) glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of (the) glory: (28) he whom we (pron.) proclaim, instructing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present all men complete in Christ; (29) he in whom I toil, striving according to his working in me. in [a] power.

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(1) For I wish you to know how great a striving I have for you, and them who are in Laodikia, and all who saw not my face in (the) flesh, (2) that their hearts may take courage, being instructed through [a] reasoning, in [a] love and all riches of (the) fulness of their (lit. his) understanding, unto (the) knowledge of the mystery of God the Father of Christ, (3) he in whom (are) all the treasures of the wisdom and the hidden knowledge. (4) But this I say, that no one may deceive you in beautiful words. (5) For if I am not with you in (the) flesh, [but] I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the firmness of your faith which is in Christ. (6) As then ye received Christ Jesus, walk in him, (7) taking root, and building yourselves in him, and being confirmed in the faith, according as ye were instructed, abounding in it in [a] thanksgiving. (8) See, then, lest by any means there is he who robbeth you through a philosophy and a vain. deceit, according to the traditions of the men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ: (9) because in him dwelleth all the fulness of the divinity bodily, (10) and ye are filled with him, Who himself is (the) head of all government and all authority: (11) he in whom ye were circumcised in a circumcision not made with hand, in (the) stripping off of (the) body of the flesh, in (the) circumcision of Christ; (12) having been buried with him in the baptism, this in which ye rose with him also through the faith of the working ,of God, he who raised him from them who are dead. (13) And ye also being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him, having forgiven. us all our transgressions, (14) having blotted out the handwriting [this] which was being [given] against us in the decrees, that which was opposing us; and it (pron.) he took away from (the) midst, having nailed it into the cross. (15) Having stripped from himself the governments and the authorities, having defamed them openly, having made them a spectacle in it. (16) Let not any one then judge you in [an] eating and [a] drinking, or in respect (lit. a part) of a feast, or a first day (of month), or of sabbaths: (17) which is (the) shadow of the things which come. But the body of Christ (18) let not any one overcome you in it, wishing in a humbleness of heart and a service of the angels: he took his stands on the things which he saw, being proud without cause by (the) heart of his flesh, (19) and he layeth not hold on the head from whom is the whole body, being supplied through the joints and the bonds, and being generated it will grow in the growth of God. (20) If ye died with Christ from the elements of the world, why reckon ye yourselves as those a living in the world? (21) Take not, nor taste, nor approach (22) to all things which are for (the) destruction, so as not to use them: according to the orders and the teaching of [the] men; (23) which are things in which there is a show indeed of [a] wisdom in (the) wish of a service, and a humbleness of heart, and an unsparingness of (e) the body, not in [an] honour, in [a] satisfying of (the) flesh.

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(1) If then ye rose with Christ, seek for the things above the place in which Christ was, sitting on the right hand of God. (2) Think of the things above, not those which are upon (the) earth. (3) For ye died, and your life (is) hidden with Christ in God. (4) If Christ should be manifested, your life, then ye also are being manifested with him in [a] glory. (5) Kill your members which are upon the earth; [the] fornication, [the] uncleanness, [the] passion, [the] evil desire, and the wrongdoing, which is the idolatry; (6) the things because of which cometh the anger of God upon the sons of the disobedience; (7) these in which ye also were walking once when living in these. (8) But now put away (lit. down) also everything, [the] anger, [the] wrath, [the] malice, [the] blasphemy; [the] empty words let them not come from your mouth; (9) say not falsehood to one another; Having stripped from you the old man with his doing, (10) and ye clothed you with the new man, he who will become new in [a] knowledge, according to (the) image of him who created him: (11) the place in which there is not Greek and a Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Skythos, servant, and freeman: but (a.) all things in all, Christ. (12) Clothe you then as chosen of God, holy and beloved, with tender mercies of [a] compassion, [a] kindness, [a] humbleness of heart, [a] meekness, [a] longsuffering. (13) Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if there is a quarrel between one and another (lit. one); according as Christ' forgave you, thus ye also: (14) but upon all these things [the] love which is the girdle of [the] completeness. (15) And the peace of Christ let it he established in your hearts, this unto which ye were called in one body; And be ye thankful. (16) The word of the Lord let it dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and instructing yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, praising God in your hearts in thanksgiving. (17) And all things which ye will do in (the) word or in (the) work, (do) all things in (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (18) [The] wives be subject to your husbands, as it is worthy in the Lord. (19) [The] men, love your wives, and be not angry against them. (20) [The] children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing to the Lord. (21) [The] fathers, anger not your children, that they may not be grieved. (22) [The] servants, obey your masters according to flesh in all things; not with an eyeservice, as pleasers of [the] men, but in [a] singleness of your heart, as fearing the Lord: (23) that which ye will do, from your soul work, as doing (it) to the Lord, and not man; (24) knowing that ye will receive (the) retribution of the inheritance from the Lord: be servants of Christ Jesus our Lord. (25) For he who doeth wrong will receive his wrongdoing which he did; and there is not regard of persons with him.

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(1) [The] masters give (lit. do) a just judgement and be fair with your servants, knowing that your Master also is in the heavens. (2) Be continuing in the prayer, watching in it in [a] thanksgiving; (3) praying therewith also for us indeed, that God may open to us a door of the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, this because of which I am bound; (4) that I may manifest it according as it is worthy that I should speak. (5) Walk in [a] wisdom toward them who are outside, buying the time: (6) your word always in [a] grace, seasoned in [a] salt, to know how it is worthy for you to answer each one. (7) All the things which happen to me Tichikos shall show them to you, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. (8) He whom I sent to you unto this work, that he may know your state, and comfort your hearts; (9) with Onēsimos the faithful and beloved brother, he who is one of you. They shall show to you all things which are here. (10) Saluteth you Aristarchos my fellow captive, and Markos (the) cousin of Barnabas, he concerning whom ye received commandment; if he should come to you, receive him, (11) and Jēsous who is called 'Joustos.' These who are from (the) circumcision; these only shared in working unto the kingdom of God; these who became comfort to me. (12) Saluteth you Epaphras, who is one of you, (the) servant of Christ Jesus; he who striveth always for you in his prayers, that ye may stand complete and full in the will of God. (13) For I witness of him, that he hath a great grief for you, and them who are in Laodikia, and them who are in Jerapolis. (14) Saluteth you Loukas the beloved physician, and Dēmas. (15) Salute the brethren who are in Laodikia and Nimphan, and the church of their house. (16) And if this epistle should be read with you, let it be read in the church of Laodikia, and (the epistle) from Laodikia (see) that ye (pron.) may read it. (17) And say to Archēppos: 'Look forth to the ministry which thou receivedst in the Lord, that thou fill it. (18) My salutation, in my own hand, Paul. Remember my bonds. (The) grace with you.

First Epistle to the Thessalonians

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(1) I. Paul and Silouanos and Timotheos to the church of Thessalonike in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: (the) grace to you and (the) peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (2) We give thanks to God always for you all, remembering you in our prayers unfailingly, (3) remembering (the) work of your faith and (the) toil of the love and the patience and the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father; (4) knowing, our brethren whom God loved, your election, (5) because our Gospel came not to you in (the) word only, but in [a] power and [a] holy spirit and much comfort. According as ye know the manner (in) which we became to you because of you. (6) And ye also became like to us and the Lord, having received the word in a great tribulation and a joy of the holy spirit; (7) so that ye became (an) example to all who believe in (the) Makedonia and [the] Achaia. (8) For (the) word of the Lord spread abroad from you not only in (the) Makedonia and [the] Achaia, but in every place your faith, which is toward God, was spread abroad; so that we (pron.) have not need of speaking concerning anything. (9) For they (are they) who speak concerning us, concerning (the) manner of the entering which we had (chi to you; and the manner (in which) ye turned to God from the idols, to be servant of God, the living (and) true; (10) and to look out forward to his Son from the heavens, he whom he raised from them who are dead, Jesus, who will save us from (the) wrath which cometh.

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(1) For ye (pron.) know, our brethren, our entering which we had (t.uni) to you, that it was not empty: (2) but we suffered before and we were insulted, according as ye know, namely in Philippois: we were emboldened in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God in a great conflict. (3) For our exhortation was not from [an] error, nor from [an] uncleanness, nor from [a] subtlety: (4) but according as we were approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, thus we speak.Not as some, pleasing [the] men, but God who approveth our hearts. (5) For neither were we ever found in [a] word of flattery, according as ye know, nor in an excuse for a wrongdoing, God witnesseth; (6) nor were we seeking for glory from [the] men, nor of you, nor of others, (7) it being possible for us to be for a burden as apostles of Christ. But we became little children in your midst, as a nurse cherishing her children: (8) thus being greatly in love of you, we were well pleased to give to you not only the Gospel of God, but also our souls, because that ye were to us beloved. (9) For remember, our brethren, our toil and our pain: working by night and day, that we might not add burden upon one of you, we proclaimed among you the Gospel of God. (10) Ye (are they) who witness, and God, that holily and righteously and unblameably we were to you, namely those who believe. (11) According as ye know that as a father beseecheth his children, (12) thus we are beseeching each one of you and exhorting you and witnessing, that ye walk worthy of God, he who called you into his kingdom and his glory. (13) And therefore we also give thanks to God unceasingly, that, having received the word of (the) hearing of God through us, ye received it not as a word of man, but as truly being a word of God, which is that which worketh in you, namely those who believe. (14) For ye, our brethren, became like to the churches of God which are in [the] Joudēa in Christ Jesus: because ye also received the same pains by your fellow tribesmen, according as we also suffered from the Jews; (15) who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and us also persecuted; and they please not God, being opposers of all men; (16) preventing us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved; unto (the) completing their sins always: but the anger came upon them unto the end (17) But we, our brethren, were bereaved of you for the space (lit. a time) of an hour, in presence, and not in (the) heart; we hastened exceedingly to see your face in a great desire: (18) because we wished to come to you, I indeed, Paul, once and twice (lit. two); and Satan prevented. me. (19) For what is our hope or our joy or (the) crown of our boast? Are not ye before our Lord Jesus in his coming? (20) For ye are our glory and our joy.

3

(1) Therefore not being able to stay, we were well pleased to be left alone in Athēnnas; (2) and we sent our brother Timotheos to you, and minister of God in the Gospel of Christ, to confirm you and pray for your faith; (3) that no one might be moved in these tribulations. For ye (pron.) know that we were set for this thing: (4) for even when we were with you, we were beforehand in saying to you that we shall (lit. will) be oppressed; according as it came to pass and ye know. (5) Therefore I also am unable to be long-suffering, I sent to know your faith, lest by any means he who tempteth tempted you, and your toil became empty. (6) But now Timotheos having come to me from with you, and having said to us (the) good tidings of your faith and your love, and that our good remembrance (is) in you, loving to see us, according as is with us also unto you; (7) therefore we were consoled about you, our brethren, for all your necessity and all your tribulation through your faith: (8) because now we live, should ye stand in the Lord. (9) For what thanksgiving is it possible for us to give in return to the Lord for all the joy with which we rejoice for you before our God; (10) in the day and the night praying more (and) more unto the seeing your face, and unto perfecting the deficiencies of your faith? (11) But God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ shall dispose our way to you: (12) but you the Lord shall make to multiply and abound in the love to one another and all men, according as it is with us also unto you; (13) unto (the) confirming your hearts in [a] blamelessness, in [a] holiness before God and our Father, in (the) coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the saints of his. Amēn.

4

(1) Finally, our brethren, we beseech you and we pray you in the Lord Jesus, that according as ye received of us (how) to walk, according as is worthy and is pleasing to God, according as also ye (do) walk, [that] ye should abound more. (2) For ye know the orders which we delivered to you through our Lord Jesus. (3) For this is (the) wish of God, your sanctification, to keep yourselves from [the] fornication; (4) each one of you to know his vessel to possess it for himself in [a] sanctification and [an] honour, (5) not in [a] passion of [a] lust, according as the Gentiles also who know not God. (6) Not to go beyond, not to do his brother wrong in (the) deed; because that the Lord is an avenger of all these, according as we said to you before, and we witnessed. (7) For God called us not unto [an] uncleanness, but in [a] sanctification. (8) Therefore he who is disobedient, was not being (so) toward man, but God who gave his holy spirit unto you. (9) But concerning [the] brotherly love ye have not need (for me) to write to you: for ye are men taught through God to love one another; (10) for even ye do it with all the brethren who are in all (the) Makedonia. But we beseech you, our brethren, to abound more, (11) to study to be meek, and to work your own things, and to work with your hands according as we ordered you; (12) that ye may walk seemly before them who are without, and have not need of anything. (13) But we wish you not to be (lit. being) ignorant, our brethren, concerning them who sleep; that ye may not grieve as (the) rest also who have not hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and he rose, thus they who slept through Jesus, God will bring them with him. (15) For this we said to you in (the) word of the Lord, that we, namely they who are alive. who will be left unto (the) coming of the Lord shall not precede them who slept. (16) Because the Lord himself with command, with a voice of archangel and a trumpet of God, shall come down from (the) heaven, and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first: (17) afterwards we, namely they who are alive, who will be left, shall be caught up with them together in clouds, that we may meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall be with the Lord always. (18) Wherefore comfort one another in these words.

5

(1) But concerning the times and the seasons, [the] brethren, ye have not need (for me) to write to you. (2) For ye (pron.) know perfectly that (the) day of the Lord, as a thief in the night thus it cometh. (3) If they should say: '(The) peace and (the) certainty,' then suddenly shall come upon them [a] destruction, as the pang which cometh unto her who is with child, and they shall not be able to flee. (4) But ye, our brethren, were not being in (the) darkness, that the day may overtake you as thieves: (5) for ye all are sons of (the) light, and sons of the day: but we (are) not those of the night, nor (are) we those of (the) darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as (the) rest also, but let us watch and be sober. (7) For they who sleep slept in the night; and they who are drunken were drunken in the night. (8) But we are those of the day: let us be sober, and clothe ourselves with the breastplate of [the] faith and [the] love and the helmet of [the] hope of [the] salvation. (9) Because God appointed us not unto [an] anger, but unto a saving of our life through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) he who died for us, that whether watching or sleeping we shall live with him together. (11) Therefore comfort one another, and let each one of you edify his neighbour, according as also ye do. (12) But we beseech you, our brethren, to know them who toil among you, and those who are before you in the Lord, and those who instruct you; (13) and esteem them the more in [a] love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (14) We beseech you, our brethren, instruct the unruly, comfort the faint hearted, support them who are weak, be longsuffering to all. (15) Take heed, let not one do (lit. give an) evil to another (lit. one) in return for an evil, but always run after the good with one another and with all. (16) Rejoice always; (17) pray unfailingly;. (18) give thanks in everything: for this is (the) wish of God in Christ Jesus in you. (19) Quench not the spirit; (20) despise not the prophecies; (21) prove all things; lay hold on the good; (22) avoid all things evil. (23) But God himself of the peace shall sanctify you together being complete; and he shall keep your spirit sound and the soul and the body unblameably in (the) coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) Faithful is he who calleth you, and he will also do (it). (25) Our brethren, pray for us. (26) Salute one another in an holy kiss. (27) I adjure you by the Lord to read this epistle to all the holy brethren. (28) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

1 2 3

1

(1) Paul and Silouanos and Timotheos to the church of Thessalonikē in God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (2) (3) It is worthy that we should give thanks to God always for you, our brethren, according as is worthy, because your faith abounded in growing, and (the) love of each one of you abounded unto one another; (4) so that we (pron.) boast ourselves in you in the churches of God for your patience and your faith in all your persecutions and your tribulations, these which ye receive: (5) unto a manifesting of the righteous judgement of God, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, this for which ye suffer. (6) If it is a righteous judgement of God to recompense [an] affliction to them who afflict you, (7) and ye, namely they who are afflicted, to give [a] rest to you with us, in the revelation of our Lord Jesus from (the) heaven with the angels of his power (8) in a flame of fire, about to take vengeance on them who knew not God, and who obeyed not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus; (9) these who will receive a judgement of eternal destruction from before (the) face of the Lord and from before (the) glory of his power, (10) whenever he should come, being about to be glorified in the saints of his, To be wondered at in all who believed, because our witnessing to you was believed, in that day: (11) which is that concerning which we pray always for you, that our God may make us worthy of the calling, and complete all good pleasure of [the] goodness, and a work of (the) faith in [a] power. (12) That (the) name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye also in him, according to the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

2

(1) We beseech you, our brethren, for (the) coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling also unto him, (2) that ye should not be moved quickly from the understanding; and that ye should not be troubled, neither through [a] spirit, nor through [a] word, nor through an epistle as through us, as that (the) day of the Lord approached. (3) Let not any deceive you according to any manner, that (it will be) unless should come first the apostasy and (the) man of [the] lawlessness, (the) son of (the) destruction should manifest himself, (4) the adversary; and should exalt himself over everything which is called 'god,' or that which is worshipped; so that he should go and sit in the temple of God, manifesting himself that he is [a] god. (5) Ye know not that, still being with you, we were saying these things to you. (6) And now also that which layeth hold ye know it, to cause him to be revealed in his time. (7) For the mystery of (the) lawlessness already is worked: only until that which layeth hold now ceaseth in (the) midst; (8) and then shall be revealed the lawless (one), whom the Lord Jesus will destroy in the spirit of his mouth, and he will do away with him in (the) manifestation of his coming. (9) He whose coming is being according to a working of Satan in all power and sign and false wonder, (10) and all deceit of (the) wrongdoing for them who will perish; because that they received not the love of (the) truth to cause them to be saved. (11) Therefore God will send to them a working of error, to cause them to believe the falsehood: (12) that all may be judged who believed not in the truth, but were well pleased with [the] wrongdoing. (13) But for us (lit. we), our brethren, it is worthy that we should give thanks to God for you always, namely those whom the Lord loved, because God chose you as a firstfruit of salvation in sanctification of the spirit and [a] faith of the truth; (14) which is that to which he called you through our Gospel unto a glorious lifegiving of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15) So then, our brethren, stand, and lay hold on the traditions which ye were taught, whether through [a] word or through an epistle of ours. (16) But our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, he who loved us, and he gave to us an eternal comfort, and a good hope in [a] grace, (17) he shall comfort your hearts, and he shall confirm you in every work and every good word.

3

(1) Finally, our brethren, pray for us, that (the) word of the Lord may run and be glorified, according as also it happeneth among you; (2) that we may be saved from the evil and wicked men; for (the) faith is not possessed by all. (3) But the Lord is faithful, he who will confirm you, and he shall keep you from the evil. (4) But we are persuaded in the Lord about you, that ye do the things which we order you, and ye shall do them. (5) But (the) Lord shall direct your hearts in the love of God and the patience of Christ. (6) But we order you, our brethren, in (the) name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from every brother who walketh unruly, and not according to the things which we delivered unto them. (7) For ye (pron.) know how ye ought to be like to us: because we were not unruly among you; (8) neither ate we [a] bread without cost of (any) one, but in [a] toil and [a] pain working in the day and the night, that we might not add burden to one of you: (9) not that we have not authority, but that we might give ourselves to you as (an) example, that ye might be like to us. (10) For even when we were with you, this we were ordering you, that he who wisheth not to work, neither let him even eat. (11) For we hear concerning some among you, walking unruly, and not working at all, but being busybodies. (12) But such, we order them, and we beseech in the Lord Jesus, that in [a] meekness doing their work, they may eat their bread. (13) But ye, our brethren, be not weary of doing the good. (14) If there is one disobedient to our word through the epistles, mark this (one) not to have company with him, that he may be shamed. (15) And let him not be with you as an enemy, but as a brother instruct him. (16) But the Lord himself of the peace shall give to you the peace always in every form. The Lord with you. (17) My salutation in mine own hand, Paul, which is a sign in all the epistles, thus I write. (18) (The) grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all.

Epistle to the Hebrews

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

1

(1) In many manners and many forms from (the) beginning God spake to our fathers from the prophets, (2) but at (the) end of these days he spake to us in a Son, he whom he appointed heir of all, and through him he made the ages; (3) who himself is the splendour of his glory, and (the) form of his substance, upholding (the) universe by (the) word of his power. Through him he made a cleansing of the sins. He sat on the right hand of the greatness on high; (4) having become better than the angels by so much, as he inherited a name being different from them. (5) For to whom at any time among the angels said he: 'Thou art my Son, I (pron.) begat thee to-day'? and again: 'I (pron.) shall be to him a Father, and he (pron.) shall be to me for a Son'? (6) But when again he bringeth the firstborn into the world, he is saying: Let the angels of God all worship him.' (7) And concerning the angels he saith: He who made his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.' (8) But concerning (the) Son he saith: Thy throne, (O) God, unto age of the age, and (the) staff of (the) straightness is (the) staff of thy kingdom. (9) Because thou lovedst [the] righteousness and thou hatedst (the) injustice, therefore God, thy God, anointed thee with an oil of gladness rather than they who are thy fellows' (10) And, From (the) beginning, Lord, thou (pron.) laidest foundation of (the) earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands. (11) They (pron.) will perish, but thou (pron.) abidest, and they all will become old as a garment: (12) as a cloke thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed, but thou art thou, and thy years fail not. (13) For to whom at any time among the angels said he: Sit on my right hand, until I put thine enemies below thy feet?' (14) Are not all these ministering spirits, sent unto a service because of them who will inherit [a] salvation?

2

(1) Therefore it is right that we should give more heed to the things which we heard, lest haply we decline from (them). (2) For if the word which he spake through the angels became established, and every transgression and every disobedience received a recompence in a worthy judgement; (3) how shall (lit. will) we (pron.) be able to escape, should we neglect this great salvation? That which took beginning of being spoken about through the Lord by them who heard, and it was confirmed unto us; (4) God witnessing with them, in signs and wonders and powers of many kinds, and distributions of the holy spirit according to his will. (5) For he made not the world subject to the angels, that which cometh, this concerning which we speak. (6) For one somewhere witnessed to us, saying: 'Who is (the) man, that thou rememberedst him, or (the) son of (the) man, that thou visitedst him? (7) Thou humiliatedst him a little (lower) than the angels; (the) glory and (the) honour thou gavest as a crown upon him. (8) And thou settest him up over the works of thy hands: thou madest all things subject below his feet.' For having made all things subject to him, then he left not anything without being subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. (9) But he whom he humiliated a little (lower) than the angels--we see Jesus, because of the pain of (the) death he put (lit. did the) glory and (the) honour as (ft) a crown upon him, that in the grace of God he might taste (the) death for all. (10) For it was being worthy for him because of whom were all things and through whom were all things, having brought many sons into [a] glory, even (the) author of their salvation, to be completed through pains. (11) For he who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all from one: therefore he is not ashamed calling them, My brethren.' (12) Saying: I shall (lit. will) say thy name to my brethren, in (the) midst of the church I shall (lit. will) bless thee. (13) And he saith again: I shall be trusting in him.' And again he saith also (on): Behold, I and the children whom God gave to me.' (14) Since then the children shared in blood and flesh, so he also shared in such things; that through his death he might do away with him who had (the) strength of (the) death, who is the devil, (15) and might restore these. They who being in the fear of (the) death were incurring [a] servitude all their lifetime. (16) For he put (lit. threw) not his hand unto angels [together], but (the) seed of Abraam (is) that unto which he put his hand. (17) Therefore it is worthy that he should be like to his brethren in all things, that he might be merciful and high priest faithful toward God, for him to forgive the sins of the people. (18) For in that in which he suffered and which he was tempted, it is possible for him to help them who are tempted.

3

(1) Therefore, my brethren, holy, and sharing in the calling of (the) heaven, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus; (2) he who was faithful to him who made him, according as also Moses over his house. (3) For this (one) was worthy of more honour than Moses, according as he who made it hath more honour than the house. (4) For all houses are prepared by (some) one, but he who made all things is God. (5) And Moses indeed is faithful in all his house as a servant unto a witnessing of the things which are spoken; (6) but Christ as a Son over his house; whose house are we, if we should lay hold on the boldness and the boast of the hope firm unto the end. (7) According as the holy spirit saith: 'To-day, if ye should hear his voice, (8) let not your hearts harden, as in the anger, according to the day of the temptation in (the) desert, (9) that in which your fathers tempted me in a probation; they saw my works (10) forty years. Therefore I hated that generation, and I said that they go astray in their heart always: but they (pron.) knew not my ways; (11) as I sware in mine anger: "Will they go into my rest?"' (12) Take heed, my brethren, lest haply there should be an evil heart in one of you of unbelief to make you withdraw from the living God: (13) but comfort one another daily, as long as it is called 'To-day,' that one of you might not be hardened in a deceit of (the) sin. (14) For we were sharers of Christ if we should lay hold on (the) beginning of the confidence firm unto the end: (15) in (the) saying 'To-day, if ye should hear his voice, let not your hearts harden, as in the anger,' (16) for some having heard caused anger, but not all who came out of Khēmi through Moses. (17) But who were they with whom he was displeased forty years? Was it not they who sinned, whose limbs fell in (the) desert? (18) But who were they to whom he sware not to come into his rest? Was it not they who were disobedient? (19) And we see that they could not come in because of their unbelief.

4

(1) Let us then fear lest haply, a promise having been left for coming into his rest, one of you seem to come short. (2) For good tidings were preached to us also as to those, but the word of the hearing profited those not, because they were not persuaded in the faith with those who heard. (3) We shall (lit. will) then go into the rest, namely they who believed, according as be said: As I sware in mine anger, "Shall they go into my rest?"' although the works were done from (the) foundation of the world. (4) For he said thus in a place concerning the seventh day: God rested in the seventh day from all his works'; (5) and in this (place) again: 'Will they go into my rest ?' (6) Since then he leaveth some to come into it, and the first to whom good tidings were preached went not in because of their unbelief, (7) again he ordaineth a day, to-day, in David, after so much time, saying according as he said from (the) first: 'To-day, if ye should hear his voice, let not your hearts harden.' (8) For had Jēsou made them rest, he would not have spoken concerning another day after these things. (9) So then a keeping of Sabbath is left to the people of God. (10) For he who came into his rest, himself also rested from his works, as God rested from his own. (11) Let us hasten then to come into that rest, that one may not fall down in the same form of the disobedience. (12) For the word of God is faithful, and it worketh, and it is sharper than every sword of two edges (lit. mouth), and it goeth in up to the dividing of the soul and the spirit, and the joints and the marrow, and it is searching for the reasonings and the thoughts of heart. (13) And there is not any creature hidden before him, but all are naked, and they are with bare neck before his eyes, he unto whom the word reacheth for us. (14) Having then a great high priest who passed (through) the heavens, Jesus (the) Son of God, let us lay hold on the confession. (15) For (it is) not an high priest which we have, for whom it is not possible to suffer with our weaknesses; but (one) who was tempted in everything according to our form, without sin. (16) Let us come in boldly before the throne of the grace, that we may receive [a] mercy and find [a] grace for an occasion of help.

5

(1) For every high priest who is taken from [the] men, they set him up for [the] men with God, that he may offer gift and sacrifice for the sins; (2) (one) for whom it is possible to suffer in a measure with the ignorant and who are gone astray, because himself also is in [a] weakness; (3) and because of it it is meet for him, according as he offereth for the things of the people, thus also that he should offer for his own sins. (4) And (any) one taketh not the honour to himself, but God called him according as Aaron. (5) Thus also Christ glorified not himself, to be made (an) high priest, but he it is who spake to him: 'Thou art my Son, I (pron.) begat thee to-day.' (6) According as he saith in another place: Thou art (the) priest for ever, according to (the) order of Melchisedek.' (7) He who offered in the days of his flesh prayers and supplications to him for whom it was possible to save him from (the) death; with a strong cry and tears having offered them: and he heard him from (the) fear. (8) Though he was a son, he knew [the] obedience from the pains which he received; (9) and having been completed, he became to all who will obey him a cause of eternal salvation; (10) God having called him 'High priest for ever, according to (the) order of Melchisedek.' (11) He concerning whom the word is great for us, and it is difficult of interpretation, because ye become weak in your hearings. (12) For (when) it even was being worthy for you to be teachers because of the time; ye again have need of (one) to teach you what are the elements of (the) beginning of the words of God; and ye become having need of [a] milk, not [a] strong food. (13) For every one who eateth milk is not experienced in (the) word of the righteousness; for he is a child. (14) But the strong food is that of the perfect, they who because of their habit have their perception (plur.) experienced for (the) knowing (the) difference of the good and the evil.

6

(1) Therefore having left (the) word of (the) beginning of Christ, let us come unto the completion, not having deposited for us a foundation of [a] repentance from dead works, and [a] faith in God, (2) and [a] doctrine of baptisms, and [a] laying on of hand upon them, and [a] resurrection of the dead, and [an] eternal judgement. (3) And this we shall do if the Lord should command. (4) For it is an impossibility (for them) who once received (the) light, having tasted free gift of (the) heaven, and they shared in the holy spirit, (5) and they tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age which cometh, (6) and fell (away), that they should become new again unto a repentance, crucifying (the) Son of God to themselves once more, they make him as public example. (7) For the earth which drinketh the rain which cometh down upon it many times, bearing [a] grass good for them for whom it was cultivated, receiveth the blessing of God: (8) but should it bring forth thorns and thistles it is unprofitable, and draweth near unto (the) curse, whose end will be unto (the) burning. (9) But we are persuaded concerning you, my beloved, as to the things which are best and the things which draw near unto [the] salvation, even if we thus make (the) speech: (10) for God is not a wrongdoer, that he should forget your work and (the) toil of your love, this which ye manifested in his name, having ministered to the saints, and ye minister still. (11) But we wish that each one of you may manifest the same diligence in (the) fulfilment of this hope unto (the) last: (12) that ye be not weak, but that ye be like to them who inherited the promises through (the) faith and [the] longsuffering. (13) For God having promised to Abraam, since there was not another exalted (one) to swear by him, he sware by himself, (14) saying: In a blessing I shall (lit. will) bless thee, and in a multiplying I shall (lit. will) cause thy seed to multiply.' (15) And thus having suffered long he obtained the promise. (16) For indeed [the] men swear by the greater than them: and (the) finishing of all controversy (for) a confirMatthewion to them is the oath. (17) But in this, God wishing the more to show to the heirs of the promise the immoveability of his counsel, mediated in an oath: (18) that, through two immoveable things, [these] in which it was not possible that God should say falsehood, we might have a strong comfort, namely those who fled to him to lay hold on the hope which is set before us. (19) This which we have as an anchor of our soul, being unfailing and firm and going in unto the things which are within the veil; (20) the place into which Jesus went in, being (the) forerunner for us, having become an high priest for ever according to (the) order of Melchisedek.

7

(1) For this Melchisedek, (the) king of Salēm, the priest of God most high, he who met Abraam returning from (the) slaughter of the kings, and he blessed him, (2) to whom Abraam divided (a) tenth from everything of his,-first indeed being interpreted, (the) king of [the] righteousness'; after it, '(the) king of Salēm,' that is to say, '(the) king of [the] peace'; (3) fatherless, motherless (he) is, not a word as to generation is (there) of his; he hath not beginning of day, nor hath he end of life; but he is likened unto (the) Son of God; he remaineth priest for ever. (4) But see how great is this (one), to whom Abraam gave (a) tenth from the choice things of his, the patriarch. (5) And they indeed from the sons of Levi, about to receive the priesthood, have commandment delivered unto them to receive (a) tenth from the people according to the law, who are their brethren, although they came from the loins of Abraam: (6) for he whose generation from them was not spoken of, received (a) tenth from Abraam, and he blessed him who had the promises. (7) But without all controversy the little is blessed by the greater than him. (8) And here men who die receive tenths; but there it is witnessed of him that he liveth. (9) And as to say a word, because of Abraam, Levi also indeed, who was (to) receive tenths, gave (a) tenth; (10) for he was yet in the loins of Abraam when Melehisedek met him. (11) If indeed then (the) completion was being through the priesthood of the Levite; for law was given to the people in its time; then what was (the) need for there to be another priest according to (the) order of Melchisedek, and not to say, 'According to (the) order of Aaron?' (12) For the priesthood being about to be removed, necessarily there is a removing of the law also. (13) For he concerning whom these things are said belonged to another tribe, that (lit. this) from which no one attended at the altar. (14) For it is manifest from (the) first, that our Lord sprang from Jouda; that tribe from which Moses said not anything concerning priest. (15) And it is yet even the more manifested, if according to (the) form of Melchisedek will arise another priest. (16) He who was made not according to a law of a carnal commandment, but according to a power of an indissoluble life. (17) For it is witnessed of him: 'Thou art (the) priest for ever, according to (the) order of Melchisedek.' (18) For indeed there will be a rejection of the first commandment because of its weakness and its unprofitableness, (19) for the law completed not anything. A way of coming in is this, of a better (lit. chosen) hope, this through which we shall (lit. will) draw near unto God; (20) and according as it is not without oath. For those indeed were made priest without oath, (21) but this one indeed with an oath through him who saith to him: The Lord sware and shall not repent, "Thou art (the) priest for ever."' (22) According to so much was made Jesus (the) surety of a better (lit. chosen) covenant which was established with law upon better (chosen) promises. (23) And they indeed were made priest, being many (of them), because (the) death was not letting them stay. (24) But this (one) because he will stay for ever received the priesthood without passing to another. (25) Therefore it is possible for him to save always them who come to God through him. Living always to intercede for them. (26) For an high priest of this kind was being comely for us, honourable, without evil, undefiled, separated from the sinners; and he was exalted above the heavens. (27) He for whom there is not [given] necessity (to offer) daily as the high priests who offer sacrifice first for their own sins, after it they offer for those of the people: for this he did, having offered himself once. (28) For the law appointeth men as high priest, they having weakness; but the word of the oath, this which was after the law, setteth up a Son completed for ever.

8

(1) But (the) summing up of the things which we say (is this). For an high priest of this kind we have, he who sat (down) at the right hand of the throne of the greatness in the heavens, (2) as minister of the holy things, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord made firm, and not man. (3) For every high priest is appointed to offer gift and sacrifice: therefore it is necessary for there to be something for this (one) to offer. (4) If indeed then he was being on (the) earth, then he would (lit. was) not be a priest, there being those who offer gift according to the law; (5) these who minister in a form and a shadow of the things of (the) heaven, according as it was shown to Moses, being about to complete the tabernacle: for, See, he said, thou shalt make all things according to the pattern which was shown to thee on the mountain. (6) But now he acquired a service much better, as also he is mediator of a better covenant, which was established with law upon better promises. (7) For had that first one been faultless, (the) place of the second would not have been sought for. (8) For he is finding. fault with them, saying: 'Lo, days come, said the Lord, I shall (lit. will) complete upon (the) house of Israel and upon (the) house of Jouda a new covenant; (9) not according to the covenant which I established with their fathers in the day (in) which I took hold of their hand to bring them out of (the) land of Chēmi; because they (pron.) stayed not in my covenant, but I (pron.) neglected them, said the Lord. (10) Because this is my covenant which I shall (lit. will) establish with (the) house of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I shall put (lit. give) my laws upon their thoughts, and I shall write them upon their hearts: and I (pron.) shall be to them as God, and they also shall be to me for a people: (11) and each one shall not teach his (fellow) citizen, and each one his brother, saying: "Know the Lord": because they will all know me from their little one to their great one. (12) Because I shall (lit. will) forgive them their wrongdoing, and I shall not remember more their sins.' (13) In (the) saying 'new,' then he made the first old. But that which becometh old and becometh aged clraweth near unto (the) perishing.

9

(1) The first indeed then (was) having ordinances of ministry and a holy (place) of ornament. (2) For the first tabernacle was fashioned, that in which (are) the lampstand, and the table, and the prothesis of the loaves; which is called, that which is holy.' (3) But after the second veil, the tabernacle, that which is called, that which is holy of those which are holy'; (4) in which there is a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on every side. In which (are) the golden pot, the manna being in it, and the staff of Aaron which bloomed, and the tables of the covenant; (5) but above it cherubims of (the) glory shadowing over the mercy-seat, these which are not at present to be spoken of severally; (6) but these being thus set in order. The first tabernacle indeed the priests go into it always, completing the ministries; (7) but to the second once a year the high priest alone, not without blood, this which he offereth for himself, and for the ignorances of the people. (8) But this the holy spirit is manifesting, that the way of the (places) which are holy was not yet manifested, the first tabernacle still abiding; (9) that which is likened to this time which (now) is; that during which are offered gift and sacrifice, it being not possible for them, according to conscience, to complete him who worshippeth, (10) (being) only with eatings and drinkings and various bathings, which were ordinances of (the) flesh until (the) time of the institution. (11) But Christ having come the high priest of the good things which will be, through the great tabernacle which is complete, not being fashioned with hand, that is to say, that it is not that of this creation, (12) nor through (the) blood of goats is it and calves, but through his own blood came into the (places) which are holy once, having found an eternal redemption. (13) For if (the) blood of goats and calves and ashes of an heifer sprinkled upon those who are unclean cleanseth unto (the) cleansing of the flesh: (14) then how much more [is] (the) blood of Christ, he (lit. this) who through the holy spirit offered himself clean to God, will cleanse our conscience from the dead works to serve the living and true God? (15) And therefore (he) is a mediator of a new covenant, that, a death having happened for a redemption of the transgressions which were during the first covenant, [that] they who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (16) For where a testament is, it is necessary that there should be (the) death of him who established it. (17) For the testament (is) confirmed over dead (men): because it hath not power as long as liveth he who established it. (18) Therefore neither the first was cleansed without blood. (19) For Moses having spoken to all the people every commandment according to the law, took [a] blood of calves and goats and [a] water and [a] scarlet wool and [a] hyssop, and both the book itself, and all the people he sprinkled, saying: (20) This is (the) blood of the covenant which God ordered you.' (21) And the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled thus with the blood. (22) Nearly all things are cleansed according to the law. with [a] blood, and without shedding blood forgiveness is not. (23) It was necessary indeed then that the forms of those which are in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but these themselves the (things) of the heavens with sacrifices better than these. (24) For Christ came not into holy (places) fashioned with hand, pattern of the true ones, but into (the) heaven itself, manifesting himself now before God for us: (25) not that he may offer himself many times; as the high priest who cometh into the (places) which are holy (once) a year with [a] blood not his own; (26) otherwise he ought to have suffered many times from (the) foundation of the world: but now once at (the) completion of the ages he manifested himself, that he might put away (the) sin through his sacrifice. (27) And according as it is appointed for the men to die once, but after this a judgement; (28) thus also Christ offered himself once, that he might bear up (the) sins of many, but the second time he shall manifest himself without sin for [a] salvation of them who look out forward to him.

10

(1) For (the) law having a shadow of the good (things) which come, being not the very image of these things, (going on year) by year in the same sacrifices, these which they offer continually; it is not possible for them ever to complete them who come in (to offer them). (2) Otherwise would they not have ceased offering them? Because that they have not any conscience of sins, namely those who worshipped, having been once cleansed. (3) But in them they were remembering the sins (year) by year. (4) For it is an impossibility for (the) blood of calves and goats to take away sins. (5) Therefore, coming into the world he saith: 'A sacrifice and an offering thou wishedst not, but a body thou preparedst for me, not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (6) over holocausts and (offerings) because of (the) sin thou wast not well pleased: (7) then I said: "Behold I come, in a volume of book it is written concerning me to do, God, thy will."' (8) Above he saith: 'Sacrifices, and offerings, and holocausts and (offerings) because of (the) sin thou wishedst not, nor wast well pleased over them,' which are those which are offered according to the law, (9) then he said: Behold I come to do thy will.' He doeth away with the first, that he may institute the second, (10) this will in which we were sanctified through the offering of (the) body of Jesus Christ once. (11) And every priest is standing daily ministering, offering the same sacrifices many times, these for which it is not possible ever to take away sin: (12) but he offered himself for our sins, one sacrifice; he sat on the right hand of God for ever; (13) henceforth expecting until his enemies are put below his feet. (14) For one offering will complete them, who will be sanctified, for ever. (15) For the holy spirit witnesseth to us; for after his saying: (16) This (is) the covenant which I established with them after those days, said the Lord; I shall put (lit. give) my laws into (lit. down to) their heart, and I shall (lit. will) write them upon their thoughts; (17) and I shall not remember any more their sins and their lawlessnesses.' (18) For where forgiveness of these (is), then there is not offering any more concerning (the) sin. (19) Having then, my brethren, boldness unto (the) way of the (places) which are holy in (the) blood of Jesus; (20) that which he made new for us, the new and living way through the veil which is his flesh; (21) and a great priest over (the) house of God; (22) Let us come in with a true heart and [a] fulness of [a] faith, our hearts being sprinkled from evil conscience: and our bodies washed in [a] pure water, (23) let us lay hold on the confession of the hope without wavering, for faithful is he who promised: (24) let us observe one another in [a] zeal of [a] love and good works; (25) And not forsake our synagogue according as (the) custom of some is, but exhorting so much the more as ye see that the day drew near. (26) For if we should sin willingly after we receive (the) knowledge of the truth, there is not sacrifice left any more concerning sins, (27) but a looking out for [a] judgement which is fearful, and a jealousy of [a] fire about to consume them who are against him. (28) Should any one reject (the) law of Moses, without compassion on (the word of) two or three witnesses he dieth: (29) Then of how much worse torment, think ye, that he will be worthy, who will trample upon (the) Son of God; and he esteemed (the) blood of the covenant that it is unclean, that in which he was sanctified, and he insulted the spirit of the grace? (30) For we know him who said: '(The) vengeance is mine own, and I (prom) shall (lit. will) recompense.' And again: 'The Lord will judge his people.' (31) A more fearful thing it is to fall into (the) hands of the living God. (32) Remember your former days; in which ye were receiving (the) light, having endured in a great (amount) of pains; (33) partly, in reproaches and tribulations being made a spectacle; partly, in that ye were sharers with them who fare thus. (34) For ye both suffered with them who were bound, and ye take joyfully (the) robbing of your possessions. Knowing that ye have [a] better riches and (such as) will stay for ever. (35) Your boldness then throw it not away, this which hath a great recompense of reward. (36) Ye have need of [a] patience, that, if ye should do (the) wish of God, ye may receive the promise. (37) For yet again a very little while, he will come, who cometh, and he will not delay. (38) But the righteous one will live from (the) faith. And if he should hide (away) my soul shall not be well pleased with him. (39) But we are not they of hiding (away) for a fleeing back unto [a] destruction, but for [a] faith unto [a] lifegiving of the soul.

11

(1) But (the) faith is an assurance of (the things) which are hoped for, it is a proof of things which are not seen. (2) For in this the elders were witnessed unto. (3) In [a] faith we understand that the ages were prepared by (the) word of God, because from those which appear not was made that which is seen. (4) In [a] faith Abel offered more (excellent) sacrifice to God than Kain, [this] through which it was witnessed unto him that he was righteous, God witnessing over his gifts: and through it, having died, he still speaketh. (5) In [a] faith Enōch was removed, not to see (the) death; and he was not being found, because God removed him: for before the removal, it was witnessed unto him, that he pleased God: (6) but without faith it is not possible to please him: for it is right that he who cometh to God should believe that he is, and he will be rewarder of them who seek for him. (7) In [a] faith Nōe, having been shown concerning the things which were not yet seen, feared; he fashioned an ark unto a saving of his house, through which (ark) he condemned the world, and he became heir of the righteousness of (the) faith. (8) In [a] faith he who was called, namely Abraam, obeyed to come forth to the place which he was to receive as inheritance; and he came forth, not knowing whither he walked. (9) In [a] faith he was sojourner in (the) land of the promise, as not his own, having dwelt in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the fellow heirs of the same promise. (10) For they were looking out forward to the city which hath the foundations, whose craftsman and her maker is God. (11) In [a] faith Sarra also herself, the barren woman, received [a] power unto (the) sending forth of [a] seed, and it was not (the) time of her age, since he who promised was to her trustworthy. (12) Therefore were born from one, and that deadened in body, according as the stars of (the) heaven in their abundance, and as the sand, which is by (the) lips of the sea, which is not numbered. (13) According to [a] faith all these died, they received not the promises, but they saw them afar off, and they saluted them, and they confessed that they were strangers and sojourners upon the earth. (14) For they who say such things manifest that they seek for a city where they may dwell. (15) And if indeed they were remembering that from which they came, then they had time to return to it. (16) But now they desire that which is much better, which is that of (the) heaven: therefore God is not ashamed of them to be called God to them, for he prepared for them a city. (17) In [a] faith Abraam offered Isaac, being tempted: he offered his only son, even he who received the promises, (18) he to whom it was said: In Isaac shall a seed be called for thee': (19) and he reasoned that it was possible for God to raise him from them who are dead, therefore he took him (back) in a parable. (20) In [a] faith concerning the (things) which will be, Isaac blessed Jacōb and Esau. (21) In [a faith Jacōb about to die blessed each of (the) sons of Jōsēph; and he worshipped upon the top of his staff. (22) In [a] faith Jōsēph about to die remembered (the) coming forth of (the) sons of Israel, and he ordered concerning his bones. (23) In [a] faith, Moses having been born, his parents hid him three months, because they saw the child that he was comely, and they feared not the decree of (the) king. (24) In [a] faith Moses, having grown up, refused to be called (the) son of (the) daughter of Pharaō; (25) having wished rather to suffer with the people of God, than that he might surfeit in (the) sin for a time; (26) having esteemed (the) reproach of Christ, that it was a greater wealth than the treasures of Chēmi: for he was looking out forward to the reward. (27) In [a] faith he left Chēmi, he feared not the wrath of (the) king: for he was waiting upon the unseen, as one seeing him. (28) In [a] faith he kept the Pascha and the shedding of the blood, that the destroyer should not touch their firstborn. (29) In [a] faith they passed through the sea of Shari as (if) by [a] dry land: in which the men of Chēmi having made attempt were submerged. (30) In [a] faith the walls of Jerichō fell, having been compassed seven days. (31) In [a] faith Raab the harlot perished not with them who were disobedient, having received the spies in [a] peace. (32) And what further should I say For the time shall fail me, narrating concerning Gedeōn, Barak, Sampsōm, Jephthaie, David and Samouēl and the prophets also: (33) who through [a] faith conquered kingdoms, worked [the] righteousness, obtained [the] promises, stopped the mouths of lions, (34) quenched (the) power of [a] fire, fled from the edge of swords. They prevailed in (the) weakness, they became strong in [the] war, they turned back armies of strangers. (35) Women received their dead from a resurrection: others were tortured, they accepted not the redemption; that they might obtain the better resurrection: (36) but others had trial in mockings and scourgings, but further, also bonds and prisons: (37) they were stoned. They were sawn with (the) saw, they were tempted, they died by (the) killing of (the) sword, they walked in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, afflicted, suffering: (38) these of whom the world was not being worthy, wandering in the deserts, and the mountains, and the caves, and the holes of (the) earth. (39) And all these to whom it was witnessed through the faith received not the promise, (40) God from (the) first having looked forward to a better thing because of us, that they might not be completed without us.

12

(1) Therefore indeed we also having cover us so great a cloud of witnesses, having left all pride and (the) sin which so much besets us, through [a] patience let us run in the race which is set down for us, (2) looking at the author of (the) faith and the completer, Jesus, he who in exchange for the joy which was set before him, endured a cross, despised (the) shame, sat (down) at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) For reason in yourselves of this endurance of such an one at the hands of the sinners unto a contradiction against themselves, that ye may not be weary, fainting in your souls. (4) Ye have not yet stood (up) opposing (the) sin even unto (the) blood: (5) and ye forgot the exhortation [this] which spake to you as sons. My son, be not discouraged in the chastening of the Lord, nor faint (when) he is reproving thee. (6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, but be scourgeth all sons whom he will receive. (7) Be patient for chastening: God spake to you as sons; for what son (is it) whom his father chasteneth not? (8) If ye are without the chastening in which all shared, then ye are false sons, and ye (are) not sons. (9) If indeed our fathers of (the) flesh we were having as chasteners, and we were reverencing them; then (is it) not more (right) that we should be subject to the Father of the spirits and live? (10) For those indeed for a few days were chastening us according to their will, but he indeed (according to) that which is the more profitable for us, that we might receive from his holiness. (11) But all chastening at the time (lit. hour) indeed thou findest it (lit. them) not as things of [a] joy, but for [a] grief: but at (the) last it giveth a peaceful fruit of [the] righteousness to them who were exercised through it. (12) Therefore set up the hands which are let (down), and the legs which are paralysed; (13) make straight courses for your feet, that the lameness turn not aside, but rather that it may recover. (14) Run after [the] peace with every one, and [the] sanctification, that without which no one will see the Lord. (15) Looking earnestly lest by any means there is one falling short of the grace; lest by any means there is a bitter root growing up, giving pain, and through it many be polluted; (16) lest by any means there is a fornicator or profane-hearted (one) as Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal (lit. food). (17) Ye know that after it, wishing to inherit the blessing, he was cast out; for he found not place of repenting, although he had sought for it in tears. (18) For ye came not to a fire of handling and (which) burneth, and (to) a gloom and a darkness (which) repelleth and a whirlwind, (19) and (the) blast of a trumpet and (the) voice of words, that which those who heard irttreatecl (him) not to speak to them again: (20) for they were not being able to bear that which was being said. Even if a beast should touch the mountain they shall stone it, (21) and thus was being terrible that which was manifested. For Moses said: 'I am afraid and I tremble': (22) but ye come to the mountain of Siōn, and the city of the living God, Jerusalem of (the) heaven, and myriads of angels keeping festival, (23) and a church of firstborn (which) is written in the heavens, and God the judge of all, and the spirit of the righteous ones who are completed, (24) and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and a blood of a sprinkling speaking more than that of Abel. (25) Take heed, refuse not him who speaketh. For if those could not escape upon the earth, having refused him who speaketh, much more we, namely those who will turn away from him who came out of the heavens: (26) whose voice moved the earth then; but now he promised, saying: 'Yet another time I (pron.) shall (lit. will) shake not only (the) earth but also the heaven.' (27) But this (lit. the), Yet another time, is showing to us a carrying away of the things which are moved as things made, that the things which are not moved may be permanent. (28) Therefore being about to receive a kingdom immovable, let us have grace, this through which we shall (lit. will) minister to God, pleasing him in [a] fear and [a] trembling: (29) for also our God is a devouring fire.

13

(1) Let [the] brotherly love be permanent. (2) Forget not [the] hospitality: for through this, unawares, some received angels. (3) Remember those who are bound as being bound with them; those who are pained as being yourselves also in body. (4) The marriage (is) honourable in all, the bed pure: for the fornicators and the adulterers God will judge. (5) Your manner of life is not for [a] loving of silver. The things which are (to you) shall suffice for you; for he himself said: I shall not forsake thee, nor shall I leave thee.' (6) So that being assured we (pron.) say: The Lord is my helper; I shall not fear what it is which man will do to me.' (7) Remember your rulers who spake to you the word of God: these (of) whom ye see the outcome of their walk (of life), imitate their faith. (8) Jesus Christ yesterday and to-day is the same and for ever. (9) Let not various and strange doctrines carry you away: for it is good to establish your heart in [a] grace, not in meats, these in which they who walked in them found not profit. (10) We having an altar, this from which they have not authority to eat who minister at the tabernacle. (11) For the animals whose blood was brought into the holy (places) for (the) sin through the high priest,--(the) body of these is burnt outside the camp. (12) Therefore also Jesus, that he might cleanse the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate. (13) Now then let us go out unto him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. (14) For we have not here a permanent city, but that which cometh we seek for. (15) Let us then offer through him sacrifices of blessing always to God, that is to say, (the) fruit of our lips, confessing his name. (16) But [the] beneficence and the sharing (with others) forget not: for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (17) Be persuaded by your rulers, and obey them: for they (are those) who keep watch for your souls, as about to give account of you, that they may do this in [a] joy, and may not groan: for this is profitable for you. (18) Pray for us. But we are persuaded that we have a good conscience in all, wishing to walk well. (19) But I pray the more to do this, that I may be restored to you quickly. (20) But God of [the] peace--he who brought up from them who are dead the great shepherd of the sheep in (the) blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ- (21) He shall perfect you in every good (thing) unto doing his wish, doing for him-(self) that which pleaseth him in us before him, through Jesus Christ; whose is the glory unto age of the ages. Amēn. (22) I beseech you, my brethren, bear with (the) word of the beseeching, for through a few (words) I wrote to you. (23) Ye know our brother Timotheos, he whom they released: with him (lit. this with him) should he come quickly I shall see you. (24) Salute all your rulers, and all the saints. They of [the] Hytalia salute you. (25) (The) grace with you all. Amen.

First Epistle to Timothy

1 2 3 4 5 6

1

(1) I. Paul, (the) apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our saviour, and Jesus Christ our hope; (2) to Timotheos, my beloved child in (the) faith. (The) grace, (the) mercy, [the] peace, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. (3) According as I besought thee to abide in Ephesos, being (myself) about to go to (the) Makedonia, that thou mightest order some not to teach another doctrine, (4) nor that they should attend to fables and genealogies, having no ends, these which give questionings rather than the dispensation of God which is in (the) faith. (5) But (the) end of this order is this: [a] love from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and [a] faith unfeigned. (6) These with which some agreed not, they turned aside to words of vanity; (7) and wishing to be teacher of the law, they understand not the things which they say, nor concerning the things upon which they establish themselves. (8) But we know that the law is good, if one should do to it as law. (9) Knowing thou this, that the law was not being for the righteous (man), but it was for the lawless and the unruly and the ungodly and the sinners, and them who are not sanctified, for the profane-hearted, for the father-slayers, for the mother-slayers, for the manslayers, (10) for the fornicators, for the sleepers with male, for the deceivers of man, for the sellers of freemen, for the false speakers, for false swearers, and every other thing which is contrary to the sound doctrine; (11) according to the Gospel of (the) glory of the blessed God, this with which I (pron.) was entrusted. (12) I thank him who encouraged me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he reckoned me faithful, he put me unto a ministry. (13) I was being a blasphemer at first, and persecutor and insulter, but I had mercy shown me, because I did it (lit. them) unknowingly in [an] unbelief; (14) but the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with [a] faith and [a] love which is in Christ Jesus. (15) Faithful is (the) word, and it is worthy that we should receive it in all receiving, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save the sinners; among whom I am the first: (16) but I had mercy shown me, that in me first Jesus Christ might manifest all his long-suffering, for a pattern to them who believe him unto [an] eternal a life, (17) (The) King of the ages, the incorruptible, the invisible only God, the honour is his and the glory unto age of the ages. Amen. (18) This order I lodge with thee, my child Timotheos, according to the prophecies which came before upon thee, that thou mightest arm thyself in them for the good soldiership; (19) having [a] faith and a good conscience. That which some having left were wrecked in the faith: (20) from whom is Hymeneos and Alesandros, these whom I gave to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

2

(1) I beseech then first of all things, to make prayers and supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings for all men, (2) for the kings, and for all who are exalted; that they may be in a life tranquil and meek, in all godliness and all gravity. (3) This is good, and it is acceptable before God our saviour; (4) he who wishoth that all men should be saved, and come unto (the) knowing the truth. (5) For God is one, and the mediator of God and the men is one, a man Christ Jesus, (6) he who gave himself as redemption for all; the witness in his time; (7) this to which I (pron.) was appointed as (ft) proclaimer and apostle. I say (the) truth, I say not falsehood, (the) teacher of Gentiles, in [a] faith and [a] truth. (8) I wish then that all men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without anger and reasoning. (9) Thus also the women, being in [a] placid beauty of heart, and [a] reverence and [a] prudence. Adorning themselves not in plaitings and gold (plur.) and pearls or in a clothing of great price; (10) but that which beseemeth the women to practise, professing [a] devoutness from good works. (11) Let a woman learn in [a] meekness in all subjection. (12) But I command not woman to teach, nor to be head over her husband, but let her be taught in [a] meekness. (13) For Adam was formed first, then Eva; (14) and Adam was not deceived; but the woman--she having been deceived, became in a transgression: (15) but she shall be saved through her child-bearing, if they should stay in [the] faith and [the] love and [the] sanctification in [a] prudence.

3

(1) Faithful is (the) word, he who wisheth for a bishopric, (it is) a good work which he desireth. (2) It is worthy then that the bishop should be irreproachable, having become husband of one wife, watchful, prudent, orderly, hospitable, a good teacher, (3) not a winebibber [is], not a striker, but fair [is], not contentious [is], not a lover of silver [is], (4) taking good care of his house, having children who are in [a] subjection with all gravity. (5) But if there is one (who) knoweth not (how) to take care of his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? (6) Not a novice [is], that he may not be proud, and fall down into [a] judgement of the devil. (7) But it is worthy also that there should be good witness to him from those who are outside; that he may not fall into a reproach and a snare of the devil. (8) Deacons also thus, being grave, being not double-spoken, and not addicted to much wine, being not greedy, being not lovers of dishonourable gain, (9) having the mystery of (the) faith in a pure conscience. (10) These also, let them be proved first, then let them minister, being blameless. (11) Women also thus, being grave, being not slanderers, watchful, faithful in all things. (12) Let deacons be husbands of one wife, taking good care of their children and their house. (13) For they who minister well,--a good degree (is) that which they make for themselves, and [a] great boldness in the faith, which is in Christ Jesus. (14) These things I write to thee, hoping to come to thee quickly; (15) but if I should delay, that thou mayest know how it is worthy to live in (the) house of God, which is the church of the living God, which (is) a pillar and a firmness of (the) truth. (16) And confessedly, great is the mystery of the godliness, that which was manifested in (the) flesh, was justified in the spirit, was manifested unto the angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in the world, was taken up away in [a] glory.

4

(1) But the spirit is speaking plainly, that in the last days some shall depart from (the) faith, attending to seducing spirits, and demon words (2) of false-speaking hypocrites, their conscience being burnt in them; (3) forbidding the marriage, and (commanding) to abstain from [the] meats, these which God created for the faithful, to take of them in [a] thanksgiving, and (for) them who knew the truth. (4) Because every creature of God is good, and there is not anything which is rejected, being taken in [a] thanksgiving: (5) for it is sanctified through [a] word of God and [an] intercession. (6) Laying these things before the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ, nourished in the words of (the) faith and the good teaching after which thou walkedst: (7) but depart from profane stories and old woman fables: exercise them in [the] godliness; (8) for the exercise of the body is profitable for [a] little, but [the] godliness is profitable in all things, having a promise of (the) present life, and (of) that which cometh. (9) Faithful is (the) word, and it is worthy that we should receive it in all receiving (10) for therefore we toil and we are reproached, because we hoped in the living God, who is (the) saviour of all men, chiefly the faithful. (11) Order these things and teach. (12) Let not any despise thy youth, but be a pattern to the faithful in (the) word, in the walk, in [the] love, in [the] faith, in [the] purity. (13) Till I come, attend to [the] reading, [the] prayer, [the] instruction. (14) Neglect not the grace which is in thee, this which was given to thee through a prophecy, with the laying on hand of the presbytery. (15) These be diligent in; be in these; that thy coming forward may be manifest to all. (16) Take heed to thyself, and the instruction. Be continuing in them; for doing this thou shalt save thyself, and them who hear thee.

5

(1) Strike not an old man, but exhort him as a father, the youths as brethren, (2) the old women as mothers, but the young women as sisters, in all purity. (3) Honour the widows who are really widows. (4) But if there is a widow who hath children or children of children, let them learn first [a] piety in their own house, and that they should honour their forefathers: for this is good and acceptable before God. (5) She who is really a widow, being left alone hoped in God, continuing in the supplications and the prayers by night and day; (6) but she who is luxurious died (though) alive. (7) Order these others that they be irreproachable. (8) But if there is one who taketh not care chiefly for them of his own house, he denied (the) faith, and he is worse than an unbeliever. (9) Let a widow be enrolled (lit. called) not below sixty years, having been wife of one husband, (10) witnessed to in good works; namely whether she nourished children, or she received strangers, or she washed the feet of the saints, or she relieved the afflicted, or whether she walked after all good works. (11) But the young widows refuse: for when they should be wanton against Christ, they wish to marry; (12) having a judgement, because they denied the faith of (the) first (state). (13) But withal they learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; [but] not only idle, but also tattlers and busybodies, speaking the things which are not worthy. (14) I wish then that the young women marry, and bear children, and be mistress of their house, not to give any pretext for the adversary concerning a calumny. (15) For already some turned aside after Satan. (16) If there is a believing woman who hath widows, let her care for them, and let them not add burden to the church, that it may be sufficient for those who are really widows. (17) The presbyters who preside well, let them be worthy of a double honour, chiefly those who toil in (the) word and the teaching. (18) For the Scripture saith: Thou shalt not muzzle ox threshing. And the labourer is worthy of his hire.' (19) Thou shalt not receive an accusation, against a presbyter except with two or three witnesses. (20) Them who sin reprove before all, that to (the) rest also there may be fear. (21) I witness before God and Christ Jesus and his chosen angels, that thou keep these things, without justifying any one previous to (the) judgement, not doing anything according to partiality. (22) Lay not hand upon any quickly, nor be sharer in sins of another: keep thyself pure. (23) And drink not water any longer; but drink a little wine for thee, because of thy stomach, and thy many weaknesses. (24) There are men whose sins are manifest, about to draw before them unto the judgement; but there are others also whose (sins) will walk after them. (25) Thus also the good works are manifest; and the others who are of another kind will not be able to be hid.

6

(1) The servants who are under (the) yoke, let them esteem their masters in all honour, that (the) name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. (2) But they who have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather let them serve, because they are believers and beloved, They who keep on in benevolence. With these things teach and exhort. (3) But he who giveth other teaching, and who cometh not to sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching of [the] godliness, (4) was proud, knowing not anything, but was diseased about questions and words of dispute, from which arise envyings and contentions and blasphemies and evil thoughts (5) and wranglings. Men having their heart corrupt, and bereft of (the) truth, thinking of [the] godliness that it is a producer of gain. (6) But [the] godliness in [a] sufficiency is a great producer of gain. (7) For we brought not anything into the world, and it is not possible for us to bring anything out (8) but having [a] food and [a] raiment, let these suffice us. (9) But they who wish to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many lusts of foolishness, (which) profit not, those which plunge the man into (the) destructions and [the] perdition. (10) For (the) root of all evil is the love of silver, which some loved; they went astray from (the) faith, and they drew to themselves many griefs. (11) But thou, O (the) man of God, flee from these things, but run after [the] righteousness, [the] godliness, [the] faith, [the] love, [the] patience, [the] suffering in [a] meekness. (12) Strive the good strife of (the) faith, lay hold on the eternal life, to which thou wast called, and thou confessedst the good confession before many witnesses. (13) I order thee before God, he who giveth life to all things, and Christ Jesus, he who witnessed before Pontios Pilatos the good confession, (14) to keep this commandment, being thyself spotless, being blameless until (the) manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15) He whom will manifest in his times the blessed one, who is omnipotent, (the) King of the kings, and (the) Lord of the lords, (16) the one alone, who hath [the] immortality, and who dwelleth in the light unapproachable; whom no man saw, nor is it possible that they should see him; he whose is the honour and the strength for ever. Amēn. (17) The rich ones of this present age--order them not to be proud, nor to hope in this richness which is not permanent, but to hope in God, he who giveth all things to us in [a] richness that we may enjoy; (18) to do good work, to be rich in good works, to be ready to give, as sharers; (19) laying (lit. throwing into) for themselves a good foundation unto that which cometh, that they may lay hold on the true life. (20) O Timotheos, keep the deposit, turning aside from profane and empty stories and that which opposeth us of the knowledge of the false name: (21) this which some having promised agreed not with (the) faith. (The) grace with you.

Second Epistle to Timothy

1 2 3 4

1

(1) Paul, (the) apostle of Christ Jesus through (the) wish of God according to the promise of (the) life which is in Christ Jesus, (2) to Timotheos my beloved child, (the) grace, (the) mercy, (the) peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (3) I give thanks to God whom I serve from my ancestors, in pure conscience, as remembering thee unfailingly in my prayers by night and day, (4) loving to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. (5) Remembering the faith which is in thee unfeigned; this which dwelt first in (the) mother of thy mother Lōēdē, and thy mother Eunikē; but I am persuaded that it dwelt in thee also. (6) Therefore I remind thee that thou should revivify the grace of God, which is this which is in thee, this which was given to thee through my laying on of hand. (7) For God giveth not to us a spirit of fear, but of [a] power and [a] love and [a] prudence. (8) Be not ashamed then of the witness of our Lord, nor of me also the prisoner of his: but suffer with the Gospel according to the power of God; (9) he who saved us, and he called us in a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his foreordaining alone, and his grace which he gave to us in Christ Jesus before the eternal times, (10) but it was manifested now by the manifestation of our saviour Jesus Christ. He having done away indeed with (the) death; but he caused (the) life and [the] incorruption to enlighten through the Gospel, (11) this of which I (pron.) was appointed for proclaimer and apostle and teacher of the Gentiles. (12) Therefore I suffer these (pains), but I am not ashamed of it, for I know him whom I believed, and I am persuaded that it is possible for him to keep my deposit unto that day. (13) Put by thee a form of sound words, these which thou heardest from me, in [a] faith and [a] love, which is in Christ Jesus. (14) The good deposit keep through the holy spirit, which dwelleth in us. (15) Thou knowest this, that they who are in Asia all turned away from me, of whom are Phygelos and Ermogenēs. (16) But the Lord shall give [a] mercy to (the) house of Onesyphoros because he gave rest to me many times, and my chain he was not ashamed of; (17) but having come to Rōmē, he hastened to seek for me, and he found me. (18) But the Lord shall give to him, to find [a] mercy with the Lord in that day; all the ministries which he did to me in Ephesos thou (pron.) knowest the more.

2

(1) Thou then, my child, be encouraged in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. (2) The things which thou heardest from me through many witnesses, these commits to faithful men, those (lit. these) who will be worthy to teach others. (3) Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (4) No one being soldier entangleth himself in the works of this life; that he may please him who armed him. (5) But if (any) one should go to (the) place of contending, he is not crowned unless he contendeth lawfully. (6) The husbandman who toileth must take first from the fruits. (7) Understand the things which I say; for the Lord shall give to thee a knowledge in all things. (8) Remember Jesus Christ who rose from them who are dead, from (the) seed of David according to my Gospel: (9) that in which I suffer even unto bonds as an evil doer; but (the) word of God is not bound. (10) Therefore I am patient in all things because of the elect, that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with the eternal glory. (11) Faithful is (the) word; for if we died with him, then we shall (lit. will) live with him also: (12) if we shall (lit. will) be patient, then we shall (lit. will) reign with him also: if we shall (lit. will) deny him, he also will deny us: (13) if we shall (lit. will) be unbelieving, that one will stay being faithful; for it is not possible that he should deny himself. (14) Remind them of these things, witnessing before God, not to dispute in (the) word for anything in which there is not gain, unto a ruining of them who hear. (15) Haste thee to present thyself as one chosen for God, as a workman (who) is not ashamed, dividing (the) word of the truth rightly. (16) But avoid profane and empty stories: for they advance further in ungodliness, (17) and their word findeth pasture as a canker which eateth: from whom is Hymeneos and Phyletos: (18) these who agree not with (the) truth, saying that (the) resurrection has already happened, and they turn (the) faith of others away. (19) The firm foundation however of God standeth, having this seal: The Lord knew them who are his: let all who say (the) name of the Lord abstain from (the) wrongdoing. (20) But in a great house not only vessels of gold and silver (vessels are those) which are in it; but there are (vessels of) wood also and earthenware; some indeed being unto (the) honour, but others being unto [a] dishonour. (21) If then (any) one should cleanse himself from all these, he shall be a vessel unto (the) honour cleansed, serviceable for his master, prepared unto all good works. (22) The youthful lusts avoid, but run after [the] righteousness, [the] faith, [the] love, [the] peace with all who cry unto (the) name of the Lord out of a cleansed heart. (23) But the questions of foolishness and ignorance avoid. Thou shalt know this, that they gender contentions: (24) but a servant of the Lord ought not to dispute, but to be meek with all, apt to teach, forbearing the evil, (25) teaching in [a] meekness them who oppose him, that perhaps God might give to them [a] repentance some time to cause them to know the truth, (26) and be sober from the snare with which the devil caught them, being subjected by him to the will of that (one).

3

(1) But this know, that in the last days evil times shall be. (2) For [the] men shall be loving themselves alone, lovers of silver, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) uncompassionate, inconstant, slanderers, not able to control themselves, receiving not teaching, loving not the good, (4) being traitors, headstrong, haughty, being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; (5) having (the) form of [the] godliness, but denying its power: [but] these [others] avoid. (6) But among these are they who sink into the houses, taking captive women full of sin, leading them in lusts of many kinds, (7) learning always, and they are not able ever to come into (the) knowledge of the truth. (8) But as Jannēs and Jambrēs who opposed Moses, thus these others also oppose the truth; men whose heart is corrupt, reprobate about the faith. (9) But they will not advance any further; for their ignorance will be manifest to all, according as that of the others became. (10) But thou walkedst after my doctrine, after my form, after my foreordaining, my faith, my longsuffering, my love, my patience; (11) all the persecutions and these pains which happened to me in (the) Antiochia, in Ikonion, in Lystrois; all the persecutions which I received; the Lord saved me from them all. (12) But all who wish to live in [a] godliness in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (13) But evil men and impostors shall come forward the more in the evil, deceiving and being deceived. (14) But thou (pron.) abide in the things which thou learnedst, and in which thou trustedst, (15) knowing through whom thou learnedst; and from being a child holy writings (are those) which thou knowest, these for which it is possible to give teaching to thee unto [the] salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All scriptures of inspiration of God are profitable unto [a] doctrine, unto [a] reproof, unto [a] correction, unto [an] instruction which is in [the] righteousness: (17) that (the) man of God may be prepared and established in all good works.

4

(1) I witness before God and Christ Jesus who will judge them who are living and them who are dead, and (by) his manifestation and his kingdom; (2) proclaim the word, be upon them in season, out of season; reprove, exhort, rebuke in all longsuffering and teaching. (3) For times will happen when they shall not receive sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts drawing to themselves teachers, tickling their ears; (4) their hearing indeed they shall turn from (the) truth, but they shall turn aside after the fables. (5) But thou (pron.) be sober in all things, suffer, work as a preacher of good tidings, fulfil thy ministry. (6) For I (pron.) now shall (lit. will) be removed, and (the) time of my dissolution drew near. (7) The good strife I strove. The course I completed. The faith I kept. (8) Henceforth is laid (up) for me the crown of [the] righteousness, that which the Lord will give to me in that day, the righteous judge; but not only to me alone, but also all who loved his manifestation. (9) Haste thee to come to me quickly: (10) for Dēmas forsook me, having loved this present age, he went to Thessalonikia; Kriskēs to [the] Galatia; Titos to DalMatthewia; (11) Loukas alone (it is) who is with me. Markos, take him away, bring him with thee, for he is serviceable to me unto [a] ministry. (12) But Tychikos I sent to Ephesos. (13) The cloak which I left in Trōas with Karpō, bring it (when thou) art coming, and the books also, especially the parchments. (14) Alexandros, the smith, did much evil to me: the Lord shall give recompense to him according to his works. (15) This (man), from whom keep thou thyself also, for he greatly opposed my words. (16) In my first defence he let not any come to me, but they all forsook me. It shall not be reckoned to them. (17) But the Lord stood with me: he gave power to me; that through me the proclaiming might be fulfilled, And all the Gentiles might hear that I was saved from the mouth of a lion. (18) The Lord shall preserve me from every evil work, and shall bring me safe into his kingdom of (the) heaven: he whose is the glory unto age of the ages. Amen. (19) Salute Priskylla and Akylla, and (the) house of Onēsiphoros. (20) Erastos stayed in Korinthos. But Trophēmos I left in Melitos sick. (21) Haste thee to come before the winter. Euboulos saluteth thee, and Pioudēs and Nilos and Klaudios and all the brethren. (22) The Lord Jesus Christ with thy spirit. (The) grace with you.

Epistle to Titus

1 2 3

1

(1) I. Paul, (the) servant of God, (the) apostle of Jesus Christ according to (the) faith of the elect of God, and (the) knowledge of the truth, according to [the] godliness, (2) in a hope of an eternal life, this which God, who cannot lie, promised before the eternal times; (3) but he manifested in his times his word in a proclaiming, this with which I was intrusted, according to the commandment of God our saviour; (4) to Titos my beloved child according to the fellowship of (the) faith: (the) grace and (the) peace from God (the) Father and Christ Jesus our saviour. (5) Therefore I left thee in Krithē, that thou mightest set up the things which were left, and establish presbyters in every city, according as I commanded thee; (6) one who is irreproachable being husband of one wife, having children faithful, and they are not under (lit. in) an accusation of dissoluteness, or being insubordinate. (7) For it is right that the bishop should be irreproachable, as a steward of God, not being selfwilled, not being a man of anger, not being a winebibber, not being a striker, not being a lover of dishonourable gain, (8) being a lover of strangers, lover of the good (singular), prudent, just, holy, being temperate, (9) laying hold on the faithful word for the teaching, that he may be able to encourage in the sound teaching and reprove them who contradict. (10) For there are many insubordinate and speakers of vanity, deceivers of heart, chiefly they of (the) circumcision. (11) These whose mouths ought to be stopped, who turn aside (the) whole of houses, teaching the things which (they) ought not, for a despicable gain. (12) But one from them said, a prophet of theirs: 'The Krētēs, sayers of falsehood always, they are evil beasts, they are idle bellies.' (13) This witness is true. Because of this reason reprove them severely, that they may be sound in (the) faith, (14) and not attend to Jewish fables, and commandments of man, turning them from (the) truth. (15) For all things are pure to them who are pure, but they who are defiled and the unbelieving, there is not anything pure to them, but their heart was defiled and their conscience. (16) They confess God, that they know him; but in their works they deny him, abominable, dissentient, unserviceable about all good works.

2

(1) But thou, speak the things which are comely for the sound doctrine. (2) The old men to be watchful, being grave, prudent, sound in (the) faith, in [the] love, in [the] patience. (3) Thus also the old women, to be in [a] character reverent, not slanderers, nor enslaved to much wine, being givers of good teaching; (4) that they may teach the young women to be lovers (of their) husbands, lovers (of their) children, (5) prudent, chaste, the managers of their house, good, being in subjection to their husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. (6) Thus also the young men encourage to be prudent: (7) making thyself (a) pattern of good works in all things (lit. work); in the doctrine, with (lit. in) [the] uncorruptness, (speaking) a grave word, (8) a sound word, uncondemnable; that he who is contrary to us may be ashamed, having not any evil to say against us. (9) The servants to be subject to their masters, pleasing them in all things, (10) and not to be thieves, but manifesting all good fidelity (lit. faith), that they may adorn the teaching of God our saviour in all things. (11) For (the) grace of God our saviour was manifested to every man, (12) instructing us that, having denied [the] ungodliness and [the] worldly lusts, we might live in [a] prudence and [a] righteousness and [a] godliness in this present age. (13) Looking out forward to the blessed hope, and (the) manifestation of (the) glory of God, the great (one), Christ Jesus our saviour. (14) He who gave himself for us, until he saved us from all lawlessness, and purified us to him for a people, permanent, and zealous of good works. (15) Speak these things, and encourage, reprove in all authority. Let not any lay hold on thee in [a] knowledge.

3

(1) Remind them to be subject to the rulers and the authorities, well pleasing, and be prepared for all good works. (2) That they blaspheme not any one, and be not disputers, being fair, manifesting all meekness with all men. (3) For we also were being ignorant once, being dissentient, and going astray, enslaved to lusts and pleasures of many kinds, walking in [a] malice and [an] envy, worthy of being hated, hating one another. (4) But when was manifested the kindness and the love toward man of God our saviour, (5) not from our works which we did in [a] righteousness, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of the regeneration and the renewing, (6) this which he poured upon us richly through Jesus Christ our saviour; (7) that we might be justified in the grace of that one, and become heirs according to a hope of an eternal life. (8) Faithful is (the) word, and concerning these [other] things I wish to cause thee to assure thyself, that they who believed God should take care to maintain the good works. These (things) are good and they are profitable to [the] men: (9) but [the] questions of foolishness, and [the] genealogies, and [the] strifes, and [the] disputes about the law avoid; for these (things) are unprofitable and they are vain. (10) An heretical man, after once and twice admonishing him, refuse; (11) knowing that such a man is turned (away) and sinneth, having condemned himself. (12) If we should send Artema to thee, or Tichikos, haste thee to come to me to Nikopolis: for I ordained to spend the winter there. (13) Zēnas the lawyer and Apollō send in [a] haste, that they may not be deficient of anything. (14) Let those who are ours learn to take care for good works unto the necessary needs, that they may not be unfruitful. (15) All who are with me salute thee. Salute them who love us in (the) faith. (The) grace with you all.

Epistle to Philemon

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(1) See how great love the Father gave to us, that we should be called The children of God': we are such (lit. some). Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew not him. (2) My beloved, now we (are) children of God, and it is not yet manifested of what kind we were to be; but we know that, should he be manifested, we shall (lit. will) be like him; because we see him according as he is. (3) Every one who hath this hope, purifieth himself in him, according as he is pure. (4) Every one who doeth (the) sin, doeth also [the] lawlessness: for (the) sin is (the) lawlessness. (5) And we know that he was manifested, that he might take away the sins; and (the) sin is not in him. (6) Every one who abideth in him sinneth not: every one who doeth (the) sin saw not him, nor knew him. (7) [The] children, let not any one lead you astray: he who doeth [the] righteousness is righteous, according as he is righteous. (8) But he who doeth (the) sin is from the devil; because the devil sinneth from (the) beginning. Therefore (the) Son of God was manifested, that he might pull clown the works of the devil. (9) Every one who was born from God sinneth not, because there is a seed of his abiding in him: and it is not possible for him to sin, because he was born from God. (10) In this are manifested the children of God, and the children of the devil. Every one who doeth not (the) righteousness is not from God, and he who loveth not his brother. (11) Because this is the promise which ye heard from (the) beginning, that ye should love one another: (12) not according as Kain, who was from the evil (one), and he killed his brother. Why killed he him? Because his works were being evil, but those of his brother were righteous. (13) But wonder not, my brethren, if the world hateth you. (14) We (pron.) know that we removed from (the) death into (the) life because we love the brethren. He who loveth not abode in (the) death. (15) Every one who hateth his brother is a murderer: and we know that no murderers haves eternal life abiding in them. (16) In this we knew [the] love, that he laid (down) his life for us: and we also ought to lay (down) our lives for one another. (17) But he who hath a life of this world, and seeth his brother having need, and shutteth up his tender mercies from him, how will the love of God abide in him (18) My children, let us not love in (the) word, nor in (the) tongue; but in (the) deed and [the] truth. (19) In this we shall (lit. will) know that we (are) from [the] truth, and we shall (lit. will) persuade ourselves before him. (20) Because if our heart should condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and he knoweth all things. (21) My beloved, if our heart should not condemn, us, we have [a] boldness with God; (22) and that which we shall (lit. will) ask, we shall (lit. will) receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and we do that which is pleasing before him. (23) And this is his commandment, that we should believe (the) name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, according as he gave commandment to us. (24) And he who will keep his commandments abideth in him; and he also abideth in him. And in this we shall (lit. will) know that he abideth in us through the spirit which he gave to us.

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(1) My beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets went to the world. (2) In this we shall (lit. will) know the spirit of God: Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ came in (the) flesh is of God: (3) and every spirit which confesseth not Jesus is not of God. And this is the antichrist whom ye heard that he cometh; and now he is in the world already. (4) Ye are children from God, and ye conquered them: because greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world. (5) They (are) from the world: therefore they speak from the world, and the world heareth them. (6) We are of God: he who knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth not us. In this we shall (lit. will) know the spirit of the truth, and the spirit of the error. (7) My beloved, let us love one another: because the love is of God; every one who loveth was born from God, and he knoweth God. (8) He who loveth not knew not God; because God is [a] love. (9) In this the love of God was manifested in us, because God sent his only Son to the world, that we might live through him. (10) The love is in this. Not that we (pron.) loved God, but that he (pron.) loved us, and he sent his Son for a redemption of our sins. (11) My beloved, if God loved us thus, we also ought to love one another. (12) God no one saw ever: if we should love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is completed in us. (13) In this we shall (lit. will) know that we abide in him, and he also abideth in us, because he gave to us from his spirit. (14) And we (pron.) saw and we witness that the Father sent his Son for [a] salvation of the world. (15) He who will confess that Jesus is (the) Son of God, God abideth in him, and he also abideth in God. (16) And we (pron.) knew and we believed the love of God, which is in us. God is [a] love; and he who abideth in [the] love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. (17) In this [the] love was completed with us, that we might find [a] boldness in the day of the judgement; because according as he is thus we also (are) in the world. (18) There is not fear in [the] love: but the completed love casteth [the] fear out, because [the] fear hath [a] punishment; but he who feareth is not completed in [the] love. (19) We (pron.) love God, because he (pron.) loved us first. (20) But if one saith: love God,' and is hating his brother, he is false: for he who loveth not his brother whom he seeth, God whom he saw not, how will he be able to love him? (21) And this commandment we have from him, that he who loveth God should love his brother also.

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(1) Every one who believeth that Jesus (is) Christ is born from God: and every one who loveth him who begat loveth also him who was begotten from him. (2) In this we shall (lit. will) know that we love the children of God: If we should love God, and do his commandments. (3) For this is [the] love of God, that we should keep his commandments; and his commandments are not burdensome. (4) Because every one who was born from God conquereth the world: and this is the conquest which conquered the world, even our faith. (5) But who is he who is conquering the world, except him who believeth that Jesus is (the) Son of God? (6) This is he who came through [a] water and [a] blood and [a] spirit, Jesus Christ; not in the water only, but also in the water and in the blood. And the spirit is (that) which witnesseth, because the spirit is the truth. (7) Because three are they who witness, (8) the spirit and the water and the blood: and the three are in one. (9) If we receive the witness of [the] men, the witness of God is greater: because this is the witness of God, that he witnessed of his Son. (10) He who believeth (the) Son of God, the witness of God is in him: he who believeth not (the) Son of God made him false; because he believed not the witness, which God witnessed of his Son. (11) And this is the witness, that God gave to us an eternal life, and this life was in his Son. (12) He who hath (the) Son hath (the) life; he who hath not (the) Son of God hath not (the) life. (13) These things I wrote to you, that ye might know that ye have an eternal life, ye (lit. they) who believe (the) name of the Son of God. (14) And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, (of) that which we shall (lit. will) ask according to his wish, he heareth us: (15) and if we should see that he heareth us, of that which we shall (lit. will) ask, we know that we have our petitions which we shall (lit. will) ask of him. (16) If one see his brother sinning a sin which is not unto (the) death, let him ask, and [a] life shall be given to him (for) those who sin not of (the sin unto the) death. There is sin leading to (the) death: I was not meaning that (sin), that he should pray concerning it. (17) All wrongdoing is (the) sin, and there is sin not leading to (the) death. (18) We know that every one who was born from God sinneth not; but the being born from God keepeth him, and the evil (one) toucheth him not. (19) But we know that we are from God, and the whole world lay under the evil (one). (20) But we know that (the) Son of God came, and he gave to us a knowledge, that we might know the true God; and we are in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the eternal life. (21) My children, keep yourselves from the idols.

Second Epistle of St. John

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(1) The presbyter to the chosen lady and her children, they whom I (pron.) love in [a] truth; and not I only, but also all who knew the truth; (2) because of the truth which abideth in us, and it shall be with us for ever. (3) (The) grace, (the) mercy, (the) peace shall be with us from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, (the) Son of the Father, in [a] truth and [a] love. (4) I rejoiced greatly, having found (certain) of thy children walking in [a] truth, according as we received commandment from the Father. (5) And now I beseech thee, lady, not as that (it is) a new commandment which I write to thee, but this which we were having from (the) beginning, that we should love one another. (6) And this is [the] love, that we should walk according to his commandments. And this is the commandment, that according as ye heard from (the) beginning that we should walk in it. (7) Because many deceivers went to the world, they who confess not Jesus Christ, that he came in (the) flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. (8) Look out for yourselves, that ye may not lose that which ye worked, but that ye may receive a complete reward. (9) Every one who walketh onward, and stayeth not in the doctrine of Christ, is godless: but he who will stay in the doctrine of Christ, he hath the Father and (the) Son. (10) He who cometh to you, and is bringing not this doctrine, take him not up into house, nor say to him. (11) For he who will say to him 'Hail ' shareth in his evil works. (12) Having many things to write to you, [but] I wished not through [a] paper and [an] ink; for I hope to see you, and to speak to you mouth to mouth, that your joy may be complete. (13) The children of thy sister who is chosen salute thee.

Third Epistle of St. John

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(1) The presbyter to Gaios the beloved, he whom I (pron.) love in [a] truth. (2) My beloved, I pray concerning all things for thy ways to be straight, and that thou mayest be in health, according as (the) ways of thy soul are straightened. (3) I rejoiced greatly, the brethren having come and having witnessed unto thy truth, according as thou (pron.) walkest in [a] truth. (4) For I have not grace greater than this, that I may hear concerning my children, that they walk in [a] truth. (5) [The] beloved, (it is) a faithful work which thou doest, working among the brethren, and this among the strangers; (6) these who witnessed unto thy love before their churches, these whom thou wilt do well (in) escorting worthily of God : (7) for they went forth by (Eyrett) the name, taking not anything from the Gentiles. (8) We then ought to receive such, that we may be fellow-workers with the truth. (9) Thou wrotest a thing to the church: but Diotrephēs, the lover of being first among them, receiveth us not. (10) Therefore, should I come, I shall (lit. will) cause him to remember his works which he doeth, prating against us in evil words: and he is not content with these (things), neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them who wish to receive them he letteth not, and he is casting them out of the churchchurch. (11) My beloved, imitate not the evil, but the good. He who doeth the good is from God: but he who doeth the evil saw not God. (12) Dimētrios was witnessed unto by all, and by (the) truth: and we (pron.) witness, and thou knowest that our witness is true. (13) Having many things to write to thee, [but] I wish not to write to thee with [an] ink and a reed: (14) but I hope immediately to see thee, and that we may speak to one another, mouth to mouth. (The) peace to thee. The friends salute thee. Salute the friends according to their names.

Epistle of St. Jude

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(1) Jude, (the) servant of Jesus Christ, but (the) brother of James, to them who were loved in God the Father, and they were kept for Jesus Christ, they who are called. (2) May (the) mercy and (the) peace and the love be multiplied to you. (3) My beloved, all diligence (it is) which I give (lit. do them) writing to you concerning your salvation together. It was necessary for me to write to you to encourage (you), that ye should strive in the faith which was once delivered to you, namely the saints. (4) For men slipped themselves in among us, concerning whom it was before written unto this judgement, being ungodly, changing the grace of our Lord into [a] defilement, and denying (the) only Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. (5) I wish you to know; though ye know all things, that once Jesus saved his people from (the) land of Khēmi; but (the) second time, them who believed not he destroyed. (6) Angels also (who) kept not their beginning, but they left their place of dwelling, he kept them in under (the) darkness in eternal bonds unto the judgement of the great day. (7) As Sodoma and Gomorra, and the other cities which were around them, having fornicated as these, and they went after other flesh (plur.), they are set for an example of the eternal fire, about to receive a judgement. (8) Thus also these others defile their flesh in (the) dreaming of dreams d, but reject [the] dominion; the glories they blaspheme. (9) But Michaēl the archangel, speaking (lit. saying) against the devil--he was speaking concerning (the) body of Moses--dared not to bring a blasphemous judgement upon him, but he said: 'The Lord shall rebuke thee.' (10) But these blaspheme [in] the things indeed which they know not: but the things which they know naturally, as beasts without speech, in these they are corrupted. (11) Woe to them because they walked on (the) road of Kain, and they rushed along (the) error of (the) reward of Balaam, and they perished in the contradiction of Kore. (12) These are they who are spots in your love-feasts, delighting with you, being shepherds to themselves in fearlessness; they are clouds without water, and with (the) wind taking them and bringing them; they are fruitless trees of (the) autumn, having died twice, having been plucked up with their root; (13) they are wild waves of the sea, foaming out a shame; they are stars astray, for whom is kept (the) darkness of (the) eternal blackness. (14) But also against these prophesied the seventh from Adam, Enoch, saying: Lo, the Lord came in myriads of holy angels of his, (15) executing a judgement against all; and to reprove all the ungodly concerning all of their works of ungodliness in which they were ungodly, and concerning all the hard things which they spake against him, being ungodly sinners.' (16) These are the quarrelsome murmurers, walking according to their lusts, and their mouths speak in excess, admiring (men's) persons because of gain. (17) But ye, my beloved, remember the words which were spoken from (the) first by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; (18) that they were saying to you, that at (the) end of the times deceivers shall come, walking according to the lusts of their ungodlinesses. (19) These are they who separate, psychic, in whom there is not spirit. (20) But ye, my beloved, build yourselves in your holy faith, praying in the holy spirit. (21) Let us keep ourselves in [a] love of God, looking out forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto an eternal life. (22) Some indeed reproving, distinction being made about them; (23) but some saving, snatching them from a fire; But some having mercy upon in [a] fear, hating even the garment which is with spot from the flesh. (24) But he for whom it is possible to keep you without stumbling, and to set you up before his' glory, being without spot in [a] gladness- (25) God alone our saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, the glory is his, and the greatness, and the strength, and the authority, before all the ages, and now and unto age of the ages, Amēn.

Apocalypse

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(1) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants the things which must happen quickly: and he signified them. Having sent them through his angel to his servant Iōnnēs. (2) He who witnessed to the word of God, and the witness of Jesus Christ, to the things which he saw. (3) Blessed are they who read, and they who hear the words of this prophecy, and who keep the things which are written on it: for the time approached. (4) Iōannēs to the seven churches which are in [the] Asia: (the) grace to you and [the] peace from him who is, and who was being, and who cometh; And from the seven spirits which are before the throne; (5) And from Jesus Christ the witness, the faithful, the firstborn of .the dead, and (the) ruler of all the kings of (the) earth. He who loved us, and he washed us from our sins in his blood. (6) And he made us a kingdom of priesthood to God his Father; whose is the glory and the might for ever. Amēn. (7) Lo, he it is who cometh with the clouds; and they all shall see him --every eye, and they who pierced him; and they all shall see him--the tribes of (the) earth. Amēn. (8) I am the alpha and the ō(mega), the beginning and the end: Saith the Lord God, he who is, he who was being, and he who cometh, the Almighty. (9) I am Iōannēs your brother, and your partner in the tribulations, because the kingdom and thy endurance were in Jesus. I was being in the island, which is called 'Pathmō,' because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ. (10) I was being in a spirit in the day of the Kyriakē. And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying to me: (11) The things which thou wilt hear write on a book, send them to the seven churches which are [in] the Asia, That is to say Ephesos, and Smyrna, and Pergamōn, and Thyatēra, and Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Laodikia. (12) And I turned myself, I saw the voice which was speaking to me. And having turned myself, I saw seven lampstands of gold; (13) and in (the) midst of the lampstands a likeness of a son of man, being clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt upon his breasts with a girdle of gold. (14) But his head and his hair being white as [a] white wool, and [a] snow; and his eyes are as a flame of fire; (15) and his feet as [a] burnished brass, being refined in a fire; and his voice as (the) voice of many waters. (16) There were seven stars in his right hand: and a sword of two edges coining from his mouth; and his face shining as (the) sun in his power. (17) And when I saw him, I cast myself down before his feet; and I was as one dead. And he placed his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not, I am the first and the last, (18) he who liveth; and I died, and lo, I live unto age of the age, and the keys of (the) death were being with me and (of) Amenti. (19) Write then the things which thou wilt see, they (pron.) which will happen after these (things). (20) The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest on my right hand, and the seven lampstands of gold. The seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches: and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are seven churches.'

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(1) Write to the angel of the church of Ephesos: These are the things which he saith, in whose right hand are the seven stars, he who walketh in (the) midst of the seven lampstands of gold: (2) "I know thy works, and thy toils and thine endurance, that it is not possible for thee to bear an evil (one). And thou triedst some who say of themselves, that they are apostles, and they are not such (lit. some), and they were found being false apostles. (3) And [an] endurance thou hast, and thou didst bear with these because of my name, and thou wast not weary. (4) But I have against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. (5) Remember then how thou didst fall, and repent; otherwise I come to thee, and move thy lampstand from its place, unless thou repent. (6) But this thou hast, that thou hatedst the works of the Nikolaitēs, those which I also hate." (7) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches: He who will overcome, I shall give to him that he may eat from the tree of (the) life which is in the midst of the Paradise of my God.' (8) Write to the angel of the church of Smyrna: These are the things which saith the first and the last, he who died and he lived: (9) "I know thy tribulation and thy poverty; but thou (art) rich. And I found not one from those who say of themselves that they are Jews, being not such (lit. some), but being a synagogue of Satan. (10) Fear not the pains which thou wilt receive: behold, the devil will cast some from you to the prison, that ye may be tried and afflicted for ten days. Be thou faithful even unto (the) death, and I shall (lit. will) give to thee the crown of (the) life." (11) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches. For to him, who will overcome, shall not be done violence (by) the second death.' (12) Write to the angel of the church of Pergamōs: 'These are the things which he saith who hath the sword which striketh with two edges: (13) "I know where thon dwelledst, the place in which is the throne of Satan: and thou laidest hold on my name and deniedst not my faith. And in the days thou opposedst the martyr the faithful, he whom they killed with you, the place in which Satan dwelleth. (14) But I have a few names also against thee who lay hold on (the) teaching of Balaam; He who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before (the) sons of Israel, to eat (things) slain for idols, and to commit fornication. (15) Thus thou also hast (one who) is laying hold on (the) teaching of the Nikolaitēs. (16) Repent then: and I come to thee quickly; and I fight with them with the sword of my mouth." (17) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches. For he who will overcome, I shall give to him from the hidden manna; and I shall give to him a white stone, And in the stone being a new name written [upon it]: no one saw it except him who received it.' (18) Write to the angel of the church of Thyatēra: These are the things which saith (the) Son of God, He whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and his feet as [a] burnished brass: (19) "I know thy works, and thy love and thy faith and thy ministry and thy patience, and thy last works which are greater than the first. (20) But I have against thee, that thou allowedst the woman Iezabel,' who saith, that she is (lit. I am) a prophet and teacher; and is leading astray my servants to commit fornication, and to eat from the things slain for idols. (21) And I gave a time to her, that she might repent; and she wisheth not to repent of her fornication. (22) Lo, I will put (lit. give) her into (the) bed, and them who commit adultery with her, into a great tribulation: unless she repent. (23) I shall (lit, will) kill her sons with (the) death. And all the churches shall know, that I am he who searcheth the hearts and the reins; and I am giving to each one according to his works. (24) But to you (pron.) I say, namely (the) rest of them who are in Thyatēra, they who have not this teaching, who knew not (the) depth of Satan, as they say;-- I shall (lit. will) not cast another burden upon you. (25) But that which ye have, lay hold on it until I come. (26) And he who will overcome, and who will keep my works unto the end (lit. out), I shall give to him an authority over the nations: (27) And he shall rule them with a staff of iron; as a potter's vessel he shall crush them. (28) As I also received from my Father; and I shall give to him the star which riseth in the morning." (29) He who hath ear to hear, let him hoar what it is which the spirit saith to the churches.'

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(1) Write to the angel of the church of Sardis: These are the things which he saith who hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name of the health that thou art alive: and thou art dead. (2) Be thou then watchful, and confirm (the) remainder; otherwise thou wilt die: because I found not thy works fulfilled with my God. (3) Remember thenhow thou reccivedst and thou heardest; and keep, and repent. Unless then thou repent and watch I shall (lit. will) come as a thief, and thou wilt not know the hour in which I come upon thee. (4) Bu I have a few names in Sardis, these which polluted not their garments with woman: and they shall walk with me in white garments; for they are worthy. (5) He who will overcome thus, they shall clothe him with white vestures; and they shall not blot out their name from the book of (the) life: I shall confess their name before my Father, and before his angels." (6) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches.' (7) Write to the angel of the church of Philadelphia: These are the things which saith the holy, the true, he who hath the keys of (the) house of David, he who will open, no one will shut; and should he shut, no one will open : (8) "I know thy works and thy faith, behold, I set (lit. gave) before thee an opened door; it is not possible that any should shut it; because thou hast a little power, and thou keptest my word, and thou deniedst not my name. (9) Lo, I will give to thee from the synagogue of Satan them who say that they are Jews, and they are not such (lit. some), but they say falsehood. Lo, I shall cause them to come, and I shall cause them to worship thee; and they shall cast themselves down before thy feet; and all shall know that it is I who loved thee. (10) Because thou keptest my word and my patience, therefore I also kept thee from the trial, which will come upon the whole multitude, to try all who are upon (the) earth. (11) I come quickly: lay hold on that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. (12) He who will overcome, I shall make him pillar in (the) house of my God, and he shall not come out any more. And I shall write (the) name of my God upon him, and (the) name of the new city of my Father, Jerusalem which cometh down out of (the) heaven from my God, and my new name." (13) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches.' (14) Write to the angel of the church of Laodikia: 'These are the things which saith the Amēn, the witness, the faithful and the true, (the) beginning of the creation of God. (15) "I know thy works, that neither art thou cold, nor art thou hot. Would that thou wert being as cold water or thou wert boiling. (16) Because thus thou art as water lukewarm, neither art thou as hot water, nor as cold water, therefore I will, vomit thee out of my heart. (17) Because thou sayest, that I (am) rich, and I have need of nothing; and thou knowest not that thou (art) weak and miserable, and thou (art) a poor and blind beggar, being naked: (18) I counsel thee then to buy [a] gold from me, refined in [a] fire, that thou mayest become rich; And clothe thyself with splendid garments, that (the) shame of thy nakedness be not manifested; and give eyesalve to thine eyes, that thou mayest see. (19) For I--them whom I love I reprove, I chasten them. Be zealous then for the good, and repent. (20) For lo, I stand at the door, and I knock: he who will hear and open the door to me, I shall (lit. will) go in with him, and eat with him, and he with me. (21) For he who will overcome I shall (lit. will) give to him to sit with me on my throne, as I overcame, and I sat with my Father on his throne." (22) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear what it is which the spirit saith to the churches.'

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(1) But after these (things) I saw. Behold, a door being opened in (the) heaven, and the first voice, which was speaking to rne, which I heard as (the) voice of a trumpet speaking to me, saying: 'Come up hither, and let me show to thee the things which will happen after these.' And (2) I became in the spirit: and I saw. Behold a throne, being in (the) heaven, (3) and he who sat on (the) throne was being in light of iaspis and a sardinos: and the iris encircling the throne being of light of smarakdos. (4) And there are twenty-four thrones set around the throne, and twenty-four presbyters sitting upon the thrones, clad in white vestures and crowns of gold upon their heads. (5) And were coming from the throne lightnings and voices and thunders. And seven lamps of fire encircling the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. (6) And there is before the throne as a sea of glass being like to a christalos. And in (the) midst of the throne there are four living-beings full of eyes before and behind. (7) And the first living-being like to a lion, and the second living-being like to a calf, and the third living-being like to (the) face of a son of man, and the fourth living-being like to an eagle flying. (8) And each one of them--all over them, from their claws inside of them,' being full of eyes. And they were resting themselves not in the day and the night, saying: 'Is holy, is holy, is holy the Lord God, the Almighty, he who is, and he who was being, and he who cometh.' (9) And if the four living-beings should give this glory and this honour and this thanksgiving to him who sitteth upon the throne, he who liveth unto age of the age, (10) Fall down upon their face the twenty-four presbyters, and they worship before him who liveth unto age of the age. And they lay their crowns down before the throne, saying : (11) 'Thou (art he) who is worthy, the Lord our God, to receive the glory and the honour and the power. Because thou (pron.) createdst all things, and thy will was done, and they were created.'

5

(1) And I saw on the right hand of him who sat upon the throne a book written inside and outside of it), and sealed with seven seals. (2) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming in a great voice: 'Who is worthy to open this book, and open its seals?' (3) And no one was able in (the) heaven nor upon (the) earth nor below (the) earth to open the book, nor to see it. (4) And they all were weeping, because no one was worthy to open the book, nor to see it. (5) And one from the presbyters came to me, he said to me: 'Weep not. Lo, the lion from (the) tribe of Iouda, from (the) root of David, overcame to open the book and its seals.' (6) And I saw in (the) midst of the throne and the four living-beings, and in (the) midst of the presbyters, a lamb standing, slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God which were sent down upon all the earth. (7) And he came, he took away the book from (the) right hand of him who sat upon the throne. (8) And he having taken the book, the four living-beings and the twenty-four presbyters threw themselves down before the lamb, Having each of them a harp, and vials of gold full of incense, which (are) the prayers of the saints. (9) And they were praising in a new song, saying: 'Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: because thou wast slaughtered, and thou bought us for God in thy blood from every tribe and every tongue and every nation and every people. (10) And thou madest them for our God a kingdom and priests; and they shall reign upon the earth.' (11) And I saw, and I heard (the) voice of many angels around the throne and the living-beings and the presbyters; and their number was ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands; (12) Saying in a great sound: Worthy is the lamb who was slaughtered to take the power and the kingdom and the wisdom, and the honour and the glory and the blessing.' (13) And every creature which is in (the) heaven and upon (the) earth, and those which arc in the sea, and all those which are in them- [And] I heard them saying to him who sitteth upon the throne: 'The blessing is thine and the glory and the honour and the strength unto age of the ages.' (14) And the four living-beings are saying: Amen.' And the presbyters threw themselves upon their face, they worshipped.

6

(1) After these (things) I saw, when the lamb opened one of the seals: I heard one of the four living-beings saying as (the) voice of a thunder: Come.' (2) And I saw. Behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it, having a bow: and a crown was given to him. He came forth conquering, and he conquered. (3) But he having opened the second seal, I heard the second living-being saying: Come.' (4) And I saw. A horse of colour of fire all (over) came forth. And to him who sat upon it was given to take away the peace from all (the) earth; that they might slaughter one another: and a great sword was given to him. (5) And he having opened the third seal, I saw the third living-being saying: 'Come.' And I saw. Behold, a black horse; and he who sat upon it having a balance in his hand. (6) And I heard a harsh voice in (the) midst of the four living-beings as (the) voice of an eagle, saying: A measure of wheat for a stater, and three measures of barley for a stater; but the oil and the wine hurt them not.' ' (7) And he having opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living-being saying: 'Come.' (8) And I saw. Behold, a grey horse; and he who sat upon it, his name is (the) death; and all Amenti drawing after him. And authority was given to him over the fourth part of (the) earth, to kill them with (the) sword and the famine and the tribulation and the wild beasts of (the) earth. (9) And he having opened the fifth seal, I saw below the altar the souls of the men who were slaughtered because of the word of God, and the witness which they were having. (10) And they cried in a great voice, saying: 'How long yet, our Master, he who is holy, the true, judgest thou not and takest vengeance for our blood from them who dwell upon (the) earth?' (11) And to each of them was given a white robe; and it was said to them, that they should rest themselves yet a little time, until were fulfilled their fellow servants and their brethren who will be killed also like them. (12) And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, a great earthquake happened; and (the) sun was blackened as a sackcloth of hair; and all the moon became blood; (13) And the stars shook down from (the) heaven upon the earth as a fig-tree (when) a great wind shakes (down) her unripe figs. (14) And (the) heaven is being rolled up as a scroll; and every mountain and every island were moved from their place. (15) And all the kings of (the) earth and the chiliarchs and the rich and the strong and every servant and all the freemen bid themselves in the caves and the holes of the rocks. (16) And they say to the rocks and the mountains: Fall upon us, and hide us from (the) face of him who sitteth upon the throne, and from before the anger of the lamb. (17) Because the great day of his anger came. For whom is it possible to stand before him?'

7

(1) But after these (things) I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of (the) earth, laying hold on the four winds, that the winds might not blow upon (the) earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon the rivers, nor upon the trees. (2) And I looked, I saw another angel having come from the places of rising of (the) sun, having a seal of the living God. And he cried out in a great shout towards the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3) saying to them: 'Hurt not the earth and the sea and the trees, until ye seal the servants of God in their forehead.' (4) And I heard (the) number of them who were scaled in their forehead, an hundred forty four thousand, they who were sealed from all the tribes of (the) sons of Israel. (5) From (the) tribe of louda twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Roubēn twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Gad twelve thousand. (6) From (the) tribe of Ephthalim twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Dan twelve thousand. (7) From (the) tribe of Symeōn twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Levi twelve thousand. (8) From (the) tribe of Isachar twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Zaboulōn twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Assēr twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Iōsēph twelve thousand. From (the) tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand who were sealed. (9) And after these (things) I saw a great multitude; it is not possible for any one to number it, from every nation and every tribe and every people and every tongue, standing (plug.) before the throne and before the lamb, vested in white robes, having (lit. being) harps in their hands; (10) Crying out in a great voice, saying: The salvation is of our God, he who sitteth upon the throne, and (of) the lamb.' (11) And all the angels were standing before the throne and the presbyters and the four living-beings; And they threw themselves down upon their face before the throne, and they worshipped God, (12) saying: 'Amēn. The blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honour, and the power are of (tta.) our God unto age of the age. Amēn.' (13) And one from the presbyters answered, he said to me: Who are these who are clothed with these white garments, and whence came they ?' (14) I said to him: 'Lord, thou (art he) who knoweth them.' And he said to me: 'These are they who come from the great tribulations, and they washed their robes and made them glorious in the blood of the lamb. (15) Therefore they are before the throne of God; and they serve him in his temple, in the day and the night: and he who sitteth upon the throne shall overshadow them. (16) They shall not hunger, nor shall they thirst any more, neither shall they toil, neither shall shadow come over them, nor any (lit. every) heat: (17) Because the lamb which is before the throne himself is walking with them, and he shall guide them unto (exert) the fountain of water of life: and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes.'

8

(1) And he having opened the seventh seal, a sound was made in (the) heaven unto an hour. (2) And I saw the seven angels who were before God, standing; and seven trumpets were given to them. (3) And another angel came; he stood by the altar, having a censer of gold: and much incense was given to him, that he might give it (plur.) along with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, that which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of all the saints went up from (the) hand of the angel, he who was before God. (5) And the angel took the censer of gold, he filled it with the fire of the altar, and he cast it down upon the earth; and there happened thunders and voices and lightnings and an earthquake. (6) And the seven angels, they who had the seven trumpets, prepared themselves that they might sound. (7) And the first angel sounded, and there happened a hail (lit. stone) and a fire mingled in the blood, and they were cast upon the earth. And (the) third part of the earth was burnt, and (the) third part of the trees, and it burnt all green grass. (8) And the second angel sounded: as (it were) a great mountain of fire burning was cast down to the sea. And (the) third part of the sea became. blood; (9) and (the) third part of all the creatures which were in the sea died, those in which there was soul of life; and (the) third part of the ships perished. (10) And the third angel sounded, and a great star, burning as a torch of fire, fell down from (the) heaven. And it fell on (the) third part of the rivers, and the fountains of water; (11) and (the) name of the star is called Apsinthion. And (the) third part of the waters became bitter as an alloē; and many of the men died of the waters, because they became bitter. (12) And the fourth angel sounded, and (the) third part of the sun was struck, and (the) third part of the moon, and (the) third part of the stars; that they might become dark, and that their third part might not shine in the day and the night. Thus also. (13) And I saw, and I heard an eagle in (the) midst of (the) heaven, crying out in a great voice, saying: 'Woe, woe, woe, to them who dwell upon the earth, from (the) remainder of the voices of the three angels, they who will sound!'

9

(1) And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fallen from (the) heaven upon the earth: and they gave to him the keys of the pit of (the) abyss. (2) And the smoke of the pit went up as (the) smoke of a great furnace. And (the) sun and the air became dark from the smoke of the pit. (3) And locusts came upon the earth from the smoke; and authority was given to them, as the scorpions who have authority upon (the) earth. (4) And it was said to them not to hurt the herbage (plur.) of (the) earth, nor every tree, nor every green thing, except the men on whose forehead was not the seal of God. (5) And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they might give pain to them five months; and the pain of their torment shall become painful as the torment of scorpions, if they should sting a man. (6) And in those days the men shall seek for (the) death, and they shall not find it: they shall desire (the) death, and (the) death shall flee from them. (7) And (the) form of those locusts--they are being like to the horses prepared for (the) war, having (lit. being) a crown put (lit. given) upon (the) head of each of them, being of colour of gold. And their face is being like to (the) face of men; and their teeth being like [as] to those of the lions; (8) and their hair being like to that of the women; (9) and their wings as breastplates of iron. And the sound of their wings as (the) sound of chariots of horses prepared for (the) war. (10) And there are tails to them as the scorpions, and stings; and their authority is being in their tail to hurt the men five months. (11) (The) king is being over them, the angel of (the) abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Magedon, which they interpret in Greek, He who destroyeth.' (12) The first woe passed: behold is coming the second woo. After these things (13) the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the altar of gold which is before the throne of God, (14) saying to the sixth angel, he who had the trumpet: 'Loose the four angels, who are prepared for the hour and the day and the month and the year, that they might kill (the) third part of the men.' (15) Omitted (16) And (the) number of the army of the horsemen was twice a ten thousand of ten thousands. I heard their number (17) thus. And I saw the horses in the vision, and those who sit upon them, clothed with breastplates of fire and a hyakinthinon and sulphur (plur.): and (the) head of the horses as (the) head of lions. But coming from their mouths are [a] fire and [a] smoke and [a] sulphur. (18) And from these three plagues died (the) third part of the men, from the fire and the smoke and the sulphur, those which come from their mouths. (19) For (the) authority of the horses was being in their mouths and their tail: for their tail was being like to serpents having heads. And in this they were hurting the men five months. (20) And (the) remainder of the men died not in these plagues, nor did they repent from the works of their hands, that they should not worship the demons, and the idols, The gold and the silver and the brass and the wood and the stone, for which it is not possible to see, nor to hear, nor to walk. (21) And they repented not from their murders, nor from their magic potions, nor from their fornications and their defilements, nor from their thefts.

10

(1) And I saw another strong angel, who came from (the) heaven clothed with a cloud; and the iris being upon his head; and his face being as (the) sun; and his feet being as pillars of fire; (2) and there is a book in his hand. And he put his right foot upon the sea, his left upon the earth. (3) And he cried out in a great voice, as a lion roaring: and he having cried out, the seven thunders gave their voice. (4) Aud I heard the things which the seven thunders said; I was about to write them also. And I heard a voice from (the) heaven, saying to me: Seal them, write not the things which the seven thunders spake.' (5) And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth stretched his right hand up to (the) heaven, (6) and he sware by him who liveth unto age of the age; He who created (the) heaven and the earth and the sea and all things which are: That time shall be no longer; (7) in the day of the voice of the seventh angel, should he sound. For the mystery of God was completed as he proclaimed through his servants the prophets. (8) And the voice which I heard from (the) heaven was speaking to me, saying: 'Go, take the open book, that which is in (the) hand of the angel, who standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.' (9) And I went unto the angel; I said to him: Give the book to me.' And he said to me: Take it to thee; and it shall make thy belly bitter, and it shall be sweet in thy mouth as [a] honey.' (10) And I took the book from (the) hand of the angel; and it was sweet in my mouth as [a] honey: and having eaten it my belly was bitter. (11) And they said to me: Thou must also prophesy over peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.'

11

(1) And they gave a reed of gold to me, being a staff, saying to me: 'Rise, measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them who worship in it; (2) and the court which is outside of the temple leave (lit. cast) it out, measure it not; because it was given to the nations, and the holy city; they shall trample in it forty-two months: (3) And I shall give to my two witnesses: they shall prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed with sackcloth. (4) These are the two olive-trees and the two lampstands, which are standing before the Lord: (5) and that which they wish they (pron.) shall do. A fire shall come from their mouth; it shall eat up their enemies: and he who wisheth to hurt them, thus shall be killed (plur.). (6) Because they have authority to shut (the) heaven, that the rain may not come upon the earth all the days of their prophecy. And they have authority also over the waters, to cause them to turn and become blood; and to smite (the) earth with every plague which they (pron.) wish. (7) And if they should complete the witness of their prophecy: [But] the wild beast which cometh up from (the) abyss shall make a war with them, and he shall overcome them, he shall kill them. (8) And their body shall be on the street of the great city which is called spiritually "Sodoma of Khēmi," the place in which their Lord was crucified. (9) And they shall see their body (they) of every tribe and every people and every tongue and every nation, they shall look upon their bodies three days and a half; and they shall not let any lay their bodies in the sepulchre. (10) And they all shall rejoice who dwell upon the earth over them, and they shall be delighted. And they shall send gifts to one another, saying: "These are the two prophets who tormented them who dwell upon the earth." (11) And it shall come to pass after three days and a half, and a spirit of God shall go into them, and they shall stand upon their feet, and a great fear shall come upon them who see them.' (12) And I heard a great voice from (the) heaven, saying to them: Come up hither.' And they went up to (the) heaven in a cloud; and their enemies shall see them. (13) And in that hour shall be a great earthquake. And the third part of the city fell; and seven thousand of names of men died in the earthquake; and (the) remainder were full of fear, and they glorified the God of (the) heaven. (14) The second woe passed; and behold, the third woe cometh quickly. (15) And the seventh angel sounded; and great voices came from (the) heaven, saying: (The) kingdom of the world became of the Lord our God, and his Christ: and he shall reign unto age of the age.' (16) And twenty-four presbyters who are before God, sitting upon the thrones, threw themselves upon their face, they worshipped God, (17) saying: We give thanks to thee, Lord God, the Almighty, he who is, and he who was being, and thou comest, Because thou tookest the power, and thou reignedst. (18) And the nations were angry, because thine anger came, and (the) time of the judgement, to judge the dead, and to give (the) reward of thy servants to them, The prophets, and the saints, and all them who fear thy name; the small and the great; thou shalt destroy them who destroy the earth.' (19) And the temple of God was opened in (the) heaven; and the ark of the covenant appeared in the temple; and there happened lightnings and thunders and voices and earthquakes and stones of heaven.

12

(1) And behold, a great sign manifested itself in (the) heaven. A woman arrayed with (the) sun, and the moon below her feet, a crown being put (lit. given) on her head of twelve stars: (2) and being with child, crying out, travailing, being in pain, about to bring forth. (3) And another sign manifested itself in (the) heaven; and lo, a dragon of colour of fire, it is very great, having (lit. being to him) seven heads and ten horns, there being seven crowns upon his heads: (4) and his tail dragged away (the) third part of the stars of (the) heaven and it cast them down upon (the) earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, that, if she should bring forth the son, the dragon might swallow him. (5) And she brought forth the son: this is he who will rule the nations with a staff of iron. And the child was carried away up to God, and to his throne. (6) And the woman fled to (the) desert, to the place which God prepared for her, that they might nourish her there a thousand and two hundred (and) ninety days. (7) And a great war took place in (the) heaven: Michaēl and his angels to war against the dragon. And the dragon warred against them and his angels; (8) and he prevailed not against them in fighting them: and they put not place for him any more up in (the) heaven. (9) And the dragon was cast (out), the great serpent, (the) ancient, he who is called the devil Satan, he who led astray the whole world; he was cast below the earth: his angels also were cast below with him. (10) And I heard a great voice up in (the) heaven, saying: 'Now happened the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. Because the accuser of our brethren was cast to the earth, he who accused before God in the day and the night. (11) Because they (pron.) overcame him because of (the) blood of the lamb, and because of (the) blood of their witness, for they loved not their life even unto (the) death. (12) Therefore delight yourselves, [the] heavens, and they who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea: because the devil came below to you, there being a great wrath in him; knowing that only a little while (it is) which he hath.' (13) But the dragon, having seen that he was cast to (the) earth, pursued the woman who brought forth the son. (14) And two great wings were given to her as those of an eagle, that the woman might fly to (the) desert, to (the) place (in) which she will be nourished a time and times and (the) half of a time from (the) face of the serpent. (15) And the serpent cast from his mouth as (it were) a river of water behind the woman. (16) And (the) earth opened its mouth, it swallowed the river of water which the dragon cast forth behind the woman. (17) And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make a war with (the) remainder of (the) seed of the woman, they who keep the commandments of God and the witness of Jesus.

13

(1) And I stood upon the sand of the sea; I saw a wild beast coming up in the sea, there being ten horns upon him, and seven heads, there being four crowns upon his horns, there being a name written on his heads. (2) And the wild beast which I saw was being like to a leopard, and his feet being as those of a bear, his mouth being like to a mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave his power to him, and his throne, and a great authority. (3) And there is being a wound on his heads as of a slaughtering of (the) death, and the wound of his death was healed. And all (the) earth wondered behind the wild beast; (4) and they worshipped the wild beast, saying: Who is like to this wild beast? And who (is he) for whom it is possible to war with him?' (5) And a mouth was given to him to say great blasphemies, and authority was given to him to war forty-two months. (6) And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them who dwell in (the) heaven. (7) And it was given to him to make a war with the saints, and to overcome them. And authority was given to him over all the tribes, and every tongue, and every nation: (8) and they all shall worship him, they who dwell upon (the) earth, they whose name is not written on (the) book of (the) life of the lamb, he who was slaughtered from (the) foundation of the world. (9) He who hath ear to hear, let him hear. (10) He who will go in a captivity, let him go. He who will kill with (the) sword, they will kill him with the sword. But he who hath [the] patience and [the] faith of the saints, blessed is he. (11) And I saw another wild beast coming up from (the) earth, there were being two horns upon him, being like to a lamb, and speaking as a dragon. (12) All his authority was as the first wild beast; he was doing it before him. And he caused (the) earth and them who dwell on it (to) worship the first wild beast, whose wound of his death was cured. (13) And he shall do signs, that he may cause a fire to come down from (the) heaven' upon (the) earth before [the] men. (14) And he shall lead astray them who dwell upon (the) earth because of the signs which were given to him, having done them before the wild beast. Saying to them who dwell upon the earth, that they should make image to the wild beast, in whom is (the) wound of (the) sword, and he lived. (15) It was given to him to give spirit to the image of the wild beast, and to kill them who will not worship the wild beast and his image. (16) And he shall cause all the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants-he shall mark them in their right hand and their forehead; (17) That no one shall be able to buy or to sell except him on whom there is mark of the wild beast put (lit. given), or his name, or (the) number of his name. (18) The wisdom (is) here. He who hath mind let him reckon (the) number of the wild beast; for it is (the) number of a man: and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

14

(1) And I saw the lamb standing upon the mountain of Sion, and an hundred forty-four thousand being with him; his name and (the) name of his Father being written on their forehead. (2) And I heard a voice from (the) heaven, as a great thunder: and the voice which I heard (was) as harpers, (3) Praising in a new song before the throne, and before the four living-beings, and the presbyters: and no one was able to know the song except the hundred forty-four thousand, they who were bought from (the) earth. (4) These are they who polluted not their garments with woman; for they are virgins: these are they who walk with the lamb to the place to which he will go. These are they who were bought from [the] men, firstfruit to God and the lamb. (5) And no falsehood was found in their mouths, for they are cleansed. (6) And I saw another angel flying in (the) midst of (the) heaven, having an eternal Gospel, preaching good tidings to them who dwell upon (the) earth, and every nation, and every tribe, and every people, and every tongue; (7) saying in a great sound: Fear God, and give glory to him; because the hour of his judgement came; and worship him who made (the) heaven, and (the) earth, and the sea, and the waters.' (8) And another, second, angel walked after him, saying: Babylon the great fell: from (the) wine of (the) wrath of her fornication all the nations fell.' (9) And another, third, angel walked after them, saying: 'He who will worship the wild beast and his image, and will seal himself on his forehead or his hand- (10) he (it is) who will drink from the wine of (the) wrath of God, which is mingled, unmixed wine in the cup of his anger. And they shall be tormented in [a] fire and [a] sulphur before the angels, and before the lamb: (11) and the smoke of their torment shall go up for ever. Because there is not rest there in the day and the night for them who will worship the wild beast, and his image, and who will receive the mark of his name. (12) But he who will endure with the saints, they (are they) who will keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus Christ.' (13) And I heard another great sound from (the) heaven, saying: Blessed are the dead in the Lord, should they rise henceforth. The spirit saith that they may rest themselves, henceforth from their toils of their works, (which) shall follow (lit. walk after) them; and that he may guide them down to a fountain of water of life.' (14) And I saw a white cloud; and above upon the cloud one is sitting, being like to a son of man, there being a crown of gold upon him, there being a sharp sword in his hand. (15) And another angel came from the temple, crying out in a great sound, saying to him who sat upon the cloud: Send thy reaping (hook) and reap; because the hour of (the) reaping of the earth came.' (16) And he who sat upon the cloud sent his reaping (hook) upon the earth. (17) And (there was) another angel who came from (the) heaven having a sharp sword. (18) And another angel came from the altar having an authority over (lit. of a) fire. And he called in a great sound to him who had the sharp sword, saying: Send thy sharp sword and gather the cluster of vine of (the) earth.' (19) And the angel struck his sword into the earth, and he gathered the vine of (the) earth, and he cast it into the great winepress of (the) wrath of God. (20) And he trode the winepress outside of the city; and a blood came out of the winepress unto the bridles of the horses, a thousand and six hundred stadia.

15

(1) And I saw another great sign up in (the) heaven, being wonderful; seven angels having the seven last plagues; because in them was completed the wrath of God. (2) And I saw as (it were) a sea of glass mingled with a fire; and all they who overcame the wild beast, and his image, and (the) number of his name, standing upon the sea of glass having harps of God: (3) Singing the song of the lamb and Mōyses the servant of God, saying: 'Great are thy works and they are wonderful, Lord God, the Almighty, the righteous. All thy ways are truth, (the) king of the nations. (4) Who (is he) who shall not fear thee. Lord, and glorify thy name? Because all the nations shall come and worship thy name; because thine ordinances (lit. truths) were manifested.' (5) And after these (things) I saw. Lo, the temple of the tabernacle of the witness up in (the) heaven was opened. (6) And the seven angels came out of the temple, they who had the seven plagues, being clothed with garments of linen, glorious, bound upon their loins with girdles of gold. (7) And one from the four living-beings gave to the seven angels the seven vials of gold, full of the wrath of God who liveth unto age of the ages. Amēn. (8) And the temple was filled with the smoke of the glory of God, and with his power; and no one was able to come into the temple, until these plagues of the seven angels were completed.

16

(1) And I heard a great voice from (the) heaven, saying to the angels: Go, pour your vials of (the) wrath of God below.' (2) And the first angel went, he poured his vial on the earth; and an evil sore came in the men, they who were sealed for the wild beast, and they who worshipped his image. (3) And the second angel poured his vial on the sea; and it became blood as that of a dead man; and every soul which liveth died in the sea. (4) And the third angel poured his vial on the rivers and the fountains of water; and they became blood. (5) I heard the angel of the waters, saying: Thou (art) righteous, he who is, and he who was being, because thou judgedst these. (6) Because they shed the blood of the martyrs and the prophets, thou gavest blood to them to drink; because they are worthy.' (7) And I heard the altar, saying: Yea, Lord God, the Almighty, the righteous, all thy judgements are true.' (8) And the fourth angel poured his vial on (the) sun; and it was given to him to make heat on [the] men with a great heat. (9) And the men were scorched; and they blasphemed (the) name of God who hath authority over these plagues; and they repented not to glorify God. (10) And the fifth angel poured his vial on the throne of the wild beast; and his kingdom became dark; and they were gnawing their tongues from the pain; (11) and they blasphemed God of (the) heaven from the pain, and from their works; and they repented not from their evil works. (12) And the sixth angel poured his vial on the river, the great, the Euphratēs. And the water was dried up, that the way of the kings who are at the risings of (the) sun might be prepared. (13) And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the wild beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits as frogs; (14) for they are spirits of demons, doing signs [from] among the kings of (the) earth, to assemble them for (the) war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (15) Lo, I come as a thief. Blessed is he who will watch and keep his garments, that he may not walk naked, and they see his shame. (16) And he gathered them to a place called in Hebrew `Ermakedōn: (17) And the seventh angel poured his vial on the air; and he cried a great sound out of the temple from the throne, saying: It was done.' (18) And there happened thunders, and voices, and lightnings; and a great earthquake happened: there was not any like it since man was upon (the) earth. (19) And the great city became into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon, the great, was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of wine of (the) wrath of the anger. (20) And all islands fled; and the mountains found not their place. (21) And (hail) stones as of talents in weight came from (the) heaven upon the men; and the men blasphemed God from the plague of the hail (lit. stone) which was very great:

17

(1) And one from the seven angels, they who have the seven vials, came; and he spake to me, saying: 'Come, that I may show to thee (the) judgement of the great harlot who sitteth upon many waters; (2) she with whom the kings of (the) earth sinned; and they committed fornication; they who dwell upon (the) earth were drunken with (the) wine of her fornication.' (3) And he took me away to (the) desert in the (lit. a) spirit: and I saw a woman sitting upon a wild beast, scarlet, full of names of blasphemy, there being seven heads upon him, and ten horns. (4) And the woman was being arrayed in a garment of purple and [a] scarlet, and gilded with (the) gold and the precious stone and pearls: There being a cup of gold in her hand, full of defilement of the defilements of her fornication with (the) whole earth : (5) There being a name written on her forehead, The mystery of (the) Babylon, (the) mother of the fornicators and the abominable of (the) earth.' (6) And I saw a woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with (the) blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and I wondered. (7) And the angel said to me: 'Why wonderedst thou? I (pron.) shall (lit. will) show to thee the mystery of the woman, and the wild beast which beareth her, that upon which are the seven heads and the ten horns. (8) The wild beast which thou sawest, being, and it is not, coming up from the abyss, and going to (the) destruction. And all who dwell upon (the) earth shall wonder, they whose name is not written on (the) book of (the) life. Since (the) beginning of creation of the world, they are looking at the wild beast, because it is, and it is not, and it fell. (9) He who hath mind and [a] wisdom let him understand: the seven heads being mountains, upon which the woman is sitting; (10) these are seven kings: the five fell, and the other is not, and the other one was not yet; and if he should come, he will stay a little (time). (11) And the wild beast which was being, and it is not, is himself an eighth from the seven; and he will go to (the) destruction. (12) And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, these who received not yet an authority as kings for an hour, having followed the wild beast. (13) These have one mind and an authority; they will give their power to the wild beast. (14) These shall war with the lamb, he overcoming them, because he is Lord of the lords. and (the) King of the kings; and they who are called with him, and the chosen, and the faithful.' (15) And he said to me: The waters which thou sawest, upon which the woman is sitting, are peoples and many nations. (16) And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the wild beast, these shall hate the harlot, they will desolate her, they will make her naked, and her flesh (plural) they shall eat, they shall burn her in the fire. (17) For God gave it into their heart to do his mind, and for them to be in one mind, to give a kingdom to the wild beast, until are completed the words of God. (18) And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which hath kingdom over all the kingdoms of (the) earth.'

18

(1) After these things I saw another angel, who came from (the) heaven, having a great authority; and (the) earth was enlightened from his face and his glory. (2) And he cried out in a great sound: Babylon the great city fell; and became resting place of the demons, and abode of every unclean spirit, and abode of every bird unclean (and) hateful. (3) Because from (the) wrath of the wine of her fornication all the nations fell; and all the kings of (the) earth, they who committed fornication with her; and the merchants of (the) earth became rich from her luxury.' (4) And I heard a voice from (the) heaven, saying: Come out of her, those of my people, that ye may not receive of her plagues. (5) Because her sins joined themselves to her even unto (the) heaven: and God remembered her wrongdoings. (6) Give to her as she recompensed; and double them to her according to her works: in her cup as she mixed it, double it to her. (7) The glory in which she was, and the luxury--give it to her of grief and mourning; because she saith in her heart, that I shall (lit. will) sit being a queen; and I am not a widow; and I shall not see mourning. (8) Therefore in one day her plagues shall come, [a] death and [a] mourning and [a] famine. And she shall be burnt in the fire; because strong is the Lord God, he who judged her. (9) And all the kings of (the) earth, they who all committed fornication with her, and they were luxurious, shall weep, they shall wail over her. But if they should see the smoke of her burning, (10) they shall stand afar off, because of (the) fear of her torment, saying: "Woe to her, woe to her, the great city Babylon, the city which was luxurious, in one hour came her fall." (11) And the merchants of (the) earth shall weep, they shall mourn over her, because no one will buy of them their freights, (12) their freight of gold and their freight of silver, and the precious stones, and the pearls and the fine linen, and purple and olosirikon and scarlet, and every vessel of ivory, And every vessel from the precious woods, and every thyine wood, And brass, and iron, and marble; (13) and cinnamon, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and symedalion of wheat, and beast and sheep and horse, and body and soul of man, (14) and harvest of the desire of the soul--they went from thee, and all thy fatness and thy splendour perished from thee, and thy merchants shall not find them any more; (15) Because these are they who became rich from thee: standing afar off because of (the) fear of her torment, They shall weep, they shall mourn, (16) saying: "Woe to thee, woe to thee, the great city, which is arrayed in the fine linen and the purple and the scarlet, sewn with gold and the costly stone and the pearl. (17) Because in an hour this great richness was desolated." And every pilot of the sea, and every one who saileth in the sea, are standing afar off, (18) And crying out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying: Who is like to this great city?" (19) And they placed earth on their head, crying out, weeping and mourning, saying: "Woe to her, the great city, from whom were made rich they whose ships are in the sea, having been made rich from her preciousness, because in an hour she was desolated." (20) Delight thee, (the) heaven over her, and all the saints, and the apostles and the prophets; Because the Lord God judged your judgement on her. (21) And a strong angel cried out a sound, and he took away a great mill stone, he tossed it into the sea, saying: "Thus in a fall will fall Babylon. And she will be thrown down to the great lake; and the great city shall not be found any more; (22) nor (the) sound of a harp. And a singer and a trumpet shall not be heard, being in thee any more. And no shall be found in thee any more; nor (the) sound of mill shall be heard in thee any more; (23) nor a light of lamp shall shine in thee any more; Nor (the) voice of a bridegroom and a bride shall thy merchants and the kings of (the) earth and the great men hear in thee any more. Because in thy potions all the nations were led astray. (24) And (the) blood of the prophets and the saints was found in her, and all who were slaughtered upon (the) earth."'

19

(1) After these (things) I heard as a great sound of a vast multitude in (the) heaven, saying: Allēlouia; [the] salvation and [the] glory and [the] honour and [the] power are of our God, because his judgements are true: (2) And in a righteous judgement he judged the great harlot; and he took (the) vengeance of (the) blood of his servants from her.' (3) And (the) second (time) they said: `Allelouia.' And her smoke shall go up unto age of the age. (4) And the twenty-four presbyters threw themselves down, and the four living-beings, and they worshipped God, he who sitteth upon the throne, saying: 'Amēn. (5) And a voice came from the throne, saying: Bless our God, all his servants, and they who fear him, the small and the great. (6) And I heard as a great voice of a great multitude, and as (the) voice of many waters, and (the) voice of strong thunders, saying : The Lord God, the Almighty reigned. (7) Let us rejoice and be glad, and glorify him; because the marriage-feast of the lamb came, and his bride was prepared for him. (8) And it was given to her, that she should clothe herself with a fine-linen, glorious, pure: for the fine-linen is the righteousness (plur.) of the saints.' (9) And he said to me: Write, "Blessed are they who are called to the supper of the lamb."' And he said to me These words are true (words) of God.' (10) And I fell before his feet, I worshipped him; and he said to me: 'Not so, because I (am) a fellow-servant of thine and thy brethren, they who have the witness of Jesus. Worship God; for the witness of Jesus is the spirit of the truth.' (11) After these (things) I saw (the) heaven opened; and I saw a white horse. And he who sitteth upon him, being called, The faithful and the true'; and he gave the judgement in [a] righteousness. (12) And his eyes were being like to a flame of fire; having (lit. being) many crowns upon his head; having a name written, it is not possible that any one should know it except him only. (13) Having (lit. being) a garment on him sprinkled with (the) blood: and being called, (The) word of God.' (14) And the army was (lit. were) walking after him with white horses, being clothed in fine linen (plur.), glorious. (15) And a sharp sword cometh from their mouths, that he may smite the nations with it. And he (pron.) shall rule them with a staff of iron: and he (pron.) shall tread the winepress of the wine of (the) anger of God, the Almighty. (16) And a name is (lit. being) written on his garment and his thigh, (The) King of the kings, and the Lord of the lords.' (17) And I saw another angel standing in (the) sun; crying out in a great sound, saying: All [the] birds which fly in (the) midst of (the) heaven, come, assemble in the great supper of the Lord God; (18) That ye may eat the flesh (plug.) of the kings, and the flesh of the khiliarchs, and the flesh of the strong, and the flesh of the horses, and those who sit upon them, and the flesh of the freemen, and the servants, and the small, and the great. (19) And I saw the wild beast and the kings of (the) earth, and their armies, assembled to make a war with him who sitteth on the white horse and his army. (20) And the wild beast was seized, and those who were with him, and the false prophet, who did the signs among them before him. Having bound them who received the seal of the wild beast and them who worship his image, they cast them down, both alive, to the lake which burneth with fire and sulphur. (21) And (the) remainder were killed with (the) sword of him who sitteth on the horse, which came out of his mouth; and all the birds of (the) heaven ate of their flesh.

20

(1) And I saw an angel, having come down out of (the) heaven, having (the) key of (the) abyss and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold on the dragon, the serpent, the ancient, who is the devil, Satan, and he bound him a thousand years. (3) He cast him into (the) abyss, he shut its mouth, and sealed above him. That he might not lead astray the nations, until the thousand years were completed. And after these (things) he must be loosed yet a little time. (4) And I saw thrones; having sat upon them, judgement was given to them concerning the souls of them who were killed because of the witness of Jesus, and the word of God, and they who worshipped not the wild Least nor his image. And they who received not his seal on their forehead and their hand lived with him, and they reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) And (the) remainder of the (lead lived not until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed is he and a saint of God who hath a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death shall- not have (lit. find) authority. But they shall be priests of God and Christ, and they shall reign with him the thousand years. (7) And if the thousand years should be completed, Satan shall be loosed out of the prison. (8) And he shall lead astray the servants and the nations in the four corners of (the) earth. Gōg and Magōg shall be gathered to the war; these whose number is as the sand of the sea. (9) And they came up over the breadth of (the) earth; and they encircled the camp of the saints and the new city. And a fire came out of (the) heaven from God, it consumed them. (10) And the devil who leadeth them astray was cast down to the lake of fire which burneth with sulphur, the place in which are the wild beast and the false prophet; and they were tormented in the days and the nights unto age of the age. (11) I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from before whose face (the) earth fled away, and (the) heaven; and place of theirs was not found. (12) And I saw all the dead, the small and the great, standing before the throne; and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is that of (the) life. And the dead were judged out of the things which were written on the book, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave the dead who were in it; and (the) abyss and Amenti gave the dead which were in them: and they were judged according to their works. (14) And (the) abyss and Amenti were cast into the lake of fire which burneth with sulphur. (15) And he who was not found written on (the) book of (the) life was cast to the lake of fire.

21

(1) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the earth went (away); and there is not sea any more. (2) And I saw the city which is holy, new Jerusalem, coming down out of (the) heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a. great voice out of (the) heaven, saying: Lo, the tabernacle of God is being with [the] men, and he shall dwell with them, and they also shall be to him for a people. And God himself shall be with them: 4 (4) he shall wipe every tear from their eyes; and death shall not be any more, nor mourning, nor cry. Toil shall not be any more, since the first things passed away; lo, all things will become new.' (5) And he who sitteth on the throne said to me: Lo, I shall (lit. will) make all things new.' And he said to me: Write these words, they are faithful and they are true.' (6) And he said to me: I am the alpha and the ō, the beginning and the end: I am he who will give to him who is thirsty of the fountain of water of life freely. (7) He who will overcome shall inherit these things; and I shall be to him as God, and he (pron.) shall be to me as son. (8) But they who will be doubtful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and the fornicators, and the worshippers of demons, and the liars-- Their part shall be in the lake of the fire and the sulphur, which is the second death. (9) And one from the seven angels came, they who had the seven vials, filled with the seven last plagues; be spake to me, saying: Come that I may show to thee the bride, (the) wife of the lamb.' (10) And he took me away in the spirit up on a great mountain, being high: he showed to me the city which is holy, Jerusalem, coming down out of (the) heaven from God, (11) she which is holy, which is filled with glory. But her light is being of a precious stone, as a light of precious iaspis, being of christalos. (12) Having a great wall, being high; and the twelve gates. And the twelve angels at the gates; and names written, being (the) name of the twelve tribes of (the) sons of Israel. (13) On the east three gates, on the south of her three gates, And (the) west of the city three gates, and on the north three gates. (14) And the wall of the city having twelve foundations, and written upon them (the) name of the twelve apostles of the lamb. (15) And he who spake to me hath a reed of gold, that he might measure the city and her gates and her walls. (16) And the city was a square, and as is her length thus also is her breadth. And he measured the city, he found her being twelve thousand stadia of length; and her breadth and her height are being equal. (17) And her wall was measured, it was found making a hundred forty-four thousand measures of a man, that is to say, of an angel. (18) And (the) circuit of the wall-- The foundation was being as an iaspis. And the city was being worked with pure gold as [a] pure glass. (19) And the foundations of the wall of the city (are) built from every precious stone. The first foundation was an iaspis. The second is a sapphiros. The third is a karchēdōn. The fourth a smarakdos. (20) The fifth a sardonix. The sixth a sardinon. The seventh a chrisolinthos. The eighth a byrillos. The ninth a dopation. The tenth an hyakynthinon. The eleventh a kysoparasos. The twelfth an amethitos. (21) And the twelve gates of pearl, each one. And the street of the city is [a] pure gold, as [a] glass making light. (22) And I saw not temple in her. For the Lord God the Almighty is her temple, and the lamb. (23) And the city was not having need of (the) sun, nor the moon, that they might make light in her. For (the) glory of God enlightened her, and her lamp is the lamb. (24) And the nations shall walk by (lit. from) her light; and the kings of (the) earth shall bring (the) glory of the nations and the honour into her. (25) And her gates shall not be shut in the day: and night shall not be there. (26) The nations shall come with their glory and their honour into her. (27) Anything defiled shall not enter her, and they who make defilements: falsehood shall not come into her: but only they who are written on the book of (the) life of the lamb.

22

(1) And I was shown a river of water of life, glorious as a christallon, coming from the throne of God and the lamb. (2) In (the) midst of her street, and the river on this side and on that, A tree of (the) life, bringing the twelve fruits forth, one for a month. And the leaves of the tree (are) for an healing (the) eyes of the nations. (3) And no defilement shall be any more, And the throne of God and the lamb shall be in her; and (the) anger shall not be. But the servants of God shall serve him: (4) and they shall see his face: and his name (is) on their forehead. (5) Night shall not be any more, nor shall they have need of a light in her, nor a light of (the) sun; because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign unto age of the age. (6) And he said to me: 'These words are faithful, and they are holy, they are true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his servants the things which must happen quickly. (7) Lo, I come, lo, I come quickly. Blessed is he who will keep the words of this prophecy of this book.' (8) I am Thannes, he who saw and he who heareth these (things). Then having heard and having seen these (things) I threw myself down before (the) feet of the angel, who showed to me these (things). (9) And he said to me: Not so! I (am) a fellow-servant of thine, and thy brethren the prophets, and those who will keep the words of this book. Worship God.' (10) And he said to me: Seal not the words of this prophecy of this book; for the time approached. (11) He who doeth wrong, let him do wrong stil: he who is polluted, let him be polluted: The just, let him justify himself: he who is holy, let him sanctify himself. (12) Lo, I come quickly. My reward with me. I shall (lit. will) give to each one according to his works. (13) I am the alpha and the ō, the beginning and the end. (14) Blessed are all who will do his commandments, that their authority may be over the tree of (the) life. And they shall go into the city by the gate. (15) But the dogs (are) outside, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the worshippers of demons, and all who do [the] falsehood. (16) I am Jesus: I sent my angel to witness to you these words in all the churches. I am the root and the race of David; and the star which riseth in the morning, (17) and spirit and the bride. And they say: "Come." And he who heareth, let hima say "Come." And he who thirsteth, let him come. He who wisheth, let him take [a] water of life freely. (18) I (pron.) witness to all who hear the words of this prophecy of this book, That he who will add to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written on this hook. (19) But he who will cut off from the words of this book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from (the) book of (the) life and the holy city which are writtenon this book.' (20) He who witnesseth these (things) saith: They will happen and they come quickly.' Come our Lord Jesus Christ (21) upon all the saints unto ago of the ages.